Gorgeous hiking opportunity hidden away in Santa Clarita. ****Note****: GPS takes you to a gated…read morecommunity with no access to the open space. Better to search "Haskell Vista/Cross" to find the trailhead or check out the map here https://hikesantaclarita.com/where-to-go/wildwood-canyon/. Kudos to Santa Clarita for protecting and maintaining this lovely parcel of land. Many native plants and animals find refuge here, as well as humans seeking green space for exercise and reflection. Check the map noted above for trails and level of challenge. The trails are very well-maintained; free street parking is available at the trailhead on Haskell Vista. Take water, a snack, and a charged cell phone with a good camera; there are lots of photo opps here for sure.

This open space area may not have an interesting backstory but it still has some fun and diverse…read moregroup of trails that are definitely worth exploring. This open space is part of the city's larger ongoing effort to create a greenbelt that will one day encircle the entire city. Park your car at the end of Haskell Vista Lane to start the trail. Zig-zag your way up the north side of the mountain until you reach the top. At that point and you'll have to decide among 3 different routes. You can choose the wide middle path that will take you south along the ridgeline all the way to the Old Road, or you can take the trail off to the left that descends down the canyon to complete a the loop that takes you to a red water tank and two mini bridges, or you can take the path off to the right which leads you to a small private park. The ridgeline trail leads you to some interesting rock formations and a metal box located below a solitary oak tree. It is filled with short inspirational quotes. For-the-most-part, the trail is fairly sun exposed and not very interesting. The red water tank lower loop trail takes you through some interesting narrow paths. When you get to the bottom of the canyon be sure to break off the trail and head up the canyon off to your right. There is a dense canopy of oak trees that are absolutely breathtaking to walk through.

This nature center is located directly in the center of all the main activities for the park. There…read moreis free parking and many of the trails start right from the nature center. I thought this was a nice place to get an introduction to the wildlife, ecology and geography of the park. Admission to the nature center and the entire park is entirely free. The time I visited there was a docent on duty and a number of school children who were on day trips from the local schools.

What a great place to spend time with family and friends hiking, exploring and learning about…read morenature. I came here with my husband and son not knowing what to expect and was surprised to find this hidden gem. We had a wonderful time hiking by the creek which was active this time of the year. There are a few benches along the way to sit and take all the beauty around you in. We had to cross a few water streams while hiking which made our hike so special and beautiful. We had such a wonderful time. After the hike we had lunch at the picnic tables by the parking lot. So much to see and do here. A must visit for all nature lovers. Kid friendly. .... Love this place

Plum Canyon Fire Road offers a great hike and a wonderful place to see many local native plants. I…read morecame in search of an endangered species (which I found, luckily) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Plum Canyon may have been named in reference to the many Holly-leaved Cherry plants in the bottom of the canyon (Prunus ilicifolia) whose fruit was ripe and edible on my hike. Parking is free (I parked on the east end of the road). Bring water, sunscreen and a camera/phone. The hike itself was moderately strenuous, with some uphill climbs, but nothing too steep. Look out for mountain bikers speeding downhill and enjoy.

There are a couple of different ways to enter this trail. Coming from Plum Canyon Rd enter into the…read morenew housing development by taking a right on La Madrid Dr. Park your car at the end of the road and walk the rest of the way. You will just have to figure out the best way to navigate through the barriers. The other option is crossing the street where Whites Canyon meets Plum Canyon near the new Fire Station. The most interesting thing about Plum Canyon Fire Road is the numerous stacked stone piles that seem to be everywhere. I recently learned that they are called cairns. They can be used as memorials or a landmarks. In this case I think people just made them to have some fun. If your goal is to reach Cruzan Mesa, AKA Mystery Mesa, then be sure to make a left when you come to a junction. If you start to head downhill on Plum Canyon Fire Rd then you've gone too far. Make your way up the nearest hill and walk along the ridgeline until you see it. The entire property is enclosed by a fence.

FUN rock scrambling at almost 45 degrees! It was slightly out of the way on our drive to LA but I…read morewanted to come here for a long time. A lot of movies, music videos, and TV have been filmed here, often to depict otherworldly alien landscape, it was in a couple episodes of Star Trek and the gift shop has some Star Trek related merchandise. You can park right next to the famous rocks and go climbing up, this is my favorite type of park since there are no guardrails or fences, you can go where you want. Be careful though, the ranger told us the week before we went someone got scared coming down and broke their ankle and had to be airlifted out, remember it's always easy to climb up than it is to climb down. Toward the back of the famous rocks are some nice boulders and a hike you can go on, some of these rocks look like animals or faces and is worth checking out if the famous ones are too crowded. The witches hat is a bit hard to find but go to the visitor center and it's walkable from there. The rangers can help you find it, there are also animals in the different sheds you can check out.

Came on a weekday afternoon. They have four parking lots. Free entry, free parking…read more Place was not busy at all. The trails were not clearly marked. The Nature Heritage Trail was pretty straightforward and easy. Was recommended by the staff on the Bobcat Trail. The Bobcat Trail wasn't hard and the view was amazing. Recommend hiking shoes if you do the Bobcat Trail. Also, recommend wearing long pants and closed toe shoes. There were narrow trails and bushes that could cut skin. There were a few picnic tables. Trails were not shaded. The Interpretive Center was small, but pretty cool as they had a very active snake on display. Overall, great place to hike. They have different trail lengths. Would come back.

This is little-known short trail that leads to a great big rocky outcrop with steep drop-offs and…read moresweeping views of Castaic Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest. The trail is 1 mile (there-and-back). The trailhead is located up the road and north of Castaic Lake, off of Lake Hughes Rd. Park in the dirt off the the side of the road. You'll see a narrow trail that follows the edge of the mountain. There are sections that are slightly overgrown. I walked slowly watching carefully for snakes. You'll see all kinds of wildflowers if you go in the spring. The recent rains has turned the vegetation green. There was long grass flowing in the wind. Once you reach the large rock outcrop you'll get to examine a number of small openings in the rock, peak into small caves and climb through a large slit in the middle of the rock formation. There's a real dangerous cliff-section where you need to use some caution and not let kids play unsupervised. Overall it's a fun trail with lots to see and explore. It's a nice teaser that will make you want to explore other trails in the area.

This was a very nice ~3 mile loop with an awesome view of the surroundings especially of Bouquet…read moreReservoir. Following the AllTrails map, you want to start off by following the trail on the left then coming back down from the right. The left trail has a very steep incline with some loose sand / rocks. Definitely would be easier to come back down from the right trail versus the left trail! Trekking poles would also be very helpful here!

There are a lot of trails out here. Some are just for atvs and bikes. And you have to be careful,…read morebecause many of the trails have black diamond offshoots that can mess you up if you're. it careful, or at least prepared. lovely place.

Although COVID cancelled our hikes overlooking Lake Tahoe, we tried Bouquet Canyon reservoir as a…read moresubstitute. Granted, not an equal replacement but was still enjoyable with multiple vistas of the man-made lake and a few patches of wildflowers. We started at Forest Road 6N08 and Bouquet Canyon Road along the eastern edge of the reservoir and just kept going up until we reached the top of Martindale Ridge. The ridge is also accessible from opposite side via Sierra Highway near Agua Dulce. Not an area of the Angeles National Forest where environment concerns are at the forefront, the roads are legal for Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use like dirt bikes, ATVs, and 4-wheelers. We were the only hikers on the dirt roads which we safely shared with six motorcyclists and a dozen 4x4s. As with most off-roading areas, multiple tracks were cut through the mountains. The trails were either named Martindale Ridge Road or Rowher OHV Trail. Consequently, it's easy to confuse the two and depending on the route taken, distances can greatly vary. For example, we hiked 5.0 miles going up and 3.8 miles returning down. The entire hike was 8.9 miles with a 1700' elevation difference.

Similar to the neighboring East Canyon hike (see…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/east-and-rice-canyons-newhall) and goes to the same Jones Junction. Weldon and East both have a similar 3-mile one-way distance but Weldon starts 400' higher which makes it easier. Like East, the hike lacks escaping into nature with annoying gunfire from the nearby firing range, distracting freeway noise, and the blight of a massive evacuation site (the same one seen from the 5 freeway). The trail is a dirt service road of mostly clay. The road follows low powerlines on wooden poles surrounded by oak trees that looked prime for another forest fire. Most of the 750' elevation gain is in the first mile.

For a detailed view of this trail, please click on my YouTube channel RobbieGarnz at the following…read morelink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pedRMX5xCNs Actually, I started at the East Canyon and Rice Canyon trail head and made the trek to Mission Point. However, when I did the East Canyon to the junction trail a couple days prior, I accidentally went onto Weldon Motorway (without knowing what it was!) and wound up backtracking to the end of East Canyon trail. For a review of that hike, check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sss7bqLB8Gw As for the trek to Mission Peak, be prepared to be flexible! Once you reach the fenced in area at the trail junction about .6 miles north of the East Canyon/Weldon Motorway intersection, there is a rather steep decline. Then, all of a sudden, you run into a locked gate that prevents you from continuing on the primary trail. However, if you walk to the left and slightly down hill, there is a "path" from foot traffic that allows you to go around the sealed off area. I would strongly advise a good pair of hiking boots though, because there is significantly tall grass. A hiking pole would also be a good idea because you never know what could be hiding in that grass! Once you are past that obstacle, the trail slopes downward and then up slightly, and across the ridge for the next mile. You will come to two more gates about 600-800 meters apart. The first one was open when I went, the second was not. There is a sign for Mission Peak on the fence, but the arrow points in both direction. I spent quite a bit of time tromping around the area to figure out a way around and up. Spoiler alert, do not go into the grass on the northeast side above the fence--it only leads to a shear cliff! However, if you turn left (NW) at the gate, the trail continues downhill, which is counter intuitive because you're trying to go up. However, about 250 meters down the hill, on the right, there is a small footpath that traverses the hill side upwards and keeps you away from the restricted area. Once you get on the path, keep going! You will come out on the other side of the fenced in area onto the main trail. From there you are treated to a beautiful view for the next 3/4 of a mile until you hit a fork in the trail. Turn right at the fork and keep going uphill (although I did see some hikers coming up from the other side and we wound up meeting at the top..). The final climb is a great push but well worth it. There is a 360 degree view of unbelievable scenery overlooking the valley. There is also a monument, the widowers bench, and a stack of rocks that has remained undisturbed for quite some time. Coming down is also a joy as you get to relive the awesome view until you get sucked back into the firebreak and remember that you still have to tromp through tall grass to get around the same obstacles you faced coming up. Would be 5 stars if not for that inconvenience! For a detailed review of the hike, check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pedRMX5xCNs You can subscribe and see other epic hiking and fitness videos at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSnBYnWYktiqxynCwGrak1Q?view_as=subscriber