Millard Falls Trailhead in offers two hiking options- a short hike from the Millard Campground…read moreparking area or a longer loop that starts at Brown Mountain Truck Trail. The shorter hike includes multiple stream crossings and is about 1.25 miles roundtrip, while the alternative hike taking the Prieto Canyon trail is approximately 8 miles. If you visit the dam as well. the loop amounts to about a 17 mile trek. In late January, we decided to take the Prieto Canyon Trails to the Millard Falls as the short distance from the campground is still closed. The venture to the falls consist of over 20 water crossings- most were manageable without getting one's feet wet. There is an elevation climb, which is manageable with switch backs. Most of the trail is in the shade with a portion in the sun before you head down to the stream that leads to the falls. The falls are beautiful. You should use an app to get to the falls as signs do not clearly point the direction to the falls. Best to do this hike on the weekend as could get busy. This fall will definitely be busy when the short trail opens- at this point you will see everybody visiting- With that you will loose some piece and quiet. If you start at Brown Dam, there is plenty of parking outside of JPL but bring your adventure pass or national park pass for parking.

This place is the jackpot if you like birding and bridges!! Bare with me bc I'm about to share a…read morebutt load of pics! I think this hike may have been the most pics I've ever taken in one sitting (well over 350 - but I'm not sharing that many ok lol)!! This is a very easy hike - it can be as long or as short as you want it to be. We did about 6 miles. And it's almost completely flat - AllTrails says 160 feet but my AllTrails recording logged 230 feet - either way it's minimal. There are some optional stairs that have neat views as well. A lot of the trail is rocky and bumpy, and there was a ton of mud bc of all the rain - but still easy. And there's a little trail construction going on but it's easy to maneuver around. It's also a very busy trail. We arrived right before 8am and there was a moderate crowd - not too bad. But by 9am it was pretty packed. Luckily the trail is very wide so it's easy to keep your distance and not feel like you have someone on your heels constantly. There are some really great features on this hike - all sorts of surprises in all sorts of nooks and crannies! There's a huge archery range - who knew?? It's well marked so it easy to stay out of the way and safe. There weren't any archers when we started but tons had assembled when we were leaving! I'll be coming back to watch them next time bc it's such a neat range! There's a "casting pond" which was so totally random and I'd never seen or heard of anything like it before!! It's a huge, shallow "pond" of sorts, with these rings scattered around - I'm guessing it's for people to practice their casting techniques for fishing. The water was super clean too! And the birding - omg don't get me started on the birding wow!! I'm an avid birder and this place was heaven for me! I even managed to catch one of my life-list birds here!! Huge day for me (my fellow birders will understand lol)!! A female Red Shafted Northern Flicker!! Not to mention the Yellow Rumped Warbler, California Scrub Jays, tons of Lesser Goldfinches, Mallards, and House Finches, and even an Oak Titmouse!! It was a smorgasbord of birdies!! Totally unexpected for such an "urban" hike. And then there's the bridges...soooo many bridges concentrated in one area - like 5-6 bridges!! And they're all beautiful - especially with the mountainous backdrops! You can even walk under most of them. The most famous is the Colorado Street Bridge - aka "Suicide Bridge" - kinda cryptic but everyone seems to call it that so you desensitize. You can also walk on this one, which I highly recommend bc it's a true beauty, from above and below. There are numerous trail options along this huge route - looks like it links up to the rose bowl loop too. It's easy to find and has a dirt parking lot - it definitely filled up fast (was full by 10am) but again, it was a Saturday morning. I'll definitely be back anytime I'm needing to do some serious birding!

I've been on a little running kick in 2021 and on a search for more interesting routes near my…read morehouse, I discovered the Lower Arroyo Seco. I've always preferred running on a trail versus cement, so I was so happy to find a soft trail to run on that's not too far from home. I've been twice now and it appears that the trail is an out and back, although there are some river crossings (I think that's what you would consider them) so perhaps you can veer off and make things a little more interesting. I love looking up at the Colorado Street Bridge and getting a change of scenery--Pasadena really is a special place. While you're definitely out in nature, you're also spending a lot of time looking at a wire link fence and the cement river bed. Still, I like that this place is flat (running in the mountain trails near Pasadena seems, well, challenging) and I actually like that there are a fair number of people around since I've grown increasingly fearful of snakes and wildlife as I've gotten older. I've only come on weekdays so it's really not too busy, but do be sure to bring and wear your mask as you will see other people there. There's a parking lot onsite but also a few entries from the street (Arroyo) if you're on foot. I've always run here from my house so I haven't tried the parking situation, but this is a pretty quiet neighborhood and it seems like you could park on the street and walk down if the parking lot was full (although, you might just want to opt for some other sort of excursion if it's that packed during COVID times).

One of my favorite trails of the Angeles. It's less crowded than Echo Mountain or Eton. It's longer…read morethan Millard or Monrovia. You can couple it with Millard falls to see water if you like, otherwise you are up on the ridge. It's single track and there are occasional mountain bikers to beware of. Otherwise, on a weekday it's solitude and beauty. I would say it's a moderate hike depending on how high you go up. Beware there is a lot of poison oak. In the spring and early summer there are a lot of gorgeous flowers. Enjoy!!!

Five stars for the view at the top!! So beautiful! You can see all off LA…read more The hike itself is pretty challenging. Most people would be able to do this, but it has quite a few steep uphill portions. Definitely wear hiking/trail shoes. We went in the morning, so most of the climb up was shaded, which was nice. Then we took the paved path back down to the start. You can spending 2+ hours out here, taking about an hour to get to the main peak area with a few picnic tables. Would be a great spot for have lunch or a snack! Then there is further spots you can continue on to. The trail is not heavily trafficked, but they were a number of mountain bikes. Keep you eyes open for them speeding down the mountain! I would absolutely hike here again, great workout & beautiful views. (And easy parking compared to many places in LA!)

+ Mt Zion Trail is a great hike. Good amounts of shade and opportunities to see animals throughout…read morethe trail. + I encountered a family of deer during my ascent, and a big bear during my descent! Both the bear and I were startled by each other. The bear quickly scampered away, thankfully. I didn't have to be the one to choose fight or flight. + A good next-door alternative to the burned down Mt Wilson Trail. + Nice thing about this hiking area is there's a restaurant both at the base (Adams Pack Station) and at the alternative summit (Cosmic Café at the end of Mt Wilson Trail). . Chantry Flat has a decent parking lot size. I found a spot right away at 10am, likely because it was a hot weekday. - The trail's often overrun with flies. Two flew in my mouth during my hike. Tasted bitter. Managed to spit them out. - Restrooms lacking amenities and in need of repair. No hand-washing sink or hand sanitizer available. - Required parking pass ($5/day). - No registry at the summit. Still decent view of Pasadena though.

I've tried to come here on 2 separate occasions years apart from each other and the drive up to the…read moretrail head has been closed on both occasions. Does anyone know why? I can't find any information online which is pretty annoying because I drive an hour to get here and have been unable to hike the trail!

I wanted to find a trail that was secluded and didn't have mass crowds following me my entire hike…read more This trail is not too much further than most of the other "popular" tourist hikes available in the surrounding area, however, it is very isolated. My buddy and I hiked over 4 hours and never saw or heard a single soul. This fact alone makes the hike worth the small drive. As far as difficulty, the original hike down is pretty straight forward. There are some steep cliffs with very little room for error at certain points. While this isn't immediately frightening for the average hiker, I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart. Just be sure to watch your step! It will seem easy at first because you are going down the whole time. Remember, the way back up isn't your run-of-the-mill trek. . You must make your way back up the same route you originally came down. Keep this in mind and be sure your in good enough shape to complete the hike. Bring lots of water and stay hydrated. Most importantly, be sure to buy a day pass for parking or you will be fined. You can pick one up for $5 at Big 5 and other participating locations. I how you enjoy it as much as did!

Lovely place to hike. Not many people hiking there and many paths to choose. My dog and I had a…read moregreat time

Mt Wilson was an amazing hike, utterly beautiful. The observatory at the top and the picture…read moreopportunities were fun. We hiked on a perfect weather day and enjoyed ice cream at Mother Moo Creamery at the bottom. Wonderful experience. Please come and create your own adventure.

+ Fun hike! Good exercise if - it weren't for the fires…read morecausing destruction. Mt Wilson trail is now in disrepair and inaccessible. No notice of when it'll reopen. - Before driving 1 hr up there, I searched online "mt wilson forecast" to check for road/trail closures. The websites don't mention any. I drive up there, turns out Mt Wilson is closed! D:{ + But thankfully Chantry Flat just 5min drive away is open. + Decent single restroom at the Mt Wilson trailhead. + There's a restaurant at Mt Wilson summit, near the Observatory haha . Moderate amount of shade on these trails. - Lots of flies on these trails trying to fly into my mouth.

I write this review exactly 25 years to the day from hiking it. I had to make sure it was perfect…read more No, actually, I am just checking my journals and discovered on April 12, 2000, I hiked the trail. My journal says something worth sharing: "Went to Monrovia Canyon Park and hiked the Ben Overturff Trail*.  There was a little waterfall. Took pic.  There was also a little rattlesnake, a baby that I almost stepped on.  Turns out baby rattlesnakes are more deadly because it's like venom concentrate.  I could tell it was a baby snake because it had a rattle." Point is, watch out for rattlesnakes, especially the babies.

Maybe more of a 3.5 than 4 stars…read more Location- I like that it isn't too far to get to (at least for me)...conveniently located near the 210 & 605 fwys Parking- $6 fee; rangers don't open the gate until 7 am on weekends but you can park down in the residential area for free and walk a little less than a mile to access the trail and start it earlier *btw this is the same entrance you use to do the Monrovia falls hike We parked near the Trask Scout Reservation sign (see attached pic) and there is a paved road with a sign that says authorized vehicles only...we took that steep road up and passed the dam and got to the trailhead about a mile later. You can pick either of two trails at this point (see attached pic). The one to the left which we took has little stone columns to pass through and is a narrow somewhat steep trail that you stay on for about 2 miles until you reach an area with other trails connecting and we opted to go right and it had an arrow with the word bathroom and that led us back down to complete the loop on the wider fire access type of road so we did the loop clockwise and it took us back down to the trailhead (I used the All Trails app). You then take the same road down past the dam to the parking lot Distance- 6.7 miles RT Elevation gain- about 1,600 ft Duration- between 2-3 hrs Difficulty- moderate

Excellent hiking trail in Pasadena area. Well maintaoned. We went early and avoided all the crowds…read morethat we ran into at the end of our 2 hours in and out.

A super lowkey trail that's perfect if you just want to get some easy steps in. Keep in mind that…read moreit's not very shaded so wear sun protection accordingly!