When Baldy opened back up, we took advantage and hiked it multiple times. It is spectacular. If…read moreyou hike up Ski Hut, it's an amazing booty builder hike. Bring poles. Restroom at trailhead. Restaurant at top of ski lift and I usually grab a chicken sandwich. Easy parking at trailhead. I put my adventure pass on the dash in case it's needed. Please come and create your own adventure.

The trailhead is before you've reach the Mt Baldy Resort at Falls Rd. I prefer to start my hikes…read moreearly so I never have trouble finding parking, but there should be adequate amount of parking. I've always found the hiking trails here to be well-maintained. However, if your goal is to go up to the summit, please know that the trail does get pretty technical during sections on the Devil's Backbone. There's the Top of the Notch restaurant about halfway up, but make sure you carry enough water with you if you plan to do this hike during the summer months or whenever the weather is warm.

+ Great hike. Exhilarating, breathtaking (literally and figuratively)…read more . The hike takes about 12 miles, 6-8 hours, and about 4100' elevation gain. + Good views of San Gabriel mountains and LA county. + There was one shared Cucamonga Peak sign at the summit to hold for photos. - Parking on a Saturday at 6am gets very crowded. Take heed. Arrive early or park a 1-2min walk down the street. - The only restrooms are the two at the trailhead. No hand sanitizers. Better than nothing. Tips: . Bring plenty snacks and +3L of water. . I recommend checking out HikingGuy's guide before you go: https://hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/los-angeles-hikes/cucamonga-peak-hike/ . And get a hiking parking pass ($5) to scratch off your visit date to keep on your dashboard.

Ontario Peak was my first peak hike ever, but Cucamonga solidified my love for hiking and my goal…read moreis to climb all the SoCal peaks. I hiked this in November 2024 and it was cold! However, the cloud coverage was absolutely breaktaking. I had never seen anything like it before. It is inspirational and captivating. Hiking poles recommended and slow and steady will always get the job done. I carpooled and we arrived early for parking. An adventure pass is required. Please go out there and create your own adventure.

The Drucker Hiking Club did this hike on 9/2/2010. You have to park at the RV park and pay a $2…read morefee but the people there are VERY nice and obliging. The hike is downhill most of the way which makes for a very steep way back, not the way I normally like to hike, but VERY nice. It got very hike but we did leave at about 9 AM. We stopped at a waterfall on the way back on the left of the trail (left of the trail on the way back, right if you are still on the way down) which was very nice and cool.

THIS is a real hike. Exceptional views, crisp clean air, strenuous trail, Baldy has it all. I've…read moredone this twice. If it wasn't as much of a drive, I'd do it a whole lot more. This hike I'm describing is about 11 miles roundtrip, 4000 ft elevation gain. But the ascent is 4 miles up, so it is steep! You are starting at 6000 ft, and going up to just over 10000 ft. Important: It is important to stay hydrated during this hike, it is easy to get altitude sickness if you go too fast, and this also dehydrates you. Please take caution. Follow Mt Baldy Rd. up to Manker Flats. You'll see a couple of port a potties on the left side & a fire road - this is where you'll begin. You'll stay on this fire road for maybe half a mile, and then you'll have to look out for the beginning of the trail on your left. It's hard to find, just builds out of the dirt ridge with an immediate incline. Once you're on the trail, it gets pretty steep right away. At the beginning you can look up at see a green hut in the distance - this is the Sierra Club ski hut for which the trail is named. It is about 2.5 miles away from where you are. Once you get to the Ski Hut, take a break, enjoy the scenery, then head out for the last 1.5 miles, which are even steeper. You'll cross over some rocks briefly, then begin ascent to the ridge. Once you get up here, you'll notice the amount of green has diminished, and the air has gotten thinner. The last portion up along the ridge is the toughest, it is steep, and you are at altitudes over 9000 ft, so you are simply not breathing in as much oxygen, and so your body has to work harder. But once you get to the peak, it is worth it. Grand views of the Angeles National Forest, & the surrounding area are yours. After sometime at the top, take the loop down Devil's Backbone. The first 3 miles down are filled with great views and some rocky trail. You'll take this until you get to a ski lift 3 miles away where there is some bathrooms and water to replenish. Finally you'll take the fire road down another 3.5 miles, which isn't as scenic, but not horrible. This road meets is really the fire road you first started on, and will take you back to your car. Quality

This really is a great hike…read more Though... I must admit ... we did the shorter route. We took the ski lifts up part of the way, took the devils backbone up to the summit, and went back the way we came. This was by no means easy. It is still a 6 or 7 mile hike. Though it is much longer and harder to start from the falls. I think Mt Baldy is under appreciated. It is absolutely beautiful. It is so nice to get away up there. The hike up is steep, take lots of water and snacks. The view up top is great. Enjoy.

August 2021: I have now completed this hike twice since May 2021 and more than likely this will…read morebecome a once a month to once every other month adventure. It is demanding but, still good for newcomers who want to bump their, say - Griffith Park adventures up a few notches and not drive to the Sierras.

This is actually called Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak. But you can really bag quite a few peaks in…read morethis route. Just google map Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak and it should take you to the correct location as it worked for me. It's nearby Vincent Gap area to hike to Baden-Powell. You need an adventure pass when parking and there is no restroom in this area. So plan accordingly. The trail to Throop Peak was nice and short. It's light traffic so you won't see a lot of hikers like you would on the Baden-Powell hike. Most people will make it a nice 6 mile round trip from Dawson Saddle to Throop Peak, then to Mount Hawkins. But you can also add more miles and connect to Mount Burnham and Baden-Powell. So you can definitely make this a short hike to a long hike pending which route you want to take. I think you can even go further out to like South Mount Hawkins and Mount Islip if you have time. The trail is straightforward. Once you reach the ridge, you will see a PCT sign. If you go left, that is to Mount Burnham and Baden-Powell. You want to go right towards Little Jimmy Campground. You will see a split with no posted sign. Go right to Throop Peak, if you stay left, that's PCT to Little Jimmy Campground and to Mount Hawkins. The view from Throop Peak is beautiful. Once done, someone mention there is a trail that will meetup back on PCT. But I could find it, so i went back down the same trail and hop back onto the PCT trail. The trail is easy to follow till you get to another split. The trail going right and downhill, that's PCT. The trail going left up the hill, that's to Mount Hawkins. The view at Mount Hawkins is nice, there isn't a plaque like Throop Peak has, but I found a pile of rocks that previous hikers posted when on top of Mount Hawkins. You will hike back down the way you came up for a nice 6 mile RT. I would suggest a map of the area, just in case. I like naturalatlas.com As always pack accordingly to the weather and have fun.

It's up and down. Can be a little tough going up. I am a beginner and manage to make it throughread more

I've been hiking in this area for a few years. I started out with the short loop trail then…read moreadvanced to the Devil's Punchbowl trail, and then yesterday completed the Devil's Chair trail. I didn't know about the Chair trail until recently. I found that with the short loop trail, since it was reasonably close to the ranger station, the reception was okay. While hiking the Devil's Punchbowl trail there was hardly any reception. I have Verizon as my carrier. The Devil's Chair Trail had great reception. I was able to periodically text my family and update them, letting them know I was okay. When hiking I use Spotify and ensure my songs are downloaded so even offline I can listen to music. This also works well when I want to listen to Audiobooks I've downloaded. The Chair trail was quiet, there wasn't anyone else on the trail or even much wildlife besides lizards and some insects. It wasn't bad at all. The trail was pretty well maintained with some areas needing extra support. Shout-out to the employees who ensured the steep cliffs and the Devil's Chair Trail were safe to walk on. The Chair itself is on a rock so someone had to get there and install the fencing for safety. Thank you, whoever you are! As with many other trails in Southern California there is some fire damage. Some fallen trees. This trail has A LOT of rocks so step gingerly and don't roll your ankles. Most of the trail is not covered so sunscreen/sunblock and proper gear is really important. The trail is roughly 3-5 hours. I clocked about 3 hours 55 minutes moving time on Strava but 4 hours 28 minutes total on AllTrails. I stopped a bit to catch my breath, get water and just observe nature. Everyone says it's a 7 mile trail. I'm not sure what I did but it was 9 miles for me. I am blessed to have been able to enjoy it.

What an awesome campground near Mt. High Resort and Angeles Crest Hwy. The campground is situated…read moreacross from Jackson Lake, where people can be seen fishing and riding paddle boards. We reserved Campground No. 12, a spacious corner lot that offers one of the BEST VIEWS of the sunset. During summer hours, the sun doesn't set fully until close to 9 pm, and from a distance, I could see the city lights, which was Lancaster. The campground provides bear lockers to store food, as bears are commonly seen in the area. It's essential to keep food properly in the evening. The campground also has flush toilets and toilet paper, though they may not be the cleanest. There's a fire pit for burning wood and a table for dining. If you forget to bring your wood, the campground host sells a bundle for $10. Overall, I had a great time hanging out with friends, and the distance is tolerable for many Angelenos.

What an awesome little spot!…read more Emphasis on little. The campsites are very close to one another with very tight parking for your vehicles. However, if you come in with more of a community mindset than seeking isolation in nature, it'll be just fine. We went camping with our teen and our toddler (sorry neighbors), but there were lots of other children around so it felt pretty family-friendly. The camp host was super friendly and they had local firewood for sale onsite. Facilities were pretty clean, even when they were a little bit more on the trashed side during a 5am bathroom run (was it children or critters, idk but the toilet paper was everywhere haha). Every campsite had a bear box, picnic bench, and fire pit; trash disposal was conveniently placed and walking distance from most campsites. Since it was July, it was on the warmer side but still fresh and beautiful. My toddler had a blast chasing all the lizards. And while we were a little nervous about the bear warnings with a hyperactive toddler in our party, we didn't see anything bigger than a squirrel. We will definitely be back!

This is a short 1.5 mile round trip to Mount Akawie…read more Display your adventure pass, there are no restrooms in this area. The hike starts on what seems to be a service road. Eventually, the road will go right, but you want to continue straight on a thin trail. To be honest, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. So I back track a few times as I missed the trail. But this is nice with trees all around you. Plus it's such a short hike, wandering a bit wasn't so bad. When you make it to the peak, it's a flat summit with trees all around, so if you're looking for spectacular views, this is not it. Nevertheless, it's a nice little nature hike that this one is good for kids. It also has a good amount of shade from the sun. Because this is a short hike, I would suggest hiking this plus another trail nearby like Winston Peak or Kratka Ridge. As always pack accordingly to the weather and have fun.