One of several wildlife sanctuaries in Los Angeles County, Longview offers great views of the…read moreAntelope Valley and the mountains that surround it. It's perfect for hiking, nature viewing and wildflower photography. Great parking right on the paved road. Free parking and free admission.

Unfortunately, this picnic site has been a victim of the priviatization of public lands. It is a…read morecrime that we, the American people, are being asked to pay to park on OUR LANDS. And in this case, pay twice! If you already payed for your Adventure Pass for Angeles National Forest, guess what? You have to pay the business owners of Mountain High Ski Resort AGAIN to park at this run-down picnic site that is part of the Angeles National Forest. To me, this is theft. First off, you can park on the highway and avoid the "Big Pines" parking fee of $5. Second of all, if Mountain High Ski Resort is being paid by American citizens, you'd think they would keep up the picnic sites a bit better than they have been. Things look really run down here, to be honest. I, for one, am sick and tired of "concessionaires" profiting from public lands. Thank you for listening. "This land is your land, this land is my land......" -Woody Guthrie. Don't forget. (PS: this is not a partisan post, because this policy went into effect under the previous administration.) Stand up for your rights or they will disappear.

Thanks to the foresight of Los Angeles County, the Antelope Valley is dotted with many wildlife…read morepreserves intended to maintain the native plants and animals that inhabited the land prior to mass development and agriculture. This preserve, named after the nearby community of Neenach (which itself was named after a town in Wisconsin, which iself was named "Neenah" from the Native American language of Hoocak and means water), preserves a beautiful stand of the threatened Joshua Tree and thriving Juniper trees. I was privileged to attend the first scheduled program on the site by conducting plant surveys with other folks interested in preserving nature. Access is easy; parking is readily available and free right next to the Preserve. Admission is also free. This would be a great place to visit for a quick hike, to take nature pictures, to walk the dog and for birdwatching (one of our party saw an owl!). It's obvious that some folks have unfortunately used this spot for partying and dumping trash, but it's not as bad as elsewhere. There were quite a few wildflowers blooming, although there would likely be many more in years with more rain. Great place to relax and enjoy nature. .

Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness contains 26,839 acres of pristine California land reaching from the…read moremountains to the desert. I found out about it by accident while on the hunt for wildflowers; I entered the Wilderness from the west, via the Burkhart Trail next to Buckhorn Campground in the Angeles National Forest. This wilderness is home to several trails, including the Pacific Crest Trail and Islip Saddle, and offers some of the most stunning land I've ever seen. Please check your GPS before heading off into the wilderness; the directions on Yelp may not be 100% accurate. An actual paper map will be more accurate in this area; there is no service or signal. I parked in the Burkhart Trail parking lot and entered from there. Take your charged phone (you may still be able to call or text 911 in case of emergency),map and compass, snacks, water, and anything necessary to survive completely on your own. Look out for falling trees; this area burned not too long ago but seems to be recovering beautifully. You will be rewarded for your efforts by views of unspoiled lands, wildflowers, pine trees, waterfalls and wildlife. Absolutely stunning. Protect your wilderness by leaving no trace; pack it in and pack it out https://lnt.org/ Let someone know when you are going; folks have been lost in the area. Stay safe and enjoy this spectacular experience.

We needed to get out of the house as a family and do something. With the beaches a complete zoo,…read moreand local canyon hikes equally embarrassing for our species, I decided to drive the wifenkids to this spot. It had been at least 18 years since I've been to Chilao, but it's always interesting to me how your memory kicks in and you just sort of find your way. On the way up, we passed Switzer's and Mt. Wilson-- and there were literally thousands of cars parked. It looked like Dodger Stadium parking lot... Hoards of people wandering around the shoulders, carrying coolers and lawn chairs in a spectacle of idiocy. This place will get shut down again soon, because "Yay People!" Scared me a little, too, because I didn't want to make the relatively longer Angeles Crest drive to find the same density of morons. We pulled in to the second driveway and headed down the narrow roadway to the trailhead. Thankfully, there weren't nearly as many people here... like most hiking, the deeper you go into the wilderness, the fewer people you find. We parked the Jeep and started the moderate climb up towards Horse Flats on this little stretch of the Silver Moccasin trail. The path winds up the side of the mountain through high country chaparral and pine forest. The trail shows signs of erosion and deep rutting from the mountain bike crew, but we actually didn't see anyone two-wheeling today. It's a little late in the season, but at 5,300' elevation, there are still plenty of wildflowers--fuchsia, penstamon, Indian paintbrush, larkspur-- all sorts of pretty. The hike to Horse Flats is not a long one... maybe a mile and a half... but enough for the kids to make our first stop for lunch at a picnic table. After recharging, we went roughly west on the Mt. Hillyer trail for a bit to go check out some rock formations. There were a few small groups of people wearing their crash pads on their backs, used as a safety device for free climbing. It felt good to get back outside for a change. It seems folks can't avoid the call of gathering in large crowds, so we'll see how long it all lasts. It was Memorial Day weekend, after all.

The Upper Chilao campsite can be reached by taking the Angeles Crest Highway deep into the Angeles…read moreNational Forest. There are two entrances to the general Chilao area. Pass the first one and pass the Devil's Canyon Trailhead sign too. You can be sure you will reach Upper Chilao when you pass by the Visitor Information Center which was closed when we came. The area is beautiful. It is pine country and Upper Chilao itself is heavily wooded. From Upper Chilao you take part of the Silver Moccasin Trail up to Horse Flats. The beginning of the trail is really nice. Nicely wooded with pine trees. Even though the hike is uphill all the way to Horse Flats it is not too heavy. It takes less than an hour to get to Horse Flats. The middle part of the way up gets a little deforested. Mostly chaparral but there are always beautiful pine trees around. From the middle part you can begin to see the ravages of the Station Fire if you look towards Los Angeles. It's sad to see all those dead pine trees. The last leg of the trail to Horse Flats is nicely wooded and you begin to get closer and closer to the Mt. Hillyer area where you can see beautiful rock formations scattered throughout the pine forest. There are signs with mileage on them from point A to Point B here. You will know when you get to Horse Flats as well when you hear the horses. Which is one of the defects of the trail - there is horse excrement on the trail but not too much really. There aren't more bugs along the trail because of the horses. Bring bug repellent if you like but in my opinion it's not really necessary since I got no bites and all the bugs do is hover around your head. Repellent won't stop that anywhere. Since we got to Horse Flats in less than an hour we decided to try part of the Mt. Hillyer Trail. This trail is as gorgeous as it gets in the Angeles Crest Forest. There are really nice rock formations along the Mt. Hillyer Trail. A plus to our hike was that we were alone most of the day. On the way back we had to let some mountain bikers go downhill. Other than that complete solitude! I give our hike five stars because it is not too far from Los Angeles and you get scenery comparable to Big Bear and Mt. San Jacinto. The only defect is that there is no stream alongside the trail and there is no waterfall to get to. If you enjoy solitude, mountain views, pine trees and rock formations this is the trail for you!!!!

Los Angeles County had the foresight to set aside parcels of land such as this sanctuary to…read morepreserve native habitat of the county for future generations. Mescal Wildlife Sanctuary contains a beautiful stand of Joshua tree, as well as juniper and wildflowers. It's located in the eastern portion of the Antelope Valley, accessible by unpaved road. Gorgeous views of the San Gabriel Mountains form the background for the sanctuary. Look out for snakes, take plenty of sunscreen and water, and probably a hat. Spring seems to be the best time to visit. Free parking and no admission for this adventure!

Although the trails are not marked, staying on track was easy. Start at Lincoln Crest, the highest…read morepoint on Bouquet Canyon Rd, which is marked by a large entrance sign to the Angeles National Forest's north end. Hop the gate and head east up the service road for the power lines. Three possible routes exist from the one trailhead. The first and hardest is to turn right at the second gate. The second and shortest is to go right to Mount McDill Trail just past an electrical tower that splits the service road. We took this option which was 6.7 miles roundtrip with a 1600' elevation gain. The third and longest is to stay on the service road that traces the power lines. In all three cases, head left upon reaching the top of the ridgeline. The trails have open sightlines to see the surrounding mountains. The top of Mount McDill has an unobstructed vista that includes the Antelope Valley, San Gabriel Mountains, and the mountains in the Los Padres National Forest. Obviously, the views are long. The road continues past Mount McDill to transmission towers. Although this is a popular off-road vehicle area the service road was gated shut. Despite that, plenty of dirt bike tracks were carved into the trails along with a makeshift wooden bike ramp. The weather varied wildly just like it had on other hikes we'd taken in the area. Sure, weather is unpredictable but hiking in the Santa Monica or Verdugo Mountains is rarely this erratic. Even though it had been 70 in Los Angeles all week, the trail had patches of snow and 30 mph winds that blew hail in our faces.

The review here is for Mount Lewis, not Lewis Falls. You will park at Dawson Saddle area. Display…read moreyour adventure pass. There is no restroom in the area. At Dawson Saddle, you will see a brown building, to the left of the building there is a small trail going up to Mount Lewis. It's a short hike but steep like less than a mile, the trail is one way in and back out. It's still a nice little hike which I combined this with Throop Peak and Mount Hawkins. The view on top is covered with trees, but still there are spots of good views all around. A nice place to be alone and not in a crowd with other hikers. Just head back down when you're done, the trail head to Throop Peak or if you have energy to Mount Baden-Powell, is on the other side of the road. As always, pack accordingly to the weather and have fun.

I love this area and been to this place a few times. It is a nice little hike, but don't…read moreunderestimate the distance. There are a few places that you can camp out on the top. If you are crazy you can follow the ridgeline all the way down to South Fork Campground. Distance: 1-mile round trip on use trail Elevation Gain: 500 Feet Time: 1/2 hour round trip Hike Type: Out and Back Rating: Class 1, easy Dog-friendly: Yes(depends on dog) Mountain Bike Friendly: No, unless you are extreme Parking: Adventure Pass https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=f4rww9gYe58