hikespeak

Mount Baden-Powell is a special summit in the San Gabriel Mountains. It is one of the range's tallest peaks at 9,399 feet and holds particular importance to the Boy Scouts of America because it memorializes the lofty accomplishments of Lord Baden-Powell who founded the Scout Movement. The views are lofty too, lording over an expanse of rugged mountains framed the San Gabriel Valley to the south and the Mojave Desert to the north. ...Read more.

If you are planning an overnight group outing in the San Gabriel Mountains, consider Coulter Group Campground. This one-site campground is operated by the Angeles National Forest in San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and is nestled in a forest of oaks, firs, and Jeffrey pines at an elevation of 5,300 feet. Up to 50 people per night can enjoy fresh mountain air and sweeping views at this accommodating group campsite. ...Read more.

Half a mile from the start of the crowded trail to the Bridge to Nowhere, you'll find a junction with Heaton Flats Trail, which rises above the canyon carved by the East Fork of the San Gabriel River to offer big views and plenty of solitude. Enjoy panoramic perspectives of some of the most notable peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains (including Mount Baldy, Mount Baden-Powell, and Iron Mountain) along the trail to a 4,000-foot high clearing on the ridge. ...Read more.

Not to be confused with Fish Canyon Falls on the east end of the Angeles National Forest, the Fish Canyon Narrows reside on the far west end of the Angeles in the Sierra Pelona Mountains north of Santa Clarita. Here a mountain stream passes through hundred-foot cliffs that are at time only twenty feet apart. The red rock walls mimic those you might find hiking in Zion National Park or other Utah canyons. ...Read more.

Winston Ridge and Winston Peak are name-sharing neighbors in the high San Gabriel Mountains near the Mount Waterman Ski Area. While Winston Peak is the high point of the hike at 7,502 feet, the summit is covered with pines that leave little room for panoramic views. The best vistas come from the shorter 7,003-foot Winston Ridge, which has fewer pines and broader views. ...Read more.

Rising to just over 6,200 feet, Mount Hillyer is actually one of the easier summits to reach in the high country of the San Gabriel Mountains. Beyond its boulder piles and pine forests, the stretched-out summit offers several sweeping views of nearby peaks and canyons. The shortest route to the summit involves hiking 1.33 miles up Mount Hillyer Trail from Horse Flats Campground, gaining 575 feet. ...Read more.

Horse Flats Campground is a 25-site camping spot operated by the Angeles National Forest in San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, located in the high elevation of the San Gabriel Mountains. At 5,650 feet above sea level, or a mile higher than Los Angeles, the campground feels far from home, even through it is only about 30 miles from the city at the base of the mountains. ...Read more.

Mount Baldy, Old Baldy, or more formally, Mount San Antonio — whatever you call this mountain, the trek to the summit is considered a right of passage for SoCal hikers. Baldy towers over the San Gabriel Mountains and is the highest point in the range. The far-reaching panoramic views found at the exposed 10,064-foot summit attract plenty of hikers. ...Read more.

Devil's Backbone Trail offers spectacular views from an impressive ridge-top trail. The spine-tingling hike along a tantalizing spine starts from Baldy Notch and ends at Mount Baldy, the highest summit in the San Gabriel Mountain. Devil's Backbone Trail is 3.3-miles long with 2,350 feet of elevation gain, and can be reached several ways: From the summit of Mount Baldy after hiking 4. ...Read more.

A trip to Mount Baldy should include a hike along the Devil's Backbone, a daunting ridge east of the summit with tantalizing views. One way to reach Devil's Backbone Trail is to first hike up to the summit of Mount Baldy on Baldy Bowl Trail and then hike down the Devil's Backbone (as you would do on the 11.3-mile Mount Baldy Loop). To start from the bottom of Devil's Backbone Trail, you must make your way to Baldy Notch, occupied by the Mount Baldy Ski Area. ...Read more.