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This trail starts with great shading and level ground, but the difficulty kicks in and stays.


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Map Key

5.4

Miles

8.7

KM

Point to Point

9,997' 3,047 m

High

4,607' 1,404 m

Low

5,390' 1,643 m

Up

0' 0 m

Down

19%

Avg Grade (11°)

50%

Max Grade (27°)

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Views · Wildlife

Park on Mt. Baldy Road near the visitor center. Do not park in church parking lot or along Bear Canyon Drive. No pass required. No bicycles in the wilderness.

Description

The trail starts at the end of Bear Canyon Drive. From the visitor center, hike southwest through the site past a gate to the road and then proceed a half mile up the road. The trail starts by crossing the stream then climbs gently through Bear Canyon in a forest of oak, bigcone spruce, alders, bay, and incense cedar with occasional areas of chaparral that have good wildflowers in spring. After 1 mile, the trail reaches Bear Flat where there are a few camping sites near a seasonal spring.

A pleasant meadow offers a nice resting point after which the trail steeply switchbacks up through shadeless chaparral of ceanothus and oak finally reaching some Jeffrey Pines near the top of the ridge. About 2 miles up, it passes into the Sheep Mountain Wilderness then continues steeply north on the ridge offering outstanding views of Coldwater Canyon to the west. Sugar pines and white fir offer refreshing shade. A bare ridge with steep slopes on both sides is crossed, and the trail enters into a lodgepole pine forest with mounds of chinquapin groundcover. The trail continues along the edge of a large natural depression as it turns northeast on the slope of West Baldy. Finally, the trail reaches the west ridge of Mt. Baldy and climbs up to the 10,064 ft. bare summit. The highest point in the San Gabriel Mountains has outstanding views in all directions.

Be sure to look back at the direction you came. People have died taking a wrong turn on the descent. Dangerous weather can occur at any time of the year. The temperature difference between the bottom and top can vary as much as 40 degrees. Snow can linger well into late spring and summer. This is a strenuous hike at high elevation and proper hydration is critical for your health.

Flora & Fauna

From bottom to top: Oaks, bay, incense cedar, alder, bigcone spruce, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, white fir, lodgepole pine, limber pines. Beware of poison oak along first mile of trail.

Contacts

Shared By:

Sung Kwang Kim

Trail Ratings

  4.5 from 25 votes

#1

in Mt. Baldy

#224

Overall
  4.5 from 25 votes
5 Star
64%
4 Star
20%
3 Star
16%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#1

in Mt. Baldy

#21

in California

#224

Overall
7 Views Last Month
3,787 Since Oct 31, 2015
Difficult Difficult

0%
0%
14%
0%
76%
10%

Photos

Summit of Mt. San Antonio facing south-east.
Aug 5, 2015 near Wrightwood, CA
Using my hands to hike...
May 20, 2019 near Wrightwood, CA
Blue skies on the way to the top of Badly.
May 20, 2019 near Wrightwood, CA
Marching to the summit
May 20, 2019 near Wrightwood, CA
Looking down from the summit of Mt. Baldy
Dec 29, 2022 near Mount B…, CA
It speaks for itself.
May 20, 2019 near Wrightwood, CA

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Current Trail Conditions

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Check-Ins

Aug 11, 2019
Mick Edwards
Up from and back to the visitors center registered 23.3km on my Garmin Fenix. Not sure where the one way 8.3km one way estimate came from? 14.5mi — 8h 30m
May 11, 2019
Don Johnson
Dec 16, 2018
Brittney Gustin
Windy at top, extra 1 mile road walk at beginning 12.8mi
Nov 22, 2018
Michael Fernandez
Beautiful trail. 6mi
Nov 5, 2018
Brennan Harms
Sep 23, 2018
Teresa Brecht
hot and terrible. a must do training hike, but i did not enjoy coming down in the heat. 13.4mi — 7h 00m
Sep 5, 2018
John P
13 miles R/T from Visitor Center, 5,734' Ascent. This was a Whitney training hike. Steep, dry and exposed...beautiful and no other humans present. 13mi — 9h 00m
Sep 2, 2018
Rose Bud
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