11 great hikes in Southern California

The best day hike in the area, Suicide Rock. You don’t have to be a climber to get a great view of Idyllwild, and the surrounding portions of San Jacinto State Park and the San Jacinto – Santa Rosa National Monument.

The trailhead for this hike is the Deer Springs Trailhead, which is located one mile North of downtown Idyllwild (Highway 243). Do not forget to pick up a free wilderness permit from the California State Park Ranger station

To find the trailhead - look for a large dirt parking area on the right (North) side of Highway 243 . The trailhead is located immediately behind the parking area and heads directly uphill through numerous oak trees. For 2.3 miles, the trail switchbacks up the side of San Jacinto, before ending at a trail junction. Follow the trail right (South/Southeast) for one mile to the summit of Suicide Rock at 7,500 feet. From the summit, there are excellent views of the San Jacinto wilderness, Taquitz Peak, and the town of Idyllwild below.

The top of Palomar Mountain is home to the Palomar Observatory. Three large telescopes, the 200-inch Hale telescope (which can be seen from many distant mountain tops), a 60-inch telescope, and the 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescope are currently used for ongoing research. The Observatory has been in operation since the mid 1930’s, and has been involved in numerous discoveries, including the discoveries of dwarf planets Sedna and Eris, 178 supernovae, and 13 comets.

If you want to visit the Observatory you can drive there, or you can park down the road at the Observatory Campground and hike this 4 miles in and out trail with moderate ascent (about 900 feet) going through some beautiful oak and pine forest.

To find the trailhead look for an old, worn trail marker just beyond a wooden fence and interpretive sign for the Laguna mountains skipper butterfly.

The trail turns to the right, going behind the campground’s amphitheater, and right after starts to go up. The trail is mostly well shaded - towering oaks creates a thick overhead canopy Do not miss wooden deck on the side of the trail - to enjoy a beautiful view of the Mendenhall Valley below.

This round-trip reasonably easy 3.4 miles hike mostly follows the banks of the Arroyo Seco as it passes through the mountain valleys. On its way it is passing by the site of the historic Switzer-land resort (one of multiple resorts built here during the 'Great Hiking Era' of the early 20th Century) and goes all way down to lower part of the waterfall. Hiking to the 50 Upper Switzer Falls adds half a mile to your walk. The trail to the falls begins at Switzer Picnic Area (very popular crowded picnic area ).

Cross the bridge and take the road down Bear Canyon . This first stretch of the hike has plenty of forestation and shade. There are a few wet crossing of the Arroyo Seco creek.

After that - trail leaves the creek and climbs along the wall of the canyon - fully exposed to the sun. But at the same time - exposed to the great views.

Continue along the side of Bear Canyon (when Gabrielino Trail forks out ascending to the right), enjoying a sight of the top of Switzer Falls. Follow Bear Canyon Trail descending to the creek. Turn upstream toward Switzer Falls - there are a number of nice small pools and water cascades beneath the waterfall.

Dogs and bikes are allowed on this trail.

To enter the loop, you follow a paved road descending from the parking lot at Chantry Flats down to Roberts Camp. At slightly below 10 miles in length, Santa Anita Canyon Loop takes at least 6-7 hours to complete, but it is absolutely gorgeous. The sixty-foot Sturtevant Falls is the main attraction, but the trail runs along such nice forested canyon streams and creeks that the entire hike is just uninterrupted enjoyment of nature. The main steps of the loop are like following:

start from the Gabrielino Trail trailhead (Chantry Flats) toward Sturtevant Falls ,

pass Roberts Camp to the Upper Trail over Sturtevant Falls ,

continue to Cascade Picnic Area, and Spruce Grove,

cross a cement dam to Upper Zion Trail going over Mount Zion (superb walk through an evergreen forest accompanied with a scenic overlook at the top.,

after descend the trail changes name to Lower Zion Trail which later becomes Lower Winter Creek Trail

go via Hoegees Camp to Roberts Camp

back to Chantry Flats.

About 7 mile round trip hike with 2500 ft. elevation gain.

To start take the Pacific Crest Trail from Islip Saddle to Little Jimmy Campground.

At Little Jimmy Campground continue walking the Pacific Crest Trail to Windy Gap, follow the trail that leads away from the Little Jimmy Campground.

At Windy Gap, take the Islip Ridge Trail to Mt. Islip (In Crystal Lake Recreation Area - proceed another mile. The trail starts the southwest corner of the Lower Crystal Lake Parking Lot. )

You will pass the junction with the Mt. Islip Trail on the way up. Also, there is a junction near the top, just continue up the trail (down leads to the Big Cienega Trail). From Mt. Islip continue down the way you came only at the junction with the Mt. Islip Trail, take the Mt. Islip Trail down to Little Jimmy. From Little Jimmy return to Islip Saddle using the Pacific Crest Trail.

Mount Baden-Powell is a 9,400-foot peak in the San Gabriel Mountains. This trail is located at Vincent Gap, which is west of Wrightwood and it has 40 switchbacks with almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain. It's a great training hike as it is easy to follow and has a good amount of elevation. Also, there is a lot of boy scout history here, with a monument at the top to the creator of the Boy Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell.

The Bridge to Nowhere hike is a quintessential SoCal trail. The trail crosses the East Fork of the San Gabriel River many times. In the spring, the water can run fast and deep. Sometimes it’s waist high in places, making crossing a wet proposition. The river crossing make this trek more fun, and on a hot summer day, cooling off in one of the pools at the turnaround point is a perfect respite. But this hike has a bonus history lesson. It roughly follows the route of a road that attempted to provide a shortcut to Wrightwood. A flood in 1938 wiped out all but a few remnants of the road, but the “Bridge to Nowhere” remains.

Cucamonga Peak offers most amazing views of inland part of Southern California. The hike is a strenuous 12 miles out-and-back route with 4,300 feet of vertical gain up to elevation of 8,859′. The north-facing slope of the peak holds ice and snow much later in the season than other peaks.

This hike begins at the Icehouse Canyon Trailhead in Mt Baldy Park and Recreational Area just beyond Mt. Baldy Village. The Icehouse Canyon Trail works its way into the canyon along Icehouse Creek.

Icehouse Saddle makes a good place to rest before the second half of this hike. There are five separate trails that intersect at Icehouse Saddle, so make sure you find the right trail before moving on. You want to look for the Cucamonga Peak Trail sign.

From the saddle to the peak is only 2.4 miles. The trail heads south until reaching the slopes of Cucamonga Peak. The north face of Cucamonga can hold snow much later in the year than other trails in the area. Depending on the trail conditions and season, microspikes may be required on the north face. At the high point on the trail, turn right on the Cucamonga Peak Spur and follow it 0.1 miles to the summit.

Once at the peak, you'll be rewarded with spanning views of the surrounding mountain ranges and, depending on air quality, the cities below.

11.5 miles round-trip hike, takes at least 5 hrs to complete. Total elevation gain is about 2190 ft.

A moderately easy high-altitude trek to one of Southern California’s three tallest peaks . This trail is probably the easiest way to summit, if you take an aerial tram from the heat of Palm Springs Valley Station at 2643 feet to the cooler alpine Mountain Station at 8516 feet. This is an excellent way to get high-altitude experience without too much of effort, and great yourself with fantastic views.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is an experience on its own rights –it is the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world . The tram ride will take you up almost 6000 feet in about 9 minutes. You’ll have full 360-degree views of narrow Chico Canyon and the desert floor while you’re ascending, and when the tram passes one of the few towers along the way you’ll even get a split second of weightlessness – which can make for a noisy but fun ride.

When you arrive at Mountain Station, you’ll probably feel more like you’re in a tourist trap than a back-country destination. There are several gift shops and restaurants in the station. The “trail” starts out on a paved sidewalk with handrails and makes a fairly steep descent from Mountain Station.

The trails here are very well signed, but be sure to pay attention. Mount San Jacinto State Park packs a surprising number of trails into its 14,000 square miles. Many routes will take you to the same destination, but if you head the wrong way you might end up tacking a few extra miles onto your day. There is a trail junction just beyond Long Valley Station – be sure to head toward Mount San Jacinto and Round Valley and not toward Hidden Divide – then start to enjoy the shaded, cooler mountain scenery.

The trail winds through some magnificent boulders and rock formations for the first 1.8 miles and depending on the time of year you may run across some rock climbers practicing their craft. The trail meanders through some large boulder formations and stray rocks while under the shade of pine trees and – for the early stretches at least – doesn’t gain that much elevation. All in all, a very pleasant stretch of trail.

It’s worth a quick detour, especially if the grass is high and full. You’ll get some pretty nice views of Miller Peak with the backside of San Jacinto just behind it:

Heading north here will get you to the two Tamarack Valley campgrounds - Round Valley and Little Round Valley Campgrounds . From this final junction, it’s only 0.2 miles to the Mount San Jacinto Emergency Shelter – which is definitely worth a peak inside if only to see what people have left behind as help for fellow hikers and mementos of their journeys.

On the north end of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park lies a charming man-made lake encircled by pine and oak forest.

Nearby is the site of the most productive gold mine in Southern California. This easy 3.3 mile moderately trafficked loop trail connects the two. The trail is reasonably flat - elevation gain is below 200 feet. Trail has great scenery, historical elements, and proximity to water gives birding opportunity, making this one of the most satisfying and relaxing in all of the county.

Lake Cuyamaca was created in 1888, and the dam holding in the water is the second oldest in California. The reservoir was the main water source for San Diego, until the larger El Capitan Reservoir was build. The lake remained unused for a long period of time until the Lake Cuyamaca Recreation and Park District took over the lake and introduced trout into the cool, mountain waters. From that moment the lake remains a haven for local fisherman.