Trails of the Angeles: 100 Hikes in the San Gabriels Ninth Edition

Author John Robinson has been hiking the San Gabriels for more than four decades and is considered the foremost expert on the trails of these mountains. He wrote the first edition of “Trails of the Angeles” in 1971, and soon followed with “San Bernadino Mountain Trails,” in addition to three High Sierra hiking guides and five books on Southern California mountain history and lore. For this 9th edition he’s been joined by seasoned hiker (and airline pilot) Doug Christiansen, who updated the book to reflect the latest trail conditions.

CHANTRY FLAT TO MOUNT WILSON VIA WINTER CREEK

HIKE LENGTH: 7 miles one way; 3,600′ elevation gain
DIFFICULTY: Strenuous
SEASON: November–June
TOPO MAP: Mount Wilson

Features
Mount Wilson can be climbed by trails from more directions than any other peak in Southern California. The mountain is laced with footpaths.

This trail goes from Chantry Flat over the old Sturtevant Trail to Winter Creek, and then climbs steeply up through a dense forest of big-cone Douglas-firs and oaks to the Winter Creek–Little Santa Anita divide, where it joins the Old Mount Wilson Trail and continues on to the toll road and the summit. A number of interesting variations can be planned (see below). Be in top physical shape; the trip is steeply uphill most of the way.

Description
From the Foothill Freeway in Arcadia, take the Santa Anita Avenue off-ramp and drive north to Chantry Flat, 5 miles. The Chantry Flat Road is sometimes closed for repair. Check with the US Forest Service before attempting this hike. Also note that the gate on Chantry Flat Road is closed 8 p.m.–6 a.m.; get an early start. Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your parked vehicle.

Walk from the parking area up to the Chantry Flat Ranger Station, and start up the fire road that begins 50 feet left (south) of it, adjacent to the sloping picnic area. After a short 0.25-mile trip, at the road’s second switchback, turn right (northwest) onto the Sturtevant Trail (marked UPPER WINTER CREEK TRAIL on the topo map) and follow it around the ridges 1.5 miles to a trail junction where a sign indicates Mount Wilson. If you reach Winter Creek above Hoegees Trail Camp, you’ve gone 100 yards too far. Turn left (northwest) at the junction and follow the trail as it climbs steeply for 2 miles through firs and oaks to the ridgetop and a second trail junction. Here, you intersect the Old Mount Wilson Trail coming up from Little Santa Anita Canyon (see Hike 40). Continue up the ridgetop trail as it zigzags steeply up, back and forth across the firebreak, to the Mount Wilson Toll Road, 0.5 mile farther. Turn right and follow the old toll road 1 mile through open stands of evergreens to its junction with the Mount Wilson Road just outside the entrance to Skyline Park.

You have several options on this trip. You can descend the way you came up. You can have someone waiting for you at the road loop outside Mount Wilson Skyline Park to drive you down. You can descend the old toll road to Altadena (see Hike 27) or the Old Mount Wilson Trail via Little Santa Anita Canyon to Sierra Madre (see Hike 40)―both of these options require a car shuttle. Or you can enter Skyline Park (open April 1–November 30; with refreshments available Friday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.), walk past the observatory grounds to the east end of the mountain, and descend via the Sturtevant Trail (see Hike 45).