Mount Baldy via Devil's Backbone Trail

Just did it today, my first time ever to hike Mt Baldy. Took me 7.5 hrs via Devils backbone back and forth. . Was a bit shaky when i saw devil’s backbone. But it’s doable. . Will do it again come early fall. .

Love this trail! We decided to hike up devils backbone and down baldy bowl to make it a loop. There was no more snow on the devils backbone route but still patches of snow on baldy bowl. Views were incredible and weather was perfect, very little wind at the top. Highly recommend!

Devils backbone has some seriously precarious spots, gravel is way too loose and path way too narrow to recommend going downhill on it. If you go up devil return to the parking lot through ski hut, might save your life.

Awesome hike. I started with the devils backbone and ended going down the baldy bowl. Only small patches of snow so nothing too bad. You might want to start a little early though to avoid the crowds. Poles were a huge help

Fantastic weather to go up and down the Devil’s backbone trail. A tough climb but well worth it. Hit the trail at 7:30 and was done in about 7hrs with good break at the summit. A few small snow patches but easy to get around or through.

The trail is steep, but it's in excellent condition. The trail follows a ridgeline with endless views.

What a great hike! Climbed up via devil's backbone with perfect conditions (blue skies and no wind). No ice on the trail up. Climbed down via ski hut trails which has ice in various parts of the trail. Gravel and loose rock for the most part so definitely recommend good hiking shoes (which we did not have). Total loop 10.5 miles, started at 10am and finished around 4pm. Had lunch on the summit which was awesome.

Great day to hike Mt Baldy. Conditions were clear and a little windy at the top. Not too many people. Prob saw about 15 all day. Started at 7am and finished around 1pm. The All trails app disconnected unfortunately at about the 9 mile mark and I had about 3.5 left to go. In total was about 13.5 miles in about 5 1/2 hours. Look forward to exploring more of the mountain.

Can completely avoid snow/ice via the notch and devil’s backbone so is perfect conditions now. Great to get above the May Grey low clouds with blue skies and sunshine. VERY windy at the top of Mt. Baldy per usual.

As of 05/21/24 there were only a few patches of snow that were easy to go over or around. No spikes necessary. Devil’s Backbone is completely clear of snow. No snow at the summit. It was sunny and windy.

We did this trail on 5/19. Beautiful trail, steep at times, narrow at times with a steep drop. Conditions were great and while there are still some small patches of snow left you don't need crampons or anything. Lots of footprints that can be used to get through. On the way down to Bankers flat there is the option to cut the trail short and take the lift down from The Notch (the burgers at The Notch are really good by the way), but it's not cheap and in my mind way more scary than the narrow trail. Personally I think it's nicer to go up via Baldy Bowl and come down via Devil's Backbone, but other reviews indicates still a lot of snow on the side of the mountain so we did an out and back this time. Highly recommend this hike!

Great weather and great views.

Perfect day up backbone, out and back. No wind. Scattered ppl. Couple small spots with snow to go through, easy to manage. No spikes needed.

No snow until the Backbone. Great day. Cut it short and went down under the ski lift

Great trail, steep in parts, overall very fun. Small patches of snow at most 50 feet cover the trail in places higher up. Within a few weeks it’ll probably be completely gone.

Went up for the Baldy Moonlight event so took the lift on this trip. There were a few snow patches to cross on the final ascent but none required spikes. Had the summit to ourselves today - one person was leaving as we arrived. Even though it was gloomy below it was clear and sunny on the mountain.

Several snow spots still on the trail but no spikes needed. Perfect weather day and saw less than 10 people the entire day.

If you’re wanting to go with a group of 5, this hike does take a lot longer. If your wanting to then enjoy yourselves and not push to hard, it gets even longer, this hike is challenging and I’m actively fit. We leisurely did this in 13 hours. From 8:20-9:00 pm

Incredible day! We did devils backbone up and baldy bowl down. The up was snow free until the beginning of the devils backbone, but even then, there were only sporadic patches of snow. We didn’t use spikes at all until going down baldy bowl. This was quite sketchy - poles and spikes are HIGHLY recommended!!

5/11 Baldy summit hike was much tougher than anticipated with small patches of snow just before devil’s backbone and just before the summit. Only used micro spikes in one section before the Devil’s backbone and then took them off the rest of the way. One thing that’s very disappointing Park in the parking lot ski lift there was no route back down to the parking lot after left stopped running. me and my hiking partner had to reverse a very steep makeshift that runs under the lift down to the parking lot. There needs to be a better option after the ski lift stops running that route was very dangerous.

Went up under the ski lift to the notch. Snow patches before Devils Backbone but spikes not needed. Went back via ski hut trail. Didn’t use spikes but probably should have. Great day.

My phone died but it took us about 9 hours total including decent rest breaks. So much fun! Trekking poles not required but definitely helpful. Snow patches were slushy enough that you wouldn’t need spikes but definitely waterproof hiking boots. Beautiful day.

Mt. Baldy. Fun and son at the top. Starting to melt but be careful. Gorgeous as always

May 10: Car to Car in 5hr 30min, including picture stops of incredible views looking out into the valley and the mountains nearby. No snow on the road to the trailhead. Went up the steep-but-short Ski Hut route and completed the loop on the Devil's back section. If you are short on time, I'd recommend doing the Ski Hut route out-and-back, as it would probably shave off about 30-45min in total trail time. Metal poles help mark the trail once you start hitting the treeline, although I cut across on the crunchy snow for the 300ft vert summit push. Some steep dropoffs that require careful footing. Consistent snow on the way up past Ski Hut. Microspikes are a must. There is the option to continue on to the JMT or the shorter North (?) Devil's Backbone. Overall a fun hike! Dress for the wind above treeline.

The fire road up to Baldy Notch restaurant is a gradual ascent and in good shape. After passing the restaurant, the trail becomes much steeper. Currently, there is no snow until reaching the Devils Backbone section. There are a few patches of snow ; however, the good news is that there are tracks from previous hikers forged deep into the snow and mini-spikes or crampons are not necessary. You can get by with trail runners but hiking boots would be a little better. The sketchy section towards the end does not have any snow; however, there are some loose rocks so just be careful and take it slow. Once passing the sketchy section, there are more patches of thick snow with more tracks to help assist you through it. Since I never summited Mt Harwood before, I decided to do it this time. It took about 10-15 minutes to summit and another 10 minutes to return back to the main trail. The saddle just before making the final ascent was windy as usual. The final ascent is rocky, steep, and had some more snowy patches but they were all easy to navigate through due to other hikers’ tracks. Once arriving at the summit, the ground was covered in hard snow but no special gear was needed.

Excellent conditions

Good hike, cold today. Lots of snow at the top still

There was a naked crazy guy climbing the waterfall in front of children. Beware if you are not looking to see a naked guy on your hike.

Snow is slippery. Be very careful.