Explore Angeles crest highway trails - view hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.
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Exposed. Most elevation gain happens in the first 1.4 miles, over 1500 EG, the rest are rolling hills in fireroad. . Descent via steep section gives a great workout. You really need good grip on shoes. by the way this does not prepare you for Whitney or C2C which I've completed many times. they really need to revise description. lol
Sunday, 3/24/2024 I hiked to Mt Thom, Tongva Peak, & Verdugo Peak in a counterclockwise loop for a total of 10.25 miles. There is an elevation gain of 1600 feet in the first 1.5 miles (!!!) but then the rest of the trail is more moderate. The steep section has a lot of people but beyond that it thins out. There are beautiful views throughout. The trailhead is at Brand Park which is nice with lots of parking and restrooms. The nearby neighborhood seems nice too. It started as a sunny day and ended with thunder and rain! It was a great adventure.
Fantastic hike! But be aware, the "7 trees" plateau is the easy part. Thr top 20% is rocky and steepest. Stretch calves often. 60-70min to radio tower at the top. Also, slather on sunblock - there is no shade going up. Once you make it to the wide road - its a cake victory walk all the way down.
Pretty obvious - not for beginners. Most of the steep firebreak you have channel, metal wire or solid dirt. 3/4 up, spicy loose bits. I dilodged GIANT boulder that almost killed my partner. Only 300m up, but grueling 1hr. Realized we have no map! After the 5 knobs on the ridge, and tons of photos, we got stuck surrounded by spikey thorns.. lost trail!!.. bushwacked detour SW back to main trail. Got thorns in thigh and ass and thick hiking pants cut in places. It was fun adventure, but HIGHLY advise have a map and machette. Those thorns are BRUTAL. Hike up Strawberry Peak was fun and MUCH simpler.
Gorgeous conditions in mid-Feb. The trail up to the face of Lawlor is more of a rock slide than a trail. Going clockwise, you would have to slide down. VERY steep. I assessed it and decided not to attempt it. Strawberry Peak Trail was lovely and fairly level for ~2.4 miles one way.
There are three parts to this loop: the firebreak, the trail that goes between the Lawlor summit and the Lawlor saddle ("the Lawlor trail"), and the trail that goes between Red Box and Lawlor saddle ("the Strawberry trail"). The Strawberry trail is mostly an easy stroll; it's a maintained and trafficked trail. Not so for the firebreak and the Lawlor trail, but they're currently in generally good condition. We went up the firebreak, going down it would be a good bit less strenuous but also more dangerous. The firebreak is a bit loose and with rocks in places; for a bit there's a channel you can climb up while touching the sides for balance. There aren't any spiky plants on the firebreak, but there are on the Lawlor trail. That trail also has a little bit of rock scrambling but nothing very serious.
Going up counter clockwise, you face some extremely steep sections (60-70 degree inclines) and cliffside points that are legitimate slip hazards since the dirt has set lower possibly due to a lack of upkeep. Was very challenging coming back down the steep side, so avoid going clockwise. Would definitely not revisit this one.
(Hiked on 7/14/2023) - Original destination yesterday was Pallett via Burkhart Trail and Pleasant View Ridge - Sadly the forest dept had closed the road at Red Box which put me right at Mt. Wilson/Strawberry Peak area. So as to not give up, I figured I would just do Lawlor since I've never done that before and there it is right there staring at me. You start the usual way headed towards Strawberry Peak and about 1 mile up there is a 3 x way split in the trail. One way takes you back to the trail head, the other takes you up to Strawberry Peak(been there done that) and the other takes you almost straight up to Mt. Lawlor. I took the third option and it took about an hour due to the steepness and the constant slipping backwards. Finally made it to the top to chill and then headed back. Goal was to catch the trail that would've taken me to the Strawberry Peak summit launch. However, much to my dismay, the trail was SO overgrown and it turned into the bushwack from hell on the way down to try and find the SP trail in any way shape or form. Finally made it down after multiple falls and stabbings from the plants. Dirty, very bloody but not defeated was how I left the mountain. Was not ideal but was glad to get back out there and feel the beautiful outdoors again. No feeling like it! Till Next - RR
We did this hike today, it was a great hike! There is parking nearby at a parking lot and not a far walk from the trailhead. We did the trail counterclockwise and like others have said in the reviews, the first two miles is mostly steep incline. I clocked in a little over 2000 ft elevation gain within first two miles. Make sure you have plenty of water! And start early. We started around 845 am and still was pretty hot. Also make sure you follow the trail on the app because there are two points of intersection with roads that you can mistakenly go on (if you prefer the more adventurous trail route which we did, follow the AllTrails route). Make sure you wear and bring sunscreen! Overall it was about 7.3 miles. Such a good hike. Highly recommend!!
First section was easy, but it does get tougher. Soft underfoot and loose ground which made the steep inclines a little tricky and definitely slows the pace down. It was a slow decent back too, because of this. We went on a hot day and forgot our extra water, big mistake as there is not much shade and with the steep incline it became hard very quickly with lack of water. Nice to rest at the top and take in the views with a snack). Lovely hike and was very quiet for us (midday and weekend).
The first 2 miles are literally just 70 to 60 degree angle. It’s incredibly hard. After the first 2 it’s pretty easy just coasting downhill. The last mile is also grueling, as your feet slam in your shoes going down a 70 degree incline. There are trails on the app labeled “hard” when they’re not. This is not one of them. Do not underestimate this trail.