This could be the perfect hike for a four-year-old. In fact, it was the perfect hike for three four-year-olds (friends of our four-year-old, Catherine) and our seven-month-old twins. We left Pasadena at 7am on a recent Saturday and were at the 49 Palms Oasis trailhead by 9:30am. This trailhead is accessed from outside the park […]

The following is a guest post by Aaron Broberg, winner of the Mountain High season’s pass. A great place to ski is more than just the size of the facilities or the number of runs. For me, a great place has to be one that is close enough to go when I have the time, […]

We love the San Gabriel Mountains that are in our back yard in Pasadena. We spend an enormous amount of time hiking, camping, climbing and skiing in what we consider Southern California’s greatest range. From the Los Angeles side of the San Gabriels, it would be easy to think that the mountains are only dry […]

This is an excellent, fairly easy hike and it surprised us that we waited so long to discover it. The hike is mostly shady except for one section and there are several easy stream crossings that only require stepping across rocks. This a great family hike. Getting there The trailhead is found ten miles above […]

The Altadena Crest Trail is not very well known, which makes it a great place to hike, mostly free of mountain bikers or horses. The trail winds through excellent chaparral in the low foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. It has steep sections and switchbacks to climb out of the small canyons but the views at each […]

We’re very fortunate to live so close to Eaton Canyon. Only blocks from our home, we hike there several times each week and it has been our preparation spot for bigger hikes like Mt Whitney, Mt Shuksan and even the Himalaya of Nepal. One of the greatest adventures in our own back yard is canyoneering […]

Sometimes the most amazing adventures are found really close to home. If you live in LA, there are few more beautiful places to visit as close by as Santa Barbera County Wine Country. And there are few better ways to see it than by motorcycle. Santa Barbara is just a couple of hours away but […]

Mt San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino Mountains is more than the highest peak in Southern California at 3506 m (11,503 ft)…it is also also the 18th most prominent mountain in the United States. The peak is visible from great distances and nicknamed “Old Greyback.” It has the strange distinction of claiming the lives of […]

This is an extremely popular hike in the San Gabriel Mountains and one of the most popular hikes in Los Angeles and for good reason. The trail is easily accessed off the 210 Freeway in Pasadena by traveling north on Lake Avenue until it ends at a sharp left turn and becomes Loma Alta Avenue. […]

We have always heard great things about Runyon Canyon and know it as one of the most popular hikes in Los Angeles. Even with high expectations, we were pleasantly surprised by this fairly urban getaway. Parking is the biggest challenge since there is no specific lot and the street parking is competitive to say the […]