r/socalhiking

This might be a shot in the dark here but I'm taking some friends on a hike and I'm trying to find places that won't be too crowded but will still be impressive. Looking for something short, around 3-4 miles, and it will have to be a weekend hike. Highly prefer Angeles National Forest since I'm in LA and they're closer to Baldy, but open to suggestions...

Some I have already considered are Brown Mtn Dam, Switzer, JPL, etc but I'm worried there will be way too many people. Does anyone know a sweet spot?

Hello lovely people,

Been training for C2C and it’s finally coming true. Gonna be flying out to Socal in a couple of weeks and do this on my birthday. I’ll be there for a couple days before and after and am trying to maximize my experiences.

This is a post that I’m hoping any locals or people with knowledge of the area would please chime in on. I’m casting a wide net with this one lol—

- Any protips for the hike itself? I’m very familiar with the trail (in theory), navigation in the dark, calories, carbs, and water needs, etc. But if you have any stuff you wish you knew in hindsight about the hike please share!!

- Are there any rock hounds in the area that can point me to somewhere nearby for any sort of digging or searching the washes for any precious stones or gems?

- Are there any tiny trout streams in the general area that I’d be able to target some natives?

- Where in town can I buy a box of Uncrustables (aka the greatest hiking food ever)? Walmart?

- Any local restaurants or dives that I should make sure to hit up?

- Any local shops or places to spend a few bucks? I’ll be flying in on a Thursday and I know about the market downtown.

- Any other damn thing you’re willing to share, go for it

Cheers!

Pass in hand for later this month -

Day 0 arrival LV with a drive to over to Lone Pine

Day 1 start hike at 00:01 - down by 6p latest (?)

Day 2 flight departs from Las Vegas McCarran at 8am … backing out TSA + rental car return means a Lone Pine departure at 2am (?) Doable?

Priorities are good view and forestry vibes, fires allowed, and a body of water to swim in. Thanks!

Hi! I’m new to adventuring in SoCal and need some advice for trip planning.

I’m hoping to go backpacking over Halloweekend this year and would appreciate any recs for trails! Was going to do a JTree trip but realized I always end up prefer being away from crowds…

I’m coming from Riverside and would love to not drive more than 2 hours. Looking for a trail <20 miles for a very chill scenic out and back two night trip. Ideally with a body of water nearby but I know that’s likely tough given the time of year and location. Definitely down for some cool desert spots

Thanks!!

I badly want to do San Giorgonio but don’t want to do it as a solo day hike. Can anyone recommend backpacking groups? How do you guys get out a lot without having any friends or partner be super into it? Anytime I tell people I hike solo they think it’s super dangerous yet I usually do busy trails like Baldy and San Jacinto. However backpacking is something I don’t wanna do alone, especially sleeping in the woods at night lol.

Hey folks,

I am a student fairly new to the LA area (located near downtown) and am planning to backpack Mt Baldy from early morning Thursday 10/08 to Friday afternoon. The great struggle with this otherwise awesome plan is that I don’t have a car! I’m planning to take the metro to Claremont or Montclair, but from there need a ride to Manker Flats. If anyone has the same itinerary as me and would be down to carpool one or both ways, please let me know! I’d be happy to recompense as well, but maybe not quite as much as the price point of a ride share because that defeats the point :).