"Before reaching the vehicle gate on Mount Disappointment road, a single track trail leads up a gully. The trail climbs for about 1,000 feet of gain while paralleling the road at points. I climbed San Gabriel Peak first, followed by Mount Disappointment, then Mount Deception. After the third peak, I took the road back to the parking area, creating a semi-loop hike." — MikeTeeples • Oct 8, 2023

"Nice peaceful climb up Mt. Disappointment Road. The hike is pretty easy for the most part as the road has a mellow incline for the most of the time. At the saddle between Disappointment and Deception, there is a use trail branching off to the west. There is a small strip on the guardrail of the road indicating the Mt. Deception Trail. That is where the toughest part of the hike lies, as it gains the ridge steeply. Once on the ridge, there are a few minor undulations and a couple false summits, but before you know it, you are on the summit! There is no register nor marker, but it is obvious as it is the highest point and easily discernable from any other high points on the ridge. Luckily, the Poodle Dog Bush is not that bad, and for the most part easily avoidable! The weather 2 days before Xmas was crisp and lovely. The road route has nice groves of Coulter Pines and Bigcone Douglas-Firs, and great views when the foliage opens up! After Deception, I followed the road up to Disappointment's summit. The views from both are insane. A hike for me is a far better Xmas present than any material gift!" — brianpowell • Dec 23, 2018

"Very nice and cold hike to Mt. Deception. I love when the clouds roll in on the peaks. It was about 26 degrees on top of the mountain and 38 at the trailhead. The wind made it colder but it was amazing. " — rickb • Feb 12, 2018

"The was my chance to experience the deception of Mount Deception. I was deceived right away in thinking that I needed to park at Red Box, which I did. I walked up Mount Wilson Road, only to find dozens of available parking spaces near the trailhead. Looked like I was off to a bad start. I hiked up Mount Disappointment Road, which was peaceful and mostly shady. At a saddle, a use trail climbs the ridge to the deceptive high points before reaching the true summit. The false summits were not too demoralizing. Actually, I had more problems trying to get past the Spanish bayonet plants without getting punctured. Nice pleasant visit with good views of other surrounding peaks. I closed out the day by visiting two other summits." — MikeTeeples • Dec 2, 2017

"This was a very pleasant finale to a 6-peak day in the area, including a traverse from Josephine Peak to Barley Flats. The fire road winds through serene Pinyon forest and the hike up the ridge to the summit is steep, sandy and good. The summit offers excellent views of Bear Canyon and the Front Range peaks, but some trees and brush obscure a full 360 degree view of the area." — klotito • Jun 4, 2017

"I didn't find the mountain especially deceptive. Sure, there were a few false summits, but none that were particularly discouraging or even noteworthy. Then again, that might be the meaning behind the name: you are deceived into expecting deception, then there isn't any. Pwned." — jimduvall • Nov 22, 2012

"Finished my second year of med school and HPS List #12 all in the same day! Pretty much everything is in bloom in the San Gabriels right now aside from the poodle dog bush making them a little harder to spot." — Christopher • May 18, 2012

"Peak #1 of 5 on 11 mi RT. Started at San Gabriel Peak trail, just past Red Box on right and before gate to Mt Disappointment Rd. The trail name is misleading as it takes you to Mt Disappointment first. Nice trail under the oak woodland forest. Split off at the first junction with Mt Disappointment Rd and headed west to the ridge trail to climb to the top of Mt Deception, while dodging poodle-dog bush. Doubled back to trail where we split off." — srphilip • Jan 8, 2012