Mount Baden-Powell

The Pacific Crest Trail reaches within 0.25 miles of the summit, its highest point south of the Sierra Nevada (9,360 ft).
4th highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains; 2nd highest with at least 1000 ft prominence
Highpoint along The Silver Moccasin Trail, a 53-mile Boy Scout hiking trail that connects this summit to Mount Burnham, Throop Peak, and Mount Hawkins.

Routes

Dawson Saddle

23 summits • 10.1 mi • 2,356 ft gain • 5 hr 30 min

PCT from Vincent Gap (1-way)

11 summits • 4.1 mi • 2,742 ft gain • 4 hr 19 min • Class 1

Mount Baden-Powell 9.1 mi route

1 summit • 9.1 mi • 2,373 ft gain • 6 hr 45 min

Latest summits

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"This time I elected to hike Baden Powell from Dawson Saddle as opposed to the “normal” trailhead to avoid the 1,001 switchbacks (not a fan!). It's approximately the same distance, but this way takes you by Throop Peak and Mt Burnham. And there's the occasional views of Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, and very few switchbacks! Temps were on the warm-ish side but not bad given there's plenty of shade for most of the hike. Good thing too, as I a) forgot my hat, and b) discovered at the trailhead my sunblock was missing out of my pack. I'll pay for it in the coming days… Oh and the glider swooping around the summit of Baden-Powell was a nice addition to the scenery. We then retraced our steps, but snagged Burnham and Throop to complete this 3-peak day." — marc • Aug 25, 2019

"Troop 128 climbed Mt Baden-Powell to participate in Operation On Target. We used a signal mirror to flash other Scout troops on other mountain peaks. We reached as far as Mt San Jacinto!" — mattjohnson • Jul 20, 2019

"Great hike from Dawson Saddle to summit Baden-Powell. Started out sunny and then the wind picked up and the temp on the summit dropped to 50 degrees. Clouds were drifting over the summit, giving it a spooky feel!" — S-J-Arelliano • Sep 30, 2018

"With Ross Mountain as my target for the day, I accessed Mt Baden-Powell via Dawson Saddle and the PCT. I had to summit the peak twice on the day since it was the beginning and end point for the descent/ascent to/from Ross Mountain. While arriving early for the first ascent, I saw several hikers posing for pics and patting each other on the back for their great achievement. For me, my day was only beginning. I sat down and had a snack before pressing on to Ross Mountain. On the way back, it was late afternoon with only a few people on the summit. This is one of the great vantage points in the mountain range. I even managed to photograph a glider that was flying low over the summit." — Peak-Conquistador • May 12, 2018

"Easily one of my fave peak in LA, so it was great to get a second summit, this time with a different approach and season. Got up this one with HPS peaks Islip, Mount Hawkins, South Hawkins, Mount Burnham, and Burnham." — JustinB • Apr 26, 2018

"My second hike to Baden-Powell came from a different direction. Instead of the hike from Vincent Gap up the 40-something switchbacks I did the first time, I hiked from Dawson Saddle, over Throop Peak, east along the Pacific Crest Trail to Mt. Burnham, Peak 9,100', and Baden-Powell. This route has somewhat less elevation gain spread out over a roughly 9 mile hike. There is both gain and loss along the PCT both ways, but nothing overly severe, but there is a long uphill stretch between the backside of Burnham and where PCT meets Dawson Saddle Trail on the way back to the car. I estimate the elevation gain to be 2,400' (versus the 2,800' gain over 8 mi. round trip from Vincent Gap). It is not a super easy hike, but moderately strenuous, but also not severely tough either. The views and ancient Limber Pines (Pinus flexilis) make this one of the neatest summits in Southern California. The ridge from Throop to Baden-Powell is an awesome traverse, one I highly recommend!" — brianpowell • Sep 24, 2017

"3 of 4 (and a double summit, since I tagged it again on the way out). After seeing very few people along the ridge from Throop, the summit here was busy. I guess most people climb from Vincent Gap? Not sure why, the walk from Throop was one of my favorite trails to date in the San Gabriels. Stunning views all around. I think I could just barely make out the Sierra; including a sharp, non-snowy peak (Olancha?) and two snowy ones further north (Langley & Whitney?). Beautiful day. Should have turned around here, but I foolish thought the descent to Ross didn't look too bad." — edg • Jun 18, 2016

"Strenuous climb up 40+ switchbacks up Pacific Crest Trail at Vincent Gap. Route is roughly 8 miles long with 2,800'-2,900' elevation gain. Starts out with Jeffrey Pine/Sugar Pine/White Fir forest, later with Lodgepole Pines, and then Lodgepoles with a few Limber Pines to Summit. Wonderful workout with great scenery and lovely forest on north-facing slope." — brianpowell • Oct 3, 2015

"This was a four-peak day, starting at Dawson Saddle and ending at Vincent Gap. We hit Throop, Burnham and Baden-Powell and then headed down to Ross. Back up to Baden-Powell then down to the car shuttle we set up at Vincent Gap. Two of these peaks (Burnham and Ross) were new to me. This was an HPS hike led by the Doggetts. There were a lot of folks in the morning at Vincent Gap, and even a couple of horses, but we didn't really run into many folks on the trails. We did pass a few PCT through hikers. Ross was Jim Kidder's 100th HPS peak! It was a good day to do Ross--fairly cool, a good bit of cloud cover--but as we headed back up toward Baden-Powell, storm clouds had started to roll in. There was a good deal of thunder, but no visible lightning, and an occasional sprinkle. That put a rush in our steps to get over the summit of Baden-Powell and down to a safer and lower area. Total mileage for the day was about 14.5 miles, with 4600 feet of gain." — HikerMark • Jun 6, 2015

"Started at South Fork hiked to Islip Saddle to Mt Baden-Powell down Vincent Gap and back to South Fork via the Manzanita trail over 2 days. Saw 1 other person the entire loop." — joshderhammer • Jan 20, 2015

"THe Night before an 85 year old man was reported missing after not returning from his hike up Baden-Powell. On the Day of his search and rescue we were heading up the mountain when we met up with S&R members telling us he was recovered and in good condition. This lightened the mood on our day and we continued climbing in good spirits. It was a cooler day and clouds came in and dropped some light snow flurries as the wind carried it over us as we neared the top of Mountain. After smoking a blunt and downing a few beers we decided to move on toward Throop Peak. This was peak #6 of my 100 in 2014 goal" — 1-with-Nature • Jan 26, 2014

"Terrific hike, starting from the Little Jimmy campground, where I spent the previous night. Great views along the way...fascinating to see the burn areas from past fires, beautiful in their own stark, sad way." — HikerMark • Jun 16, 2013

"Beautiful day along the PCT after the first winter storm. The trees were iced over but the trail was pretty much clear. Made it to the summit from Dawson Saddle around lunchtime and relaxed with impressive views of a snowy Baldy." — Christopher • Nov 11, 2012

"Made it up to Mt Baden-Powell in under 1.5 hours from Vincent Gap, then traversed the ridge to Mt Burnham, before heading back down. Beautiful day, even if it was a bit windy. Was hoping to see the ocean from the top, but it was too hazy." — Kevin • Jun 16, 2012

"Will, Megan, Josh and I take on Mount Baden-Powell via Vincent Gap. Bonus Eco-Badasses Elise and her boyfriend Phil meet us at the summit! There was snow and ice and slush knee high going up and down. The summit was sweet and it was super hard with the big back pack! Awesome hike!" — sterling • Mar 12, 2012

"Started out the hike around 10:00am with a 30 pound pack. Snow was off and on until higher up when we lost the trail completely. We decided to go direct and see how hard we could push ourselves. My gps said it took us 15minutes to go from 8300ft to the summit!! It was killer. After some PB&J's and chatting with a fellow hiker on top we headed back down. I took a few silly falls in the icy snow but all in all the views and weather was perfect! Link to our GPS trail from parking lot to summit http://gps.motionx.com/maps/ddc778c72e69b953d9934da7a8be63aa" — Ryan_Wallace • Mar 11, 2012

"trail conditions at the bottom were fairly muddy, patches of snow with icy steps. Toward the top the snow became more constant. The route we took was steep and had lots of snow but no need for anything more then trekking poles and strength. good time and the summit has one of the best views I've seen in the SG mountains. Awesome! " — nickmartin • Mar 11, 2012

"Part of the Whitney training program, this is a good steep climb - the trail is a pretty constant 700 feet per mile for the entire four miles. The last couple hundred yards seem extremely tough too. I combined this with Mt Burnham to tack another couple miles onto my trip." — jeffhubatka • Jun 18, 2011

"Training hike with BSA Troop 502 Philmont crew planned for July 2011. Hiked from Islip saddle stayed night at Little Jimmy's then hiked to Baden Powell summit and returned via trail to Vincent Gap. " — peterthompson1 • May 15, 2011

"Went on the trail for about one switch back and then snow climbed up the rest of the way. Took about 5 hours to get up, and 20 minutes of glissading down to get back to the car (which was A LOT of fun)" — jonberry • Apr 17, 2011