"Haven't been to Mt Hillyer in 13 years, so I guess I was overdue. This time I took the short hike from Rosenita Saddle. The summit area is reached in about a mile. With the long and mostly flat summit, it is difficult to find the official high point. I visited three of the highest points I could find, but found no summit register. I don't know if there is one, but I was undoubtedly there. " — MikeTeeples • Aug 28, 2022

"The Johnson cohort of Troop 128 headed up to the Angeles National Forest for a 6.2 mile hike to summit Mt. Hillyer. The boys worked on their High Adventure award and we were able to bag another peak. Weather was good and not too crowded. Onward and upward!" — mattjohnson • Aug 8, 2020

"After a stressful day at work, I needed a relaxing afternoon hike to reinvigorate myself. I had off the next day, so I decided to head to the mountains. This is my 2nd climb of Hillyer, but decided on the much shorter (and easier!!) N.E. approach from Rosenita Saddle off Santa Clara Divide Road. It starts the hike already at about 5,880' elev. I was at the ridge high point at about a mile or so (Point 6,200'+). Just like the last time, the actual high point was challenging to find, but it is near the trail's high point. After that, I wanted to hunt for the Sierra Club register on Point 6,162', the "official" summit, and that is also quite a challenge to find! Heading back, I passed a use trail, one I've done my last climb that leads to some boulders, but no summit register. I then found another use trail farther back down on my way back. It starts out faint, then quickly becomes well-defined, and is joined by another use trail that meets up from the Mt. Hillyer trail farther down that I missed on the way up. I headed southeast for a short while, seeing a ribbon or two tied on the trees. I saw a small rock outcrop, passed it, and found a larger one shortly farther. I di..." — brianpowell • Jul 20, 2019

"Easier hike than I had anticipated as a lot of it was fairly level. Started at the Silver Moccasin Trail near the Chilao Visitor Center. 90 minutes to the top and 60 back to the trailhead. " — marc • Oct 7, 2018

"Not a super dramatic hike, or summit, but Worth your time. I did the loop from Modern Hiker. Very straightforward. Visitor Center near the campgrounds could probably give you some great beta, assuming you're patient enough to wait for opening hours. I was distracted a bit by some seductive boulders. Looking forward to coming back to climb Horse Flats which looked to be some inviting bouldering and toproping. Part of a sweep of some HPS peaks I needed in the area: Hillyer, Winston Peak, Winston Ridge, Mount Akawie, and Kratka Ridge." — JustinB • Jun 27, 2018

"The hike to Mt. Hillyer is scenic, rising up the Silver Moccasin Trail from Upper Chilao (past the visitor's center). After just under a mile switchbacking up the trail in sunny chaparral, you will approach Horse Flats Campground. Then, you will take a left at the signed Mt. Hillyer Trail, and will descend for a very short time, and then will start ascending as you approach the long ridge that is Mt. Hillyer. The terrain becomes very rugged with huge boulders (many opportunities for scrambling or even rock climbing). The climb can be somewhat steep at times, but nothing too hard, but just hard enough when the sun is harsh, as the hike is exposed despite many scattered trees. The trail can be easy to lose sometimes, but yellow ribbons tied to tree branches point the way. The views over the range open up as you climb. There are excellent views of Pleasant View Ridge to the northeast, Winston Ridge, Winston Peak, Waterman Mountain, and Twin Peaks to the east, and the front range ridges and peaks to the south and west. You then get to the ridge line where it gently undulates. It is hard to see where the actual high point (about 6,200') is, but I took my time to look around for..." — brianpowell • Aug 6, 2017

"I hiked up Mt. Hillyer from Chilao going north on the Silver Moccasin trail. Unlike the previous day's hike going south, the area north of Chilao was not burned by the station fire. The chaparral was mature, there were no downed trees, and no poodle dog bush. This was a much more pleasant hike than heading down to Mt. Mooney and Vetter Mountain." — klotito • Dec 4, 2016

"Stop Number 4. Thought this was going to be a quick one on the way to Bare Mountain, but I was foiled by locked gates, yet again. Decided to wing it and go cross country which turned out to result in bushwhacking through Spanish Bayonets and doing some unexpected bouldering. The "summit" of Hillyer is really just the highpoint of a large plateau. Not sure why the forest service had the road closed. It was in fine condition and no snow for miles and miles. Probably too lazy to open/close it based on conditions..." — edg • Feb 21, 2016