Mount Pinos

"Hitting the So Cal high country in Frazier Park. Mount Pinos is the highest point in Ventura County and Sawmill Mountain is the highest in Kern County. Both are reached on a single hike. Grouse Mountain and Cerro Noroeste could be added to the hike, but I just didn't have the spring in my step on this visit to add either of them." — MikeTeeples • Oct 26, 2025

"Today, my friend and I were gonna try to climb Escapula Peak nearby across the San Andreas fault line in the San Emigdio Ranges, but we got a little lazy and then went to the Mt. Pinos Nordic Base to do the very easy 4 mile r/t Mt. Pinos hike. Despite the snow, there were a lot of clear spots as well, so it was not too sketchy! It was my first "high altitude" hike of 2022, so here's hoping for more high peak climbs in 2022!" — brianpowell • May 4, 2022

"Lots of packed snow that was hard as ice in the early morning, had to use microspikes. Stopped halfway between Pinos and Sawmill because the snow covered the trail and we lost it." — markmaselli • Feb 27, 2021

"Peak #10 of round to o the 2020 SoCal Six (18) Pack of Peaks challenge. Of course I just had to do the 3-2-1 Challenge again. Three peaks (Grouse, Sawmill, Pinos), two counties (Kern, Ventura), in one day." — Philip-Yoho • Jul 18, 2020

"Part of a quick over-night camping trip. We got to the Pinos Nordic Center at 10:30am to a very full parking lot, though there were still several camp sites available at Chula Vista. After staking our claim, we headed up the road to Mt Pinos, a fairly quick and easy 1.6 miles. Just past the summit is a scenic overlook with great views. Then on to Sawmill Mountain. Then all of the way back to get the campfire going! Couldn't ask for better weather and clear skies!" — marc • Jun 15, 2019

"Another trip up north to conquer the 3-2-1 Challenge again (3 peaks - Mount Pinos, Sawmill, and Grouse Mountains; 2 counties - Kern and Ventura, in one day - 6/8/2019) Not sure where my photos went though. They're not in my file folder where they are suppose to be. :/ " — Philip-Yoho • Jun 8, 2019

"I decided to begin the year with a two peaks in different areas and different weather conditions. I got up early and drove from Oceanside to the Nordic Base to summit Mount Pinos. Temps at my car a 0630 were right around 10 degrees. I quickly completed my summit, got in my car and headed back down south to Sitton Peak. Made it there just before noon. Temps at the trailhead were right around 75 degrees. I made the summit in no time and decided to complete the hike by tackling Bear Ridge. What a great start to the year." — Philip-Yoho • Jan 1, 2019

"Completed the 3-2-1 Challenge today. Three peaks (Pinos, Sawmill, and Grouse), two counties (Ventura and Kern) in one day 9/21/2018. Started this hike from the Nordic Base and completed about an 11 mile out and back with a short detour to visit Sheep Camp." — Philip-Yoho • Sep 21, 2018

"I arrived at the Nordic Center early in the morning to find a big empty parking lot. The hike started at 46 degrees and sunny. To me, this was perfect hiking weather. The summit is about 2 miles away and a pretty easy hike through some nice scenery. I continued beyond to Sawmill Mountain and Grouse Mountain before returning back to Mount Pinos on the way back to the parking lot. The total mileage for all three peaks during the hike was 10.6 miles with 1900 foot elevation gain." — MikeTeeples • Sep 15, 2017

"Beautiful day. Just wanted to spend some time at altitude, and this was a great way to do it. Fun fact: you can see the Channel Islands (you know, the ones in the ocean) and the snow on Mt. Whitney (the one in the Sierra) from the top of Mt. Pinos. That's cool." — benjineer • May 20, 2017