"I'm glad I started the hike early at 6am, because it gets busy pretty fast. Went from Chantry Flats to the falls then the peak (did it as a there-and-back). I definitely prefer main trail, but I'm grateful we have a trail to Mt Wilson at all after the fire." — oskar156 • Nov 23, 2025

"I started this hike at 5:30 AM with the VHC and then go to the trailhead at 6:30, which it was dark at the moment. Then I headed along the creek past some waterfalls and cabins, it was quite nice even in the dark. Then I went to the Sturtevant Falls and then passed by some ravines and a dam waterfalls as I hiked up. Then I went uphill and then downhill past some forests, Cascade picnic area, and then Spruce Grove Camp and some dark forest areas. Then I passed by some junctions and then the Sturtevant Camp, which was more like a village. Then I headed uphill through the switchbacks and forest, past a small burn area, and some amazing views as I hiked up through the hills. Then I summited Echo Rock, which amazing. Then I went to the Mt Wilson Observatory, and visited the CHARA Array and the 100 Inch Observatory. Then I went across the summit to the Cosmic Cafe and the antennas, then went to another viewpoint. Then I headed down the Mt Wilson Trail, which has some nice views and is rocky. Then I headed down the Winter Creek Trail past a firebreak and Manzanita Ridge. Then I headed through some oak forests and pine forests as I headed down, and some burned areas and some dense oak for..." — lc444 • Feb 6, 2025

"This hike was started at 9 AM. After a bit of ascending with views into the valley, I climbed up the Bastard Ridge. After climbing for a whole hour on Bastard Ridge, I summited Jones Peak. Jones Peak has no views because it was swallowed by a dense fog. After another climb on the trail towards Hastings Peak, I left the clouds. But this section is very overgrown. After a large climb up I reached Hastings Peak. The summit had great views above the clouds, a survey benchmark, and the Ruby Wilson Bench. After that we descended and then ascended a very steep hill towards the Mt Wilson Toll Road. After a boring section on the Mt Wilson Toll Road we finally reached the shade! After a while through the shade we reached the small rocky trail towards the summit of Mt Wilson. After a long climb with the occasional views into the sea of clouds we finally reached the summit of Mt Wilson. It had 2 benchmarks, a summit sign, and amazing views into the LA basin. I didn't visit the observatories this time because it was 3 PM when I summited. But I did go see the Cosmic Cafe, which had decent views. After that I went down on the Mt Wilson Toll Road until the Mt Wilson Trail. At the Mt Wilson trail I..." — lc444 • Sep 19, 2023

"I drove a long way from my home in LA to get here at 5AM with my friends in the VHC. Then we walked up the road to the trailhead and saw a gateway sign. Then we went on the trail to the real trailhead. Then we went on the trail for about aa few minutes till we got to Charli's New Trail/ Bastard Ridge. Then we asended the Charli's New Trail till we got to a cool bench. Then we merged onto the steeper Bastard Ridge. There were steep parts, then level parts until Jones Peak. The only thing unusual was a red pole which I guess was a blaZe. False peak after false peak, we made it to Jones. The summit had a sign, a unusual bench, and a rock heart. Jones Peak's views were clear and better than Hasting's Then we descended to Jones Peak Saddle. The trail just got more overgrown after there. Then the trail was fully overgrown by the part where we reached the trail's largest meadow. It was like this until the summit of Mt Hastings. The summit of Hastings had some decent views, clouded by the dust storms in LA. Then the trail after Hastings was in a better shape. Then after a small peak we descended to the most risky ascent on the trail. This part had a grade of about 75-97% and surprisingly, ..." — lcnguyen • Jan 10, 2022

"We were going to do Ontario Peak and Bighorn Peak this day (the day after 3 Ts+, but since we had another loud night at camp, decided to sleep in and explore something easier instead. We drove to the closed gate of Mount Wilson and hiked to the summit, as well as a great overlook. We spent the rest of the day exploring the beauty of the San Gabriels by car." — Kevin • Jul 25, 2020

"Another great day on the mountain continuing my efforts to complete all 18 peaks in the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks Challenge. Today was another combination hike. Peaks #7 and #8 of the challenge. Starting with Strawberry Peak, my 2nd Alternate Peak of the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks; and then continuing on to Mount Wilson, my 1st of the Original SoCal Six Pack of Peaks for 2020. I was joined today by my friend Norma. We met up at the Mount Wilson Observatory Gate and carpooled back down to the Redbox Picnic Area and began our hike on the Strawberry Peak Trail. An easy route to summit from. Once we made it back down to the picnic area, we took a short break and then followed the Gabrielino Trail down in to the canyon to where it met up with the Kenyon Devore Trail. We then followed the Kenyon Devore Trail back to the gate and our staged car. The trail down on the canyon was a beast! There was a storm that came through a few weeks before our hike that knocked down a ton of trees. We literally had to climb up over, under, and around at least 40 trees that were blocking the trail. This made what should have been a 2.5 hour hike, a 4 hour 13 minute hike. It was rough, but very satisfying for ..." — Philip-Yoho • Jan 10, 2020

"Drove here from Palm Springs and got to the trailhead a little before 9 am. The trailhead was packed and I had to park 0.6 miles down the road and walk up to the trailhead. Be there early or be prepared for extra miles. I did the loop counterclockwise and detoured to see Sturtevant Falls first. Sturtevant falls was pretty busy, but once I was back on Sturtevant Trail and headed to Mount Wilson I had the trail mostly to myself. It was a good workout climbing to the top; I was soaked with sweat! This part of the trail was mostly shaded with trees. I took pictures at the top and then headed down Mount Wilson Road/Trail to the Winter Creek Trail. The beginning of this trail burned in October 2017, but the burned area only lasted one to two miles. This trail was also more exposed than the Sturtevant Trail. There was a lot of poison oak on the trail, but I was able to avoid it and I was wearing shorts. Hike stats: 16.31 miles, 6 hours and 26 minutes (5 hour and 57 minutes moving time), and 4,488 feet of elevation gain. July 20, 2019. Peak 3/6 of the SoCal Challenge. " — runningvegan • Jul 20, 2019

"Great double peak hike today with Hike Beyond the Hills. We started at Redbox Picnic Area, hike up the Strawberry Peak Trail and summitted Strawberry Peak first. Then we headed back down to Redbox and continued down into the canyon via the Gabrielino Trail to the Kenyon Devore Trail and up to the summit of Mount Wilson. My second time in a month. " — Philip-Yoho • Mar 23, 2019

"Where most Angelenos and Orange Countians were prepping for their Super Bowl Parties, I wanted to hit the trail. For me, hiking trumps anything else, and people who know me that beside family, hiking comes first, and everything else falls in line behind it. I did come across a few groups of hikers as well with the same idea in mind. My hike started at about 5:30 am in total darkness and drizzle at the Mt. Wilson Trailhead at the corner of Mira Monte and Mt. Wilson Rd, basically at the bottom of the mountain, and made the long, arduous climb up in drizzle, rain, fog, and dripping trees up to the slushy heights of the mountain top, where it was raining over the slushy snow making a slippery walk to the pavilion at the closed Cosmic Cafe. The high point is one of the landscaped mounds near the pavilion, so I hit all 3 to make sure I hit the summit. There are a few creek crossings on the trail, especially in rainy weather, so beware. The fog and the forest would have made for awesome photos, and anyone who has read my logs knows that I love posting my pics. But, my camera got wet, and my photos are lousy, but I will post a few here. It is quite a shame, since the trail is unreal..." — brianpowell • Feb 3, 2019

"Of course one is never enough, so today I decided to combine Strawberry Peak via the Strawberry Peak Trail at the Red Box Picnic Area and then Mount Wilson via the Gabrielino Trail starting at the Red Box Picnic Area to the Kenyon Devore Trail and on to the summit." — Philip-Yoho • Jan 5, 2019