Ontario Peak

"Attempted on February 8, 2020. After the Ice House Canyon Saddle, the trail was very hard to follow. Hardly any people had been on the trail this snow season, I could only lightly see the microspike tracks on the frozen snow in some places. The trail was very slanted and my legs were uneven almost the entire time after splitting off onto Ontario Peak Trail. I had to keep readjusting my microspikes because of the slant. I only saw one other hiker on this trail and he was headed back after reaching the ridgeline. I followed his trail to the ridgeline and climbed up the first false summit of Ontario Peak. After that there was no trail in the snow. I wanted to avoid staying on the ridgeline for fear of an avalanche, so I went down a bit and tried to continue on, but I was post-holing badly. I turned around after that and headed back to the not-so-fun uneven trail. It was a relief to get back to the Ice House Canyon Trail and to see other hikers again. Lesson learned that I will not attempt this peak again until the snow melts. Miles and time to summit reflect when I turned around. Still got 11 miles in and climbed almost 4,000 feet. " — firesoren90 • Feb 8, 2020

"Second peak on SC 20s & 30s scouting trip. Not as far as the real Ontario, but still a smooth trail (except for 1-2 blowdowns) and a beautiful journey. Trip stats computed from Caltopo from Bighorn to Ontario peaks." — ctrain2018 • Sep 22, 2018

"Ended up being a warm day, more so along the ridge at the top where there is minimal shade. After summit this peak, I "swung by" Bighorn Peak. As always, I swear somebody adds more rocks to the trail at the bottom 2 miles while I'm out hiking!" — marc • Jul 15, 2018

"WOW - I liked this hike much better than Mt. Baldy. Once you pass Icehouse Saddle, there are no crowds (I saw 2 people on a weekend). I actually saw more bighorn sheep on this hike (4)! I have all the hike details and turn by turn directions on my blog here: http://bit.ly/1IaAuuc" — HikingGuy • Aug 22, 2015

"There were so many tourists packing the parking lot! All of them with their brand new gear and shuffling about on the blacktop with their trekking poles. LOL. Yeah, I'm a hiking snob, I admit it. I was so relieved when I got past the Icehouse Saddle and onto less populated trails. If I can't talk to myself without worrying about embarrassment, it just isn't hiking for me." — jimduvall • Jun 20, 2015

"Hiked up Icehouse Cyn to Icehouse Saddle, then over to Ontario Peak. Left Ontario and went down a ridge (on the north side) to Sugarloaf Peak, then down Falling Rock Cyn to the Icehouse Cyn trail back to the parking lot. 2 fer 1." — thesearcherextraordinaire • May 17, 2014

"We backpacked from Middle Fork of Lytle Creek. Camped near the waterfalls at 3rd stream crossing. The Following Morning we hiked up to the Ice House Saddle and Hit Snow just before then. It was all snow from the Saddle to the Summit on a beautiful day with Incredible Viability. We drank some beers, smoked a joint, and enjoyed the views." — 1-with-Nature • Mar 9, 2014

"Not enough time to write at this moment but... This was was awesome hike from beginning to end, hitting the summit just before sunset, perfect for a evening walk down... can't wait to hit it up again, perfect for an over niter, great for a camp out session...Till next time... " — JohnnyMar • Oct 20, 2013

"My boyfriend and I went up Ice House Canyon for my first time and it was a beautiful day a hike. On our way up Ontario Peak trail we got a look of the south, so lucky to see a crystal clear sky with no haze and perfect visibility! This didn't last long however because a fire broke out near the 15 freeway and the smoke lingered across the sky to the south. We couldn't tell how close the fire was, how big or how dangerous it could get so we almost turned around. We decided to keep going to Ontario and lucky we did because we ran into Big Horn Ram and got pretty damn close to it. From there we reached the summit and still had some pretty awesome views. The fire had appeared to have died out so we took our time on the summit and enjoyed the day. " — CaptainBadass • Nov 5, 2012

"Unbelievably crept up on a herd of 5-6 Bighorn Sheep, although by the time I got my camera out I was only able to snap one or two pics before they scattered. Falling Rock Canyon kicked my ass." — Christopher • Jan 20, 2012

"We went up Ice House Canyon and hit up Big Horn Peak. From there we made our way up to Big Horn Peak for my 1st time up there. I loved it! Great views south over all the cities out toward the ocean. We drank down some cold beer, cooked up some hot food and hung out up there for a couple hours before taking a cross country route down to Sugarloaf Peak. Little did we know we'd be staying the night out there..." — 1-with-Nature • Sep 5, 2010

"Part of an overnight in the San Gabriels. Spent the night at a saddle just before reaching Kelly's Camp (full house of Boy Scouts there) and hiked through some snow to reach the Ontario summit." — jeffhubatka • May 31, 2010