Trail Stats to Bear Flat Mileage (r.t.) 3.5 Trailhead 4260' Bear Flat 5530' Total gain 1270' Gain per mi. 726'

Trail Stats Ridge point 7755' Mileage (r.t.) 7.5 Trailhead 4260' Ridge Point 7755' Total gain 3500' Gain per mi. 933'

This hike eluded my radar for years. As a self-professed peak-bagger, a three-and-half-mile round-trip stroll to Bear Flat—as described by Jerry Schad—never rose high enough on my priority list. And to use this trail to bag Mt. Baldy sounds more like punishment than an enjoyable day of hiking. John Robinson describes this trial that gains more than 6,000 feet elevation in three horizontal miles as "one of the most strenuous hikes in the San Gabriels." He says that this "hard way to do Old Baldy" is "unbelievably steep" in spots and guaranteed to leave the hiker "pooped." And Robinson states that "few use it nowadays (for obvious reason!)." So this trail was pretty low on my interest list.

However, since I've been running out of readily accessible hikes in the San Gabriels that I have not done, I'm taking a closer look at hikes I've previously ignored. And the Bear Canyon Trail looked appealing, not as a punishing ascent to Mt. Baldy, or as a casual saunter to Bear Flat, but as a 7.5-mile round-trip hike with 3,500 feet of elevation gain—a most respectable hike for my tastes.

Bear Flat (5530') - Looking south down Bear Canyon. Sunset Peak (5796') is on the left.

The Bear Canyon Trail—also called the Old Mt. Baldy Trail—offers some of the finest scenery and rewarding views in the San Gabriel Mountains high country. The first 1.75 miles to Bear Flat delightfully travels a superb single-track trail adorned with fern under a rich canopy of live oak, bay, and bigcone Douglas-fir. The lively creek gurgles, bubbles, splashes, and cascades down this enchanting canyon. Beyond Bear Flat the trail begins to steeply climb the chaparral-covered southeast flank of Mt. Baldy's great south ridge, You're rewarded with expanding views of Ontario Ridge, Icehouse Canyon, the "Three T's" and Baldy Notch. You'll then enter an open conifer forest with wide-reaching views toward the expansive San Gabriel Mountains to the west. Even without achieving a grand mountain summit, this hike is sure to provide a fulfilling outing for even a diehard peak bagger.

Season: April - November

This is a great spring, summer and fall hike, but also is quite nice in the winter if the trail is free from snow, On a hot summer day, the chaparral section and parts of the ridge route can be torture, so start early while it's cool.

Getting to the Trailhead:

From the new 210 Freeway extension, driving east: Exit Baseline Road in Claremont. Turn left on Baseline. In one block turn right unto Padua Avenue. In 1.7 miles turn right onto Mt. Baldy Road (stop sign). At 7.1 miles you reach the intersection of Bear Canyon Road (coming in from the left) at the Center of Mt. Baldy Village (in another one tenth of a mile you pass the Angles National Forest Mt. Baldy Visitor Center).

From the new 210 Freeway extension, driving west: In Upland, exit Mountain Ave./Mt. Baldy Exit, Exit 54. Turn right and proceed north on Mountain Ave. Drive 5 miles to Mt. Baldy Road.

Turn left on Bear Canyon Road and find a parking place immediately on the right. On the left is the Village Chapel, so please respect their parking rights. (There is also a small parking area up the road a quarter mile.) A National Forest Adventure Pass is required for parking.

Trail Description:

Walk up the paved road past an assortment of cabins along the way. In 0.4 mile you'll reach the end of the road and the beginning of the trail. Cross the creek and follow the trail as it heads up canyon in a northward direction. After about 10 minutes the trail splits, I recommend going to the right, up the slope, the main route. (The route going straight crosses the creek, climbs steep rustic rock steps, passes several old cabins, crosses the creek again and climbs steeply to rejoin the main trail). In a bit you'll pass a water tank on the left. You may be surprised to see some poison oak in route—in general it does not grow above 5000 feet. But the hike starts at 4260 feet, so we are within the top end of its growing range.

The trail switches back south and climbs the slope to an open stretch with nice views down toward Baldy Village and beyond. You don't stay in the open sun for long as the trail loops back and again enters the shade of the main canyon, high above the stream. At 1.75 miles from the start of your hike, you'll cross the creek and arrive at Bear Flat, a small, fern-covered, sloping meadow. If this is your final destination—at 3.5 miles round trip—snoop around a bit and then return the way you came.

To continue on, follow the trail as it crosses Bear Flat and begins to zigzag up the southeast flank of the Baldy's south ridge. You'll notice the trail is steeper than the first section of the hike. The chaparral is thick, with little shade. As you climb you look back for a bird's-eye view of Bear Flat.

The reward for your sweat is the expanding views of the surrounding high country. The large mass towering on the southeast is Ontario Ridge and Ontario Peak (8693'). Due east you look straight up Icehouse Canyon toward Icehouse Saddle and crowned with Timber Mountain (8303'), the southernmost peak of the popular "Three T's." The dominant double peak to the left of Timber is Telegraph Peak (8985'). And the smaller mound to its left is Thunder Mountain (8587'). With binoculars you can see the ski-lift tower on its top. And further to the left, the lowest spot on the ridge in Baldy Notch. (View labeled photo of view east)

Looking south toward the Bear Canyon Trail, high on the ridge from just below the 7755' point, off trail. View Large image.

You can stop and turn around at any point, but I'd recommend continuing on at least until you achieve the main ridge and soak in the views to the west. Just before reaching the main ridge, tall conifers begin to dominate forest.

The trail snakes up the broad hog-back ridge with spectacular views alternating in three directions. (View west) To round off the hike at 7.5 miles round trip, your destination will be a broad saddle on the ridge just past the high point marked 7755 feet on the topo map. Enjoy a lunch while sitting on the rocks in the shade. Return the way you came. For a little variation, from the saddle, follow the broad ridge south a couple minutes to the 7755-foot welt. You can double back or continue down the ridge off trail to reach the main trail in a few minutes.

View Topo Map (224 K)

Trail Notes:

• Permits: A National Forest Adventure Pass is required for parking. You can obtain it from the National Forest visitor's center in Mt. Baldy Village (606-982-2829).
• Mileage and elevations:

  Trail Stats USFS - Fact Sheet - Mt. Baldy Visitor Center
  	One-way	Elevation
  Bear Canyon Trail	Distance	Start	End	Gain
  Visitor Center to Mt. Baldy	6.4	4260'	10,064'	5804'
  Visitor Center to Bear Flat	1.75	4260'	5530'	1270'
  Bear Flat to Mt. Baldy	4.65	5530'	10,064'	4534'

  The Mt. Baldy Visitor Center provides a fact sheet with trail stats (see right), which corresponds with the Tom Harrison map—Angeles High Country Trail Map. Jerry Shade puts the round-trip mileage to Bear Flat as 3.5, which is 1.75 one way. But, in his description it's 1.7 miles (but what's 88 yards). My stated distance (3.75 miles) from the trailhead to ridge point 7755' is an estimate based on hiking time, study of the topo map, and elevation gain. Thus, the elevation gain from the trailhead to Bear Flat is 726' per mile. From Bear Flat to the 7755' point is 1,112' per mile gain. The average elevation gain from the trailhead (4260') to the 7775' point is 933 feet per mile.
• Trail name: The USFS fact sheet refers to the trail as Bear Canyon Trail, as does the signage on the trail (7W12). The Tom Harrison map calls it the Mt. Baldy Trail while the USGS topo map labels it simply Baldy Trail. Jerry Schad refers to it both as the Bear Canyon Trail and the Bear Flat Trail. John Robinson calls it the Bear Flat Trail or Old Mt. Baldy Trail.
• People traffic: 7-9-05 - John Robinson says of the trail that "few use it nowadays (for obvious reason!)." So I had expected to have the trail to myself and hiking buddy. However, on this day, we encountered more than 30 other hikers on the trail, and all but about five were heading to the summit! And most of the summiters had made this hike multiple times. Many that I spoke with were doing the hike as training for a High Sierra hike. So, the trail certainly doesn't provide the solitude that Robinson hints too, but the sure expanse of the mountain tends to dissipate 20 to 30 people spread out over miles of hiking.
• High point - If you are tempted to be disappointed that you don't reach Baldy summit, just remember that the hike reaches a ridge point (7755') that is higher than the highest points in 36 states! In fact, even if you did reach the summit, you would only add one more state to the count! See Fifty State Summits list from peakware.com.