Trail Stats
Mileage (r.t.)	2.4
Trailhead	840'
Ridge road	1880'
El. gain	1040'
Gain per mi.	866'

A hike you will see most often cited in my log is Garcia Trail. This great little trail starts at the fire station on Sierra Madre Avenue between Azusa and Glendora and climbs 1,040 feet in 1.2 miles! Once you arrive at the Glendora Ridge Motorway, a dirt service road that runs along the ridge, you can hike east to several summits with splendid views of Azusa, Glendora, and the valleys beyond. And there are great views up the San Gabriel Canyon and to the back ranges beyond.

Garcia Trail is steep, climbing some 866 vertical feet per mile. But the trail is well traveled and makes a nice workout hike (popular with students and staff from nearby Azusa Pacific University). A typical trail in the San Gabriels gains 400 to 600 vertical feet per mile, so Garcia Trail not only gives the legs and lungs a workout, but it also provides a reference mark in evaluating other trails.

The heavy storms of 2004 and 2005 caused significant rutting and erosion on the trail, creating poor footing in many places. But a couple years of use and some ad hoc trail maintenance has helped the trail to be in reasonable condition. A full-scale trail restoration project is certainly due.

5-13-04 - Looking south from about a third of the way up the trail on an early evening hike (Taken with a Sprint Camera phone). View Photo of Dan, Philip, and Drew.

Garcia Trail History

Dan's slide show

Aerial photos

Topo Map

Trail Notes Archive


Season: All Year

As a general rule in the San Gabriels, the front range is best hiked in the cooler months, and the back range is best in the warmer months. Garcia Trail and Azusa Peak sit in the front range. The best season to hike Garcia Trail is roughly November through May. However, it's doable in the summer if you go at the crack of dawn while the day is still cool. This hike can be miserable on a hot summer day. Early in the summer the "June Gloom" (marine layer, coastal fog) can make nice walking conditions but also can greatly obscure your views.

Getting to the Trailhead:

From the I-210 Foothill Freeway, exit at Azusa Avenue. Go north on Azusa Avenue (toward the mountains) and drive 1.7 miles to Sierra Madre Avenue. Turn right (east), drive 1.1 mile to L.A. County Fire Station #97 - 18453 Sierra Madre Ave. Park on the north side of the street in front of the houses. Walk up the driveway of the fire station. Garcia Trail starts at the north end of the grass area. If you are coming from the east, the fire station is 0.5 mile from Barranca Ave. View Map Below

Trail Description:

From the fire station, walk across the grass area adjacent to the station to begin the trail at the north end. The trail climbs steeply, staying primarily on or about the ascending/descending ridge. There's not much shade in route but the chaparral is thick and mature. Some of what you'll see is laurel sumac, toyon, canyon live oak, tree tobacco, California buckwheat, wild cucumber, dodder (witch's hair), poison oak, coastal sage, white sage, black sage, whipple yucca, mustard, deer weed, monkeyflower, and horehound. In the spring and early summer you are treated to an array of blooming wildflowers.

At about three quarters of a mile the trail crosses over to the west slope and makes its final pitch to the top ridge. This is the section that can be seen clearly from the city below. In this section, there are a several places where erosion has narrowed the trail, so watch your step.

Azusa Peak (2081') - Looking north from Monrovia Nursery in Azusa. The nursery land has been sold and will be turned into 1,250 new home. We shall miss this views. See zoomed in view with labels. Photo January 2005

At 1.2 miles you reach the ridge and the Glendora Ridge Motorway, a dirt service road closed to public vehicular traffic. From here you have several options. One is to turn around and head back. A popular trip is to veer right (east), and take the informal path up the slope to Azusa Peak (2081'), about 0.2 more miles. Enjoy the views of Azusa, Glendora, and the San Gabriel Valley beyond. It's also a nice night-hike destination with a delightful display of city lights below (however, the deteriorating trail conditions makes hiking at night more difficult and risky). And this is a popular spot to watch the 4th of July fireworks shot off from Citrus College, about 1.5 miles away.

Leaving the peak you can return the way you came. Or you can proceed down the path on the east slope. Once you reach the road you can turn left and follow the road across the north slope of Azusa Peak back to top of Garcia Trail. Or you can follow the road east and hike for about 4 miles to Glendora Mountain Road.

View large image Photo June 30, 2007

Transforming Views: One of the delights of hiking Garcia Trail has been the hundreds of areas of nursery plants gracing the undulating terrain at the base of the hillside. Monrovia Nursery has occupied this land for more than 50 years, growing and shipping millions of plants. But in 2004 the property was sold and will become Rosedale, a master-planned development with 1,250 homes, 32 acres of parks, a new school, fire station, community center, promenade, and a transit square to accommodate the Metro Gold Line. As of January 2005, much of the plants in the upper section of the nursery had been removed. By January 2006, the nursery operation was gone and the grading was well underway. By June 2006, the grading was yielding streets and plots, and the water tank foundation was beginning to take shape. By June 2007 some streets were paved and some houses were nearly complete.
      The slump in the housing industry has caused the Rosedale project to slow to a grind. By 2008 new home owners were finally moving into the two completed streets. In August 2008 about 6 more houses were being framed up and grading north of Sierra Madre was commencing.
     As part of the project, the fire station is supposed to be moved a short distance away and a new trailhead for Garcia Trail is to be built, including a parking lot.
View the Monrovia Nursery press releases.
View Dan's slide show

Glendora Ridge Motorway going west from where Garcia Trail meets the ridge, descends to its western terminus at Hilltop Drive in Azusa. For many years the public could walk past the gate to enter or exit the service road, providing a popular recreational path for pedestrians and cyclists. This west-end access is now closed to the public. Razor wire on the locked gate and fences says in the harshest terms that citizens can no longer use that route.

Hike Log Garcia Trail / Azusa Peak 9-21-06 8:15 am A: Trail Head (840') 8:26 B: Razor ridge 8:37 C: Ridge switch back 8:46 D: Ridge view 8:55 E: Ridge (1880') Glendora Ridge Motorway (green) 9:03/9:26 X: Azusa Peak (2081') 9:31/9:46 E: Ridge (1880') Glendora Ridge Motorway 9:52 D: Ridge view 9:57 C: Ridge switch back 10:09 B: Razor ridge 10:21 A: Trail Head (840')   Trail Stats A to E 1.2 miles 1040' gain 866' per mile A to X 1.4 miles 1240' gain 886' per mile View Topo Map

Garcia Trail is within minutes of the I-210 Freeway in Azusa (2 miles east of where the I-605 intersects the I-210 in Duarte and Irwindale). Note: The Map above does not reflect the recent re-route of Sierra Madre Avenue (which now dips to the south between the park just east of Azusa Ave and the fire station) and the new streets in the Rosedale development.

Trail Notes:

• Rattlesnakes - 8-10-08: While on top of Azusa Peak, I was chatting with a women who asked if there were rattlesnakes in the area. I replied that snakes are a natural part of these mountains, but rarely does anyone get bit, and that I don't recall seeing a rattlesnake on this trail for at least a decade. Than when I started down the trail a man hiking up told me he just encountered a big rattlesnake in the lower section of the trail. He marked the location with a stick across the trail. As I continued down, I met another hiker who was stopped. He pointed out a rattler next to the trail. The snake was coiled in the dry plants and rattling vigorously. He crawled away and we safely passed. Then near the bottom of the trail we came across the stick that the other hiker had placed across the trail, and there was clearly a snake track across the trail. I have no way of confirming if that one was indeed a rattler, but the presence of a rattlesnake further up the trail certainly reinforces the fact that the venomous creatures are present. However, don't let that deter you from hiking. Just be alert, and if you come across a snake, simply give it room to safely crawl away.

• Sierra Madre Avenue now open: For a about two years Sierra Madre Avenue had been closed in conjunction with the construction of the Rosedale housing development. The project entailed rerouting Sierra Madre Ave., curving to the south and back.
       A front-page article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribute (7-9-06) stated that the road will be closed for six months. The map caption with the article stated it will be closed for nine months (I'll resist the temptation to make any remarks about sloppy fact checking). A previous sign at the trail listed the following contact information: Azusa Land Partners' project coordinator, Regina Fielder, at (949) 729-1202. Various issues kept the road closed for nearly two years.

• View large image Photo June 30, 2007

  Cross on Azusa Peak - 2-12-07: On the Presidents' Day Holiday, Monday, February 12, 2007, a large wooden cross was erected on the top of Azusa Peak. It was marked with "BBB, Braves Baseball" and had the signatures of players and their jersey numbers. It was built with 4x10 timbers and stands approximately 15 feet tall. At the crossbar is a metal plate with the inscription: "Mat 16:24 He must deny himself, take up his cross & follow me."

• See Trail Notes Archive for more notes...

Garcia Trail Links on Dan's Hiking Pages:

Garcia Trail History

Dan's slide show

Aerial photos

Topo Map

Trail Notes Archive


Garcia Trail Links:

• Azusa Pacific University — Around Campus - Lists Garcia Trail among other recreational opportunities in the San Gabriels.

• Greeting the day between city and sky - L.A. Times article about Garcia Trail by Jon Wallace, president of Azusa Pacific University.

Last Hiked: August 10, 2008