Pinyon Ridge Trail #9W32

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Views · Wildflowers

Adventure Pass required to park at trailheads and day use areas.

This trail shares the same starting location as the Soldier Creek Trail #9W30 near the restrooms by the amphitheater. A short distance down the trail, it turns left and crosses a small bridge and shortly comes to a junction of the trail loop. Take the right fork and you enter a plant community that is common on the high desert slopes but rarely seen on the coastal side of the San Gabriel Mountains. A large California juniper is passed and the trail gently climbs to a point with a bench offering a great view out to the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. On a clear day, the ocean and Channel Islands can be seen.

The trail then turns north and encounters several single-leaf pinyon trees which have a much paler green color compared to other pines in the area. This is also a great location to look out over the Crystal Lake Basin to see how it was formed from massive slides around Mt. Islip to the northwest.

The trail passes a seasonal spring and a beautiful field of deer grass before descending back down to complete the loop.

Juniper, pinyon, bigcone spruce, Jeffrey pine. Wildflowers in spring.