Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [46]
Encounters with mountain lions and bears are extremely rare but possible, and rattlesnakes and spiders also present potential dangers. Click here and Click here for details.
Books & Maps
Pick up Los Angeles Times columnist John McKinney’s excellent hiking guides, published by Olympic Press, among them Day Hiker’s Guide to Southern California and Day Hiker’s Guide to California State Parks. If you’re visiting during wildflower season, carry a copy of the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Wildflowers: Western Region, which is small enough to fit into a daypack.
For short, well-established hikes in national or state parks, the free and basic sketch maps handed out at ranger stations and visitor centers are usually sufficient. For longer trips into the backcountry, you ought to have a good topographic map such as those published by the US Geological Survey (USGS; www.store.usgs.gov). They can be ordered through the website or purchased at local ranger stations, outfitters and visitor centers.
Fees
California state parks don’t charge an admission fee but most levy a parking fee ranging from $5 to $15. There is no charge if you walk or bike into these parks. You’ll need a National Forest Adventure Pass (NFAP) for visiting San Bernardino, Cleveland, Angeles or Los Padres national forests unless you’re just driving through, or stopping at a ranger station or visitor center. If you are already paying another forest-use fee (eg camping or cabin fees) you don’t need an NFAP. Passes cost $5 per day or $30 per year (seniors and disabled $15) and must be displayed on the windshield of your vehicle. The annual passes are good for one year from the month of purchase and are transferable. USFS ranger stations, selected sporting-goods stores and other vendors sell passes, or you can order one by phone ( 909-382-2622). For a full list of vendors, log on to www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/ap.
The entrance fee to national parks varies from $10 to $20 per vehicle and is good for unlimited entries for seven consecutive days. If you’re going to visit many national parks in California or elsewhere, consider getting the America the Beautiful Pass ($80; www.nps.org).
Hikes
No matter where you find yourself in Southern California, you’re never far from a trail, even in the metropolitan areas. In Los Angeles you can hike for miles in America’s largest urban park, Griffith Park and in the Santa Monica Mountains amid oak woodlands and other Mediterranean environs.
The rugged Santa Ynez Mountains lord over Santa Barbara, rising 4000ft from sea level within 10 miles of the ocean, an awesome sight. A 20-minute drive from town takes you to the Los Padres National Forest, where you can pick up trailheads near San Marcos Pass. Rattlesnake Canyon, which runs past waterfalls, is especially scenic, albeit rather popular, and Red Rock Trail and Snyder Trail are other good choices. In Channel Islands National Park, you can hike past frolicking sea lions and giant sprays of coreopsis flowers.
In San Diego the best hiking is along the coastal bluffs in Torrey Pines State Reserve at La Jolla’s northern boundary, where you can see some of the last remaining stands of Pinus torreyana on the mainland. Further inland, a section of the legendary Pacific Crest Trail (PCT; a 2638-mile-long footpath from Mexico to Canada) passes through Anza-Borrego State Park. It also provides open-trail desert hiking, allowing you to choose your own path. However, hiking in this fashion is strenuous, requires good navigational skills and is definitely not recommended on hot days.
Instead, head to Palm Springs where you’ll find relief in the cool pine forests of the Mt San Jacinto Wilderness State Park, reached via the Palm Springs