Any Southern Californian can point out the white topped Mt. Baldy — actually it’s real name is Mt. San Antonio. Baldy is a SoCal icon that stands out boldly as a snow-covered backdrop for much of the year. At 10,068 feet above sea level, the snow often sticks around well into June. The higher altitude and easy access makes it a popular training hike for Whitney (or in my case, the John Muir Trail). And in fact, I included Baldy as peak #3 in my Six-Pack of Peaks progressive training series.
Time: ~7 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 3,900 ft
Dogs: Yes
When to go: June-October
It should be noted that last weekend we hiked up Cucamonga Peak and it was almost too hot. A week later I found myself atop Baldy where it was 35 degrees with fierce winds. Thankfully, I was well-prepared with plenty of layers. Even so, we didn’t linger as long at the summit as we might have wanted.
The trail begins up a paved road which quickly turns to gravel as it passes the San Antonio Falls overlook. This windy fire road eventually crosses the Mt. Baldy ski area, and meets up at Baldy Notch. The ski lift to the notch operates throughout the summer. It’s about $10 for a one-way ticket up (or $8 one way down) and some people use this as a short cut for what’s probably the least exciting portion of the hike. On the plus side, this route provided a nice easy grade to climb and made warming up much nicer.
Once you reach the Baldy Notch, you can hike straight up the ski run to the east, or follow the trail that runs slightly south east. The ski run is a little steeper and more direct, and that’s the route we opted for. You are quickly rewarded with great views in every direction.
When you finally reach the boundary of the ski area, the infamous Devil’s Backbone trail begins. This trail sounds worse than it is. It runs along the top of a narrow ridge, but when it’s clear of snow and ice, it’s a pretty safe trail.
Those with a fear of heights might feel a touch of vertigo, but it doesn’t require any technical equipment (although trekking poles are nice). Check with the ranger station at Baldy Village to confirm trail conditions. On the darker side, there have been deaths on the trail. With snow and ice, it can be very treacherous.
The trail skirts the side of Mt. Harwood, opening up to a sweeping view of Baldy Bowl. This bowl is pure scree and essentially unclimbable except when covered with snow, and then only with an ice ax and crampons. It’s great training for even higher mountaineering, and something I hope to do next winter. This time of year, the snow is gone from the bowl, and the trail clear of all but a few patches of snow.
The last climb is a series of steep switchbacks up the side of Mt. San Antonio. It’s a busy trail, with all sorts of people going up and down. Pick your route and take your time. If you’re used to living at sea level like me, the high altitude begins to slow you down just a bit.
The summit of Mt. San Antonio is a broad knoll with a large iron plaque marking the spot. You’ll see several ad hoc stone shelters erected to provide some protection from the wind, which on this particular hike was fierce. Though it was comfortable down at sea level, it was 35 degrees at the summit, and much colder when you factor in the wind chill.
To return to Manker Flats we took the Baldy Bowl trail, which actually skirts the bowl on a ridgeline before steeply descending in a series of switchbacks to the base of the bowl and the Sierra Club ski hut. The log benches at the ski hut provide a great place to take a break and the sound of babbling San Antonio creek is refreshing.
As we descended toward San Antonio Falls, the wildflowers became more plentiful. If you have time, you can stop for a closer look at the falls. This year’s heavy snowfall has made them spectacular.
We reached our cars at the bottom and toasted our hike in true 6-pack style with a ice cold Stellas
Trail Map and Elevation Profile
Trail Fly-by
Photo Gallery
Additional Mt. Baldy Resources
- GPS user? Download the GPX file
- View trail in Google Earth
- Manker Flats trailhead parking on Google Map
- Weather conditions
- Mt. Baldy webcam
- A couple more great trail guides on Dan’s Hiking Pages and Modern Hiker
Special thanks to Bob from Pasadena, Tyler, Kelly, Ivana, Tari and of course Joan for joining me on this hike!
About the Author
What a great set of pics! Looks like a great hike. Congrats on conquering #3. You are certainly on your way. I may have missed it in the report, but how long did the trip take?
Thanks, Tim. We did the loop in just over seven hours, starting at about 7:15am and returning to the car about 2:30pm. I’m going to post an update with a Google Earth fly-by of our GPS data. When you watch that, you can see relative speed (where we stopped for a few minutes or more, etc.). And the actual time is watermarked as the video advances.
Looks like a great day! I love the ridge line Devil’s Backbone pics. I almost forgot what it looked like up there.
Derek, it was bitter cold until we started heading down, but it was a great day. It was really fun to be up above the clouds — the “low-lands” were completely shrouded in clouds, even though there were still some clouds higher up.
Devil’s Backbone is spectacular. I’m glad it was dry.
Hey I am hiking the same peaks a couple of week behind you it seems. Training for Mt Whitney in September. I just did Baldy 2 weeks ago but did the reverse of your route, up the Ski Hut trail and down the Devil
Wonderful site and glad I found it. The descriptions are helpful and I am doing San Jacinto tomorrow along the same route you took.
Again, great site
Thanks, Chris! Glad you found the trail descriptions helpful. I liked the variety of the “six-pack” of peaks, and I’ll probably do it again next year, though maybe not on consecutive weekends. You’ll enjoy San Jacinto. The Marion Mountain trail is beautiful.
Good luck on Mt. Whitney in September!
Great site you’ve got here! I am planning on visiting Baldy in the next few weeks and was wondering how it is around May. I am assuming there might be some ice left, but how much? Is it safe enough? If so, which trail is best?
Thanks
Follow up…
So my girlfriend and i hiked up the Devil’s Backbone this weekend (4/23/2011). Found ice and snow up at about 8500 Ft but made it all the way up. Top was covered in snow too. Was safe enough that no crampons needed, just be cautious and take a warm jacket if you go past 8500 ft, got pretty windy and cold. Happy hiking!
Great website and resources! Booked for Mt. Whitney in late September (hoping for no snow). Your summit six-pack series is very informative! Just did Mt. Baldy and had a great hike. Cloudy in OC with some drizzle, but started hiking at 8:00A under a sunny sky and very nice weather. A little snow on the last ascent to the peak. No/little wind.
Looking forward to doing Gorgonio and Jacinto prior to Whitney as well…
Great post! I’m itching to make this climb when I’m in town for a work trip the week of April 21st. Do you think that is too early? I’ve heard the Devil’s Backbone can be dangerous in snow. With how cold this winter has been, I’m sure there’s still snow up there. I have no problem making an attempt if there is a decent chance it will be accessible with clampons and trekking poles. My hiking/mountaineering experience is intermediate.
-Nathan from Milwaukee
@Nathan, you should be okay. There are still patches of snow up there (see the webcam: http://www.onthesnow.com/california/mt-baldy/webcams.html?t=cams&id=) but not much. Trekking poles are a great idea. Crampons are probably overkill. Microspikes would probably suffice. Today it’s over 80 degrees here in LA, and so there might not be ANY snow left by the time you hike this.