| Peak | Cucamonga Peak |
|---|---|
| Group | Calabasas Day Hikers |
| Trailhead | Icehouse Canyon |
The weather could not have been more perfect. Although it was chilly in the morning, the sun was out and there was no wind.
You have to fill out a permit form (they are free and there are no quotas), either at the Icehouse Canyon trailhead or the Visitor’s center, where I got mine. Keep the yellow copy.
The trail is a steady uphill single-track until you reach the Saddle, where the trail sdplits off in 5 different directions. Look for the sign pointing to Cucamonga.
After the Saddle the trail gets more technical and rocky with steep switchbacks, plus there is a downhill portion that you may need to mentally prepare for on your return trip when you believe it’s all downhill and have to go uphill a ways! but it’s not that bad.
One portion of the trail still had ice and snow on it, but there were deep enough footprints to guide you through those short sections.
It took me three hours to get the to the summit. My GPS (Garmin FR235) registered exactly 6 miles to the summit from the trailhead, with elevation at around 8,850 ft.
We couldn’t find the sign marking the peak (heard that it was stolen, but it’s definitely not there anymore). I couldn’t find the USGS benchmark either.
There is a white flag with Cucamonga spray painted in orange on it that anyone can use for a photo op.
I recommend getting there before 7 AM, at least on a Saturday. I got there a little before 8 AM and the parking lot was full.
There were a lot of groups there and, with the trail being mostly single-track, difficulty at times to navigate around a slower group. In general people are nice and polite enough to let faster people pass.
