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Mt Wilson Trail to Manzanita Ridge

January 10, 2014 By Jeff Hester 12 Comments

On a clear day, you might see the Pacific Ocean as you look back down the mountain

The Mount Wilson Trail was built in 1864 by Benjamin “Don Benito” Wilson. He had planned to use it to bring down timber for his ranch. Not much timber was cut, and the trail was repurposed to construct the first Mt. Wilson Observatory, established by Harvard College in 1889. Hiking up this trail you can feel the history.

Trail Details
Distance: 10.2 miles
Time: 6 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 3,700 ft
Dogs: yes
When to go: Year-round
I’ve been up Mt. Wilson before, but this was my first hike on the Mount Wilson Trail. It is a steep, relentless climb from the foothills of Sierra Madre to Manzanita Ridge — sometimes called Santa Anita Ridge.  The strenuous hike climbs over 3,500 feet  in just five miles thanks to some up and down. By the time you reach The Bench on the ridge, you’ve earned the right to sit for a bit.

Getting to the Mount Wilson Trail

The trail itself begins in a quiet residential neighborhood. There is a good amount of free street parking, but bear in mind that this is reserved for residents only at night.

Park on the street near the intersection of E. Mira Monte Avenue and Mount Wilson Trail. You’ll see signs for The Richardson House and Lizzie’s Trail Inn — which also serves as a small museum. If you’re lucky, it might be open!

Richardson House

The Mount Wilson Trail

Head up Mount Wilson Trail, which begins as a paved residential road. You soon see the official trailhead splitting off to the left. This out-and-back trail is pretty easy to follow; if you’re heading uphill, you’re doing it right.

The Trail Map

Up, Up and Away

Old Man and the Trail

At the 1.25 mile mark we reached the junction with First Water — so named because it’s the first place where you can get water. There is a junction here that leads down a short spur trail to the creek, where there is in fact water running most of the time. I wouldn’t rely on this as a water source. As with all my day hikes, I brought enough water to fuel me for the entire day — three liters in this case.

First Water

The trail continues to climb up the Little Santa Anita Canyon, and soon the views stretch out over the LA basin. At 3.25 miles we arrived at Orchard Camp. This was roughly the halfway point up to the summit of Mt. Wilson, earning it the nickname of the Halfway House.

At one time there were a number of cabins and buildings here to support the construction of the Mt. Wilson Observatory. Today all that remains are some concrete steps and fragments of the foundations. But it’s still a good place to take a snack break and catch your breath.

Rest break at Orchard Camp

 

The climate changed as we climbed, with more pine trees covering the rugged slopes.

Tricky footing

 

Finally at the 5.1 mile mark, we reached what is often referred to as The Bench. Why? Because as you reach the junction at Manzanita Ridge, you practically hike straight into an actual bench. From this junction it’s another 2.4 miles to the summit of Mt. Wilson.

The views here are fantastic. It was a beautiful, clear day and we could easily see the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island many miles away.

Although the most challenging vertical gain was behind me, this was my turnaround point. The shorter winter days meant that if I wanted to be sure to return to my Xterra before dusk, I’d head back now. Keep in mind the time — know when it gets dark, and plan a turn around time.

Yoda on Manzanita Ridge

As you will see in the elevation profile below, this out-and-back hike is mainly uphill all the way to this point. I was glad to have the climbing out of the way, and “coasted” downhill, retracing my steps down the Mt. Wilson Trail back to the trailhead.

Mount Wilson Trail to Manzanita Ridge Map

© OpenStreetMap contributors
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Photo Gallery

Click on any photo to view a larger version. You can also leave comments on any photo.

The Gathering
Richardson House
Lizzies Trail Inn
Not a Through Street
Mt Wilson Trail
The Trail Map
No Fires
Rising Above Sierra Madre
Climbing Above Santa Anita Canyon
Up, Up and Away
Santa Anita Dam
Above Santa Anita Canyon
Looking Back Down the Trail
Old Man and the Trail
Trail
First Water
Creek Crossing
Shady Trail
Orchard Camp
Orchard Camp Junction
Tricky Footing
In the Trees
Pine Forest
Manzanita Ridge - The Bench
Yoda on Manzanita Ridge
Happy Trails = Dirty Feet

Mt. Wilson Trail Tips

  • Bring plenty of water. This can be a dry, hot trail especially in the summer. I carried 3 liters of water and had some (but not much) left over at the end of the hike.
  • Calculate your turnaround time. Know when it gets dark, and when you want to get back to the trailhead. Figure out how much time you have to hike, divide it in half. You now know your turnaround time. If you don’t make it as far as you hoped, don’t sweat it. The mountain will still be there next time.
  • Carry the 10 Essentials. Remember to bring layers. It can (and does) snow on Mt. Wilson in the winter!
  • No special permits are required to hike this trail, but always let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.

Mt. Wilson Trail Resources

  • Mt. Wilson via Chantry Flats – An alternate 14 mile loop trail up to the summit of Mt. Wilson

Sierra Madre Weather Forecast

The location could not be found.

Related

Filed Under: Trail Guides Tagged With: 8-10 miles, dog-friendly, LA County, Mt Wilson, Sierra Madre, strenuous, wilderness

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Jeff H

About Jeff Hester

I'm an avid hiker and backpacker. My wife Joan and I are on the trails every weekend. I started SoCal Hiker to share my passion for outdoor adventure.

Comments

  1. namrac says

    January 13, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    looks awesome! we’ve done Wilson via Chantry Flats couple years back, might give this one a shot 🙂 hows the difficulty and scenery compare to that route? Thanks! love reading your blog as usual!

    Reply
    • Jeff HJeff Hester says

      January 18, 2014 at 12:40 pm

      This route is comparable to the Chantry Flats route. It’s a little shorter, and it’s an out-and-back, so factor that in. The scenery was nice, but there is more water via the Chantry Flats route (particularly along Winter Creek). If water is flowing (i.e. after some rains), I might prefer that option. But I liked the historical aspect of the Mt Wilson Trail.

      Reply
  2. Andrew says

    February 22, 2014 at 2:03 pm

    Discovered this trail last year, have gone up it three times. Love the change in climate as you go up.

    Reply
  3. Hiking.net says

    April 2, 2014 at 4:19 am

    it’s nice. get huge idea about your post… now it’s very easy to some newbie who want to hike………..

    Reply
  4. David says

    May 5, 2014 at 11:17 am

    Elevation gain is completely off, the total from TH to summit is 4,500 feet elevation gain. To the bench is probably about 3,700. The only established trail with the consistency of 1 mile for 1K gain for over 5 miles in the San Gabriels is the Baldy Village to summit trail, a lot steeper then then one.

    Reply
  5. Jeff HJeff Hester says

    May 5, 2014 at 11:59 am

    David, you’re right. The 5,900 came from my Garmin Trex HC-generated GPX file for the route, recorded on my hike. It reported that the lowest elevation was 964 feet and the highest 4,462 feet. The difference between these is 3,498 feet. There is some up and down that would add to this, but not another 1000+ worth. I suspect the difference comes from inaccurate GPS readings.

    I’m not exactly sure what the real, total vertical gain/loss is, but I suspect your 3,700 is a better figure. I’ve updated the post accordingly.

    Thanks for the feedback!

    Reply
  6. Laura SLaura says

    July 1, 2015 at 2:32 pm

    Hello :~)
    If I am taking the Six Peak Challenge, would you suggest this route or the Chantry Flats Route?
    Thanks!
    ~Laura

    Reply
  7. Jeff HJeff Hester says

    July 4, 2015 at 10:04 am

    Hi Laura! I would recommend the Chantry Flats route. Cooler and more shaded. But start early! The parking area fills up early.

    Reply
  8. Andrea says

    April 29, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Hi there, if I’m reading this correctly, does it mean that going up the Mt. Wilson Trail to the observatory is a total of 7.5 miles (5.1 to the bench and then an additional 2.4 to the summit)? Which means a round-trip of 15 miles? I’d like to hike to the summit and am trying to decide between this and Chantry Flats. Want to do whichever is shorter and easier. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Dean says

    July 15, 2016 at 7:30 pm

    We hiked Mt Wilson today via Sierra Madre. When it’s said it is a steep ascent, it really really is! UPHILL! Sometimes it felt we were going straight up. Just when you think Manzanita Ridge is around the bend…….. It’s not……just some more going up! It was a great test hike for our boots, socks and backpack weight. The bench you come to at Manzanita Ridge is a great reward. We did not make it to the top of Mt Wilson and instead went back down, which was also a tough and steep hike down. We left trailhead at 8am and made it to the ridge at 12 noon. We left the bench at 12:30pm and made it back to the street at 3 pm with aching feet and sore thighs. It was a great preparation hike for our Machuu Pichuu trip Inca trail hike. Thanks SoCal Hiker.
    5.1 miles to the bench and another 2 miles to Mt Wilson…..and then back

    Reply
  10. Jai Panthail says

    November 13, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Hi Jeff,

    How far away is the summit (top of Mt.Wilson) from the bench? Is there an option to make this a loop – TH to bench to summit, returning to TH? We’re planning to do this mid-December – should we expect snow?

    Thanks,
    Jai

    Reply
  11. Jeff says

    June 24, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    I just did this trail. I had intended to go all the way to the Observatory. I thought to myself, “I’ll have a bowl of chili when I get to the top.” Well, about 1.5 miles up I realized I forgot my wallet. So no chili awaited me at the top. All I had was a Clif shot and three coffee candies. Up Up Up. Did I mention I had a time limit? I left at 9:30-10:00 and had to be back to Pasadena at 3:30 to pick up my daughter. So I was walking fast. Up Up Up.

    I got to the “Orchard” and was dismayed to find it was only half way. I realized then I was under provisioned and would run out of water. That’s OK. I’ll fill my bottle at the Observatory. So I continued. Up Up Up. I got to a point that I figured was about a mile or so to the summit and I met one of only two hikers I saw on the trail (booth were coming down). I asked him how far to the top? He said 2.5 miles. Dismay.

    I made it to Manzanita Ridge and my legs were getting wobbly. I could not stop to rest because the flies would swarm and start biting. I had to keep moving. So my thought was 2 miles up with no water or 5 miles down? No food and no money to buy anything at the top. I was too tired to contemplate any more Up Up Up so I headed back down.

    Close to the bottom there was a fork int the trail that I had not seen coming up. Of course I took the wrong trail which prolonged my ordeal. If the switchbacks dead ended and I had to climb back up I was gonna die (or so I was thinking…mind you now it was about 2:30 and HOT). Luckily it joined the main trail and I made it back.

    So, like he said- brings lots of water. And give yourself time. It was beautiful.

    Reply

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About Jeff Hester

I created SoCal Hiker while preparing to thru-hike the John Muir Trail. My goal? Create guides for the best hiking trails throughout Southern California--and occasionally beyond. I personally hike each trail to create these guides, sharing practical advice on gear and outdoor skills. Read more...

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