Technically speaking, there is no trail or ridge officially named The Roller Coaster, but if there was, this would be it. This is a great double-track trail with hills that will get your heart pumping. I like to hike this after work most Wednesdays, and enjoy the ocean breezes, the sweeping coastal and mountain views and the sunset over Catalina Island. It’s a little slice of heaven right in the heart of south Orange County.
The Trailhead
Time: ~1.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation gain: 1,150 ft
Dogs: OK
When to go: Year round
At the gate you have two options. For the gung-ho, take an immediate left and head up the steep hill. When you reach the first junction, turn right to meetup with the main trail on the ridge. The second option is a little kinder on the lungs. Head straight up the main trail to the ridge. It’s a long, gradual ascent.
As you travel the ridge you’ll climb over two hills, then follow the trail as it gradually climbs of the left side of the ridge. At the saddle, take a sharp right up the steep hill. The trail is marked as the Patriot Trail. You’ll follow this ridge all the way to the terminus — a flag pole. You can sign the logbook in the mailbox (or just see who else has been there). Turn around and head back, but at the first junction, veer left and follow the trail along the side of the ridge and retrace your steps to the trailhead.
Trail Map and Elevation Profile
Photo Gallery
Click an image for a larger version.
Tips
- Bring a liter of water (my recommendation).
- There is no shade, so wear sun protection. I prefer to hike this early or late in the day, especially during warmer months.
- The trail is shared with bikers and horses. Keep your eyes and ears open.
- I have seen one rattlesnake on this trail, and heard others say they’ve seen them. Nothing to be fearful of, but keep your eyes open so you don’t step into one.
- My favorite après-hike dinner is the Number 1 combo (grilled fish taco, black beans, brown rice and extra salsa) at the Wahoo’s on Camino de los Mares. Highly recommended, and healthy, too.
Resources
Have fun, be safe, and see you on the trail!
Derek (100 Peaks) says
April 13, 2010 at 2:58 pmIt looks like a great hike. It’s nice to be able to get an ocean breeze while hiking.
Looks pretty green out there. Will be brown soon!
SoCal Hiker says
April 13, 2010 at 5:08 pmDerek, yes, it’s very green right now. The wildflowers are blooming! It’ll be interesting to see how long before it all turns brown.
And it’s hard to beat an ocean breeze, or the view, to keep you going on the trail.
Cari Galperin says
April 24, 2011 at 3:26 amI did this hike today and it was excellent. I was with another member of the OC Miniature Pinscher Meetup group. In January, we did a hike of similar difficulty called Weir Canyon Loop. Our Meetup does hikes ranging from easy to difficult so I always have my eyes out for new hikes. This website is really well done. Thanks.
Jeff Turner says
May 10, 2012 at 5:21 pmThis looks like a fabulous hike, Jeff. Thanks for sharing it.
Jeff Hester says
May 11, 2012 at 5:45 amThanks for visiting, Jeff T. I love the Roller Coaster Ridge–it’s a perfect length and workout, and the views are terrific. Doing it mid-week at sunset is just about perfection.
Janet says
February 9, 2014 at 6:16 pmGreat hike, but…. your directions say to take a right when you come to the first junction (if you take that immediate left up the hill when you start out) and it’s really a left! We wound up way out east – got back to start point after hour and a half and then went up the hill and found the flagpole – although it all looked quite a bit different than the pics here… very big flagpole! Anyway, we had a great adventure! wouldn’t have found it without this website, so thanks… and the getting lost was half the fun (and the workout!)
Jeff Hester says
February 9, 2014 at 6:40 pmThanks for the comment, Janet. I’m glad you enjoyed the hike in spite of that wrong turn.
I checked my instructions and think they’re still correct. It reads “At the gate you have two options. For the gung-ho, take an immediate left and head up the steep hill. When you reach the first junction, turn right to meetup with the main trail on the ridge. The second option is a little kinder on the lungs. Head straight up the main trail to the ridge. It’s a long, gradual ascent.”
So IF you take the first left inside the gate (straight up the steep hill), then you would turn right at the first junction. If you go straight (which it sounds like you did) you turn left at the ridge.
I agree that it can be confusing, but now that you know the trail, I hope you’ll explore it further in the future.
Janet says
February 10, 2014 at 5:48 amWe definitely will and others that you have on your site. It’s a great site… thank you for sharing your discoveries!
Roxane says
March 22, 2014 at 5:15 pmHiked the Ridge this morning. It was perfect weather! It took us a little longer than 1.5 hours but we were geocaching along the way. 🙂 One side note….I noticed this morning that there actually is a small amount of parking on the very last block of Camino De Los Mares. As you are pulling up to the trailhead you will see 2 “No Parking” signs but if you look a little closer…right underneath them it says “from dusk to dawn”. As long as you park in between those two signs you are great! 🙂 I was going to take a pic of the signs for you but I forgot on our way out. Really happy I came across your site! You give great trail info! 🙂 See you on the trails! 🙂
Jeff Hester says
March 24, 2014 at 10:24 amThanks, Roxane. That’s right — you CAN park on Camino de los Mares between those signs. I’ve actually parked there on after-work hikes, getting back a little bit after sunset with no issues.
Thanks for the kind words!
L says
June 6, 2015 at 1:36 pmLOVE this trail! Thanks for this wonderful website.
Hannah says
July 11, 2015 at 6:52 pmJust wanted to let you know that this is one of my favorite hikes! It’s official name is the Patriot trail or flag pole hike 🙂
Jeff Hester says
July 13, 2015 at 1:00 pmThanks, Hannah! Yes… Roller Coast is my nickname for the trail. Each of the trails up there has a name, but the Patriot Trail makes sense, especially with the flag.