Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation gain: 1,142 ft
When to go: Year round
One of my hiking friends introduced me to this trail on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and I figure I burned off at least part of the feast I ate the day before.
The start of this trail is non-obvious. We parked on a bend in a residential neighborhood then hoofed it up a concrete culvert. Not an auspicious beginning to the hike, but my friend John assured us this was the best way.
The trail meanders through a valley, then quickly winds up and around the hill to reach the ridge-line.
At this point, most of the trail is double-track and well defined. But watch closely for a narrower trail leading off along the ridge to the right. That’s our trail.
The trail gets steep at times, and the gravel can make your footing treacherous. Trekking poles are highly recommended!
Looking back down the narrow ridge-line trail, you are rewarded with amazing views across much of south Orange County. On this clear day, we even saw the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island on the horizon!
As you can see from this panorama, it doesn’t take long for you to feel miles away, even in Orange County. Whether you use this trail as a great, quick, fresh-air cardio workout or simply an opportunity to reset your clock, Small Peak beckons.
Small Peak Trail Map and Elevation Profile
Photo Gallery
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Hey Jeff, John here! I was gathering hiking trail info from the meetup group descriptions and stumbled across your blog. Thanks for posting this hike, and LOL at citing my Mayfield trailhead recommendation! Hope you and Joan are doing well…cheers.
Hey John! Great to hear from you! Joan and I are doing well. We’re up in Los Angeles since last August and loving it. Let me know if you head up this way and we’ll hit the trails up here.
Found this hike here on your site. My friend (who is also named Jeff) and I hiked up here this afternoon. Great views from a place that wasn’t too difficult to get to! I’ll certainly be back.
Hello, this is known locally as Bell Peak aka the “Flag Pole”. It is most often started at the Bell View Trail trailhead at a small park on Robinson Ranch Rd. The trail continues to Los Pinos peak. Very hot in the summer months.
Thanks, Paul! I’m going to update this as our “starting point” was definitely not the best. I’ll have to look into the route to Los Pinos peak. Sounds tough!