These 34 hikes and picnic sites are reopening after the L.A. fires

Just over three months after the Eaton and Palisades fires ordered their closure, several trails have reopened throughout the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains. Additionally, officials appear poised to reopen trails closed by the September 2024 wildfires, including those in San Bernardino National Forest.

The reopened hikes (listed below) steer clear of the burn scars, although charred landscape may be visible from some vantage points along trails. Officials close trails for a number of reasons, including because of their proximity to a fire or its expected path, because they want roads clear to ensure safety of firefighters or because they’re worried that visitors might unwittingly start another wildfire when resources are already strapped. It’ll take months, if not years, for some of the trails burned in the recent wildfires to reopen.

I actually cheered when I saw my favorite hike had reopened, the western end of the Gabrielino trail near Pasadena. Grateful to be back, I hiked a mile Monday and found a picnic table under the shade of an oak grove. I laid down on it, put my hat over my face and listened to the conversations around me. A raven was giving someone an earful. I closed my eyes and heard a quick few whooshes above me, like a sword cutting through the air. I looked up to see two of them flying at and around each other.

(L) A glimpse of the riverbed of the Arroyo Seco. (R) An oak canopy provides shade over the Gabrielino trail near Pasadena.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

I then turned my attention to a number of canyon wrens in a debate about something. I started laughing, feeling a little silly about it, but I couldn’t help myself. A western flycatcher, bushtit, oak titmouse and orange-crowned warbler, per my birding app, jumped into that afternoon’s discussion too.

I’ve been to this trail numerous times, but I’d never stopped at this table. One thing the January fires taught me was to slow down and appreciate what’s around us. Too often, I charge down the path with my dog Maggie May in a rush to the summit, pausing only to catch my breath and continue on.

Below you’ll find a list of all the spots we can enjoy again. I encourage you as you return to take a moment, or multiple, and engage your senses. Ask yourself: “In this moment, what do I see, feel, hear, smell and taste?” Grounding ourselves in nature is a way to remind ourselves that it’s also the journey, not just the destination, that matters.

Outside of the closures from the Eaton and Palisades fires, several trails remain closed because of the Bridge, Line and Airport fires, which burned thousands of acres through Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests. The Holy Jim area in Cleveland National Forest, a popular hiking spot with a waterfall, remains closed, along with several other paths.

The closure order for the Line fire, which burned almost 44,000 acres in San Bernardino County, expired March 31. A worker at San Bernardino National Forest told me that the order is being extended through September, but it hasn’t been posted yet. It will be a smaller closure order, meaning some trails will reopen. I will let you know as I learn more!

The Gabrielino trail, a 28.8-mile trail through Angeles National Forest, winds through oak woodlands and several other ecosystems.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Reopened trails and picnic areas in Angeles National Forest:

• Chantry Flat Recreation Area: This large shady spot features a wide paved path to several picnic tables, along with stairs leading to others higher on the hillside. The Adams Pack Station is nearby and open every day. It serves food and often hosts local musicians. This is an extremely popular area of Angeles National Forest, so please carpool if you can!
• Upper and Lower Winter Creek trails
• Sturtevant Trail
• Sturtevant Loop

The Gabrielino trail is a multi-use trail frequented by hikers, bikers and horseback riders.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

• Gabrielino National Recreation Trail: For the first time in a long time, all 28.8 miles of this trail is open. Hikers often start at Chantry Flat Recreation Area and end near the Hahamongna Watershed Park near Pasadena. That said, just because the entire trail is open doesn’t mean it’s in good condition. Although trail crews have worked hard on the Gabrielino trail, you could still run into spots that are overgrown and damaged. Proceed with care and caution.
• Gould Mesa Campground: This small campground is two miles into the Gabrielino trail if you start hiking it near the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. It features newly constructed vault toilets. You can also access it by hiking down from this trailhead off Highway 2.

Switzer Falls, a stunning waterfall in Angeles National Forest, that flows near the Gabrielino trail.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

• Switzer picnic site: This idyllic picnic area features picnic tables under large shade trees near a stream. It is also really popular. From here, you can hike the Gabrielino trail to Switzer Falls. (Please don’t try to climb atop the falls. It is dangerous!)

Here is a list of the trails that remain closed because of the Eaton fire. Here’s a list of what remains closed because of the Bridge fire.

Please note: Several of these openings aren’t yet reflected on the Angeles National Forest website. Thousands of workers from the U.S. Forest Service have been fired, so please have patience with our public servants. They’re doing their best.

Reopened trails in the Santa Monica Mountains:

• Caballero Canyon Trail
• Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park
• Red Rock Canyon Park
• Top of Topanga Overlook
• Summit Valley Edmund D. Edelman Park

Reopened trails in Topanga State Park

As of March 21, all hiking trails in unburned areas west of Eagle Springs Fire Road and west of East Topanga Fire Road are open. Same goes for unburned areas west of the Winnetka Ridge Trail and north of Dirt Mulholland. That includes the following:

• Backbone Trail (Topanga Elementary School)
• Caballero Canyon Trail
• Corbin Canyon Trail
• Dead Horse Trail
• Entrada Connector Trail
• Glen Trail
• Henry Ridge Motorway
• Hillside Connector Trail
• Hondo Canyon Trail
• Musch Meadows Trail
• Musch Trail
• 92 Trail
• Natoma Ridge Trail
• Prier Road
• Cheney Fire Road
• Queen Victoria Trail
• Topanga Community House Trail
• Topanga Henry Ridge
• Natoma Trail
• Upper Encina Trail
• Winfield Trail
• Winnetka Ridge Trail

Have a wonderful time out there, friends!

3 things to do

A gray whale calf and its mother (cow) swim close to a boat in San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

1. Commemorate cetaceans in Oxnard
The Channel Islands Harbor will host its 26th Celebration of the Whales Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at 3350 S. Harbor Blvd. in Oxnard. Organizers have planned a community whale-themed mural project, chalk art, free kayaking and more. Learn more at channelislandsharbor.org.

2. Learn about local outdoors groups in Azusa
The city of Azusa will host its annual outdoor recreation and eco-fair from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Park (320 N. Orange Place). Attendees can try out rock climbing and bungee jumping, and learn about volunteer opportunities from local outdoors nonprofit groups. Learn more at the city’s Instagram page.

3. Attend pole dancing for the planet in L.A.
The Sierra Club Angeles Chapter and L.A. Climate Week will host Planet Pole from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Sassafras Saloon, located at 1233 Vine St. Pole dancers will perform acts inspired by the issues facing our changing planet. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter. Tips appreciated for the dancers. Tickets are $25 online or $30 at the door. Buy yours at sierraclub.org.

The must-read

Smoke lingers in parts of the Angeles National Forest above Altadena in January.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins issued a memo declaring a state of emergency that would allow officials to forego the usual approval process to increase logging in millions of acres of public land. A map released with the memo shows millions of acres of California included, including what appears to be Angeles National Forest, Los Padres National Forest, San Bernardino National Forest and Cleveland National Forest. The move was immediately decried by environmental groups, reported Janet Wilson, senior environment reporter at the Desert Sun. “Unleashing the bulldozers and chainsaws on these beautiful public lands will result in clearcuts, polluted streams and extinct species,” said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s well known that heavily logged forests are the most flammable. We will use every legal tool at our disposal to halt the Trump administration’s implementation of this order.”

I will keep you posted.

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

As more trails reopen, it’s crucial for hikers to know what poodle-dog bush looks like. No, not because of its beauty (although its purple flowers are nice enough). The native plant often sprouts up after fire, as my colleague Lila Seidman recently wrote, and can cause a rash similar (and sometimes worse) to poison ivy or oak. I see it often while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains in recently burned areas. I personally struggle, though, to distinguish between poodle-dog bush and yerba santa (which isn’t harmful to the skin). If anyone has a clever mnemonic or other means of remembering the differences, please help your local outdoors reporter out!

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.