Southern California Mountain Hikes: My Own SoCal Six Pack of Peaks
Southern California has an abundance of mountain hike options. The Six Packs of Peaks is a bad ass hiking challenge whose tagline is
“Hike More. Get Strong. Do Good.”
The Six Pack of Peaks!
It sounds like a workout you would purchase off an overnight infomercial. But it’s not. It’s something you have to do by motivating yourself.
Sign Up, Go Hike Mountains, no gimmicks included.
The Six Pack of Peaks is a fun concept and challenge that benefits under-resourced youth in the outdoors (over $80k raised the past THREE YEARS nice job!!) and pushes YOU (the mountain climber) to hike six different peaks in a region of America over the duration of a year. You could hike them in six days, six weeks, or six months. The goal is to complete in a year and then sign up again the following year for the next challenge.
I completed and created my own Six Pack of Peaks: SoCal Edition! Some of the mountains on their official list required ice axes and winter technical routes. I replaced those with ones whose summit I could reach without technical gear! Hopefully this gives you a glimpse into a few of the many magnificent mountains in the region that you could climb when in the area.
I hope to see you on top of a mountain summit soon my friend!
Without further ado here is my Six Pack of Peaks in SoCal, Winterized Edition!
Six Pack Mountain Numero Uno: Mount Baldy. Aka, Mount San Antonio.
The highest point of LA County is the summit of Baldy and it’s a local legend in LA. I was fortunate for some warm December weather and could make a non-dicey attempt for the summit. This hike is located in the Angeles National Forest and has two routes to the top.
I chose to head up the Baldy Bowl which climbs about 4,000 feet in just 4.5 miles, however even if there is ice there’s no steep drop-offs so it’s a popular winter route even with that crazy elevation gain. The whole ascent is a constant uphill push but the last mile or so will challenge you as much as any hike you have ever done. I was GASPING for air, it sort of felt more like I was walking up a wall than a trail in that last mile. When you reach the summit though you’ll be at the top of the City of Angels and above 10,000 feet.
The route down that I took was the Devil’s Backbone to the Forest Road which is much longer (about seven miles) but also much kinder to the knees!
It’s a challenging but doable day hike. It should definitely a mainstay member of any Six Pack of Peaks challenge!
Six Pack Mountain Numero Dos: Strawberry Peak
Another member of the 2020 Official Six Pack SoCal Challenge is the highest point in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains. I had to wait for snow and ice to clear on the trail in January after snow hit the Gabriel’s in late December. But by mid January I had a gorgeous, and mostly snow-free, trek up Strawberry Peak.
This was a fun trek to the top that will push your body in the final mile or so. I made it up and back in less than three hours with a gain of 1,700 feet. The middle of the hike is a fun (AND FLAT) terrain around the side of the mountain before a STEEP final push. One mile in you will reach an intersection that appears like you will begin a rock climb to the right to continue on the trail, look slightly to your left and follow the flat trail that wraps around the mountainside. DO NOT go up to the right unless you are comfortable with rolling back down the hill if you slip. It’s that VERTICAL!
The signs you can pose with at the top are cool too as you can see! There are two signs to pick from, just sanitize before and after please!
I believe you should get bonus points if you eat strawberries at the summit and post a pic on Instagram.
Conejo Mountain Summit View looking out to over the TO. (Thousand Oaks.)
Six Pack Mountain Numero Tres: Conejo Mountain
Conejo Mountain is a lesser known Thousand Oaks summit that was less than a ten minute drive from our apartment to the trailhead. It leaves from a neighborhood (you literally park across the street from someone’s house) and head up a winding path around power lines, hence it is creatively called the Power Line Trail!
You get a gradual ascent up a Fire Road followed by a Billy Goat trail (think steep, loose rock, sketchy that only a billygoat normally travels on) that is the final push to the summit. I did this one en route to Point Mugu State Beach and it’s a nice workout that will push you but definitely not take up your whole day.
It was just a smidgen under five miles round trip with an elevation gain of over 1,100 feet. If you are in the Thousand Oaks region it’s definitely a fun one to try if the other members of the Six Pack of Peaks require technical gear you don’t have!
Six Pack Mountain Numero Cuatro: Saddle Peak
Located on the Backbone Trail, an amazing trail that runs 65.7 mile through the Santa Monica Mountains with multiple entry and departure points that we talk about in more details on episode four season four of our podcast. Saddle peak is located in or near Malibu Creek State Park.
I couldn’t quite tell where I was finishing at in location to the summit (the Santa Monica Wilderness, Malibu Creek State Park, someone’s private property, etc?) but there are a variety of trailheads and, like any good SoCal peak, a fire road option to the mountain summit. On a clear day you’ll get views of the Pacific Ocean or on a cloudy day like I had you’ll get the chance to see the cumulus settling under you as they glide down the Pacific Coast Highway.
Either way you are in for a treat as it offers some of the best views of the Santa Monica Mountain Range, the ocean, and the bays in SoCal. This trail is about 3.5 miles roundtrip with a gain of 900 feet and definitely enough of a hike to work up a sweat!
Views from the summit of Verdugo Peak.
Six Pack Mountain Numero Cinco: Verdugo Peak
What blows me away about SoCal is the massive variety of trails and mountains that you have great access to just off of freeways or neighborhood driveways. While the San Gabriels and the Santa Monica Mountain ranges get a lot of the pub the Verdugo Mountain range is a smaller and underrated range that is easy to reach and will still make you work the hamstrings and enjoy getting outside!
My friends at Cottonwood Urban Farm told me about this one since I was volunteering there every Saturday morning with LA Compost. They recommended it as a trail run to me, due to its close location to the farm, and it was a DOOZY! Especially doing it prior to the hard work we do at the farm. Verdugo Peak via the Hostetter Fire Road is a 7.5 mile run (or hike) to the top of the highest point in this mountain range and you’ll get over 1,400 feet in elevation gain. I definitely needed the change of clothes I brought (and the stick of deodorant I forgot to pack prior to going to the farm!). I was stinky and drenched but with an ear to ear grin.
The trailhead is literally located right on the 210 Freeway and the access is simply hard to beat!
Terrain is basic but it’s a great workout and you still bag a mountain summit, what else do you need?!
Six Pack Mountain Summit Numero Seis: Mount Hollywood
As 2Pac says in California Love “You know Hollywood trying to get a piece of this baby.” And yes no SoCal hiking article would be complete without a trek in the iconic Griffith Park.
Mount Hollywood climbs about 1,000 feet in just over two miles and you get great views of the Observatory, the oddly placed Hollywood sign, and stretching views of the City of Angels. The park is a great respite into nature in the middle of a big city and it was fun to explore Griffith for the first time in several years.
Overall this was a fun challenge and while I love having the Six Pack of Peaks itinerary placed in front of me it was interesting in finding my own customized version.
The hiking in SoCal is plentiful and all of this was done without leaving LA or Ventura County. I have done other mountain summits in the San Gabriel’s like Echo Mountain, Mugu Peak in Point Mugu State Park (which I did on my last day in SoCal but I had already written this article and I didn’t include it because there is no such thing as a Seven Pack of Peaks!), down in San Diego County, and of course over in Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert where we lived prior to this.
But there’s something special, and unique, about hiking a challenging mountain and being able to get to the beach afterwards to relax. Or vice versa. SoCal has more access to this type of terrain than any place I am aware of in the world.
Mount Hollywood Trail
Sign up for the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge if you dare. I love that they are promoting the idea of getting people outside and then focusing on giving back to under-resourced youth in the outdoors. It’s a great one two punch. Or you can still support them and create your own customized Six Pack if the timing doesn’t work to do their recommended Six Pack!
Thanks for reading and let us know about your favorite SoCal Mountain Summit in the comment and sign up for our newsletter in the footer!
Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R