Mount Pinos Trail and Sawmill Mountain Hike Guide

8 miles - Moderate Effort
Or: 4 miles
3-4 Hours (Total)
1,600 Total Feet of Climbing
Max Elevation of 8,848 feet
Leashed Dogs Allowed

This two-peak hike is incredibly beautiful. First, you bag Mount Pinos, the highest point in Ventura County at 8847 ft. The Mount Pinos Trail is wide, shady, and pleasant. The real fun starts as you continue to Sawmill Mountain, the highest point in Kern County, at 8822ft. You'll pass a condor observation point, enter the rugged Chumash Wilderness, and then enjoy sweeping views and a huge cairn on Sawmill Mountain. The hike is challenging, but it's not a big mountain expedition; most folks can do this hike without much fuss.

In this Guide:

Video and Turn by Turn Hike Directions
How To Get To the Mount Pinos Trailhead
Gear Recommendations and Tips for the Hike

Quick Links:
Parks Pass - Park Website - NOAA Weather Report - My Apr 2024 Gear

If you just want to hike to Mount Pinos, it's a relatively easy 4 mile roundtrip hike.

Where Is the Mount Pinos Trailhead?

The hike to Mount Pinos starts at the very exciting sounding "Nordic Base," an operations base and first-aid center for the Nordic Ski Patrol. The Nordic Base trailhead is located within Los Padres National Forest, to the north of Los Angeles. Driving up to the trailhead is a beautiful experience as your vehicle climbs several thousand feet to the start of the hike.

Use this trailhead address:
Mt Pinos Nordic Base, Cuddy Valley Rd, Frazier Park, CA 93225

Some maps can be confusing, with a road going all the way to Mount Pinos. The dirt road that you hike on used to be open to motor vehicles, open from Nordic Base to the Condor Observation Point.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 3 — The parking lot at Nordic Base is massive.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 2 — Here's the Nordic Base building, which is usually occupied in the winter when this is a hub for snow sports.

Sometimes there are porta-potties here. Otherwise, go to the right of Nordic Base to find Chula Vista Campground, which has vault toilets. If you want to stay the night, Chula Vista is considered one of the best stargazing spots in SoCal.

Visiting in the Winter

Compared to the rest of Southern California, Los Padres NF experiences pretty harsh winters, and most of the precipitation comes down as snow. You'll want to check for any road closures if you are trying Mt Pinos in the winter. When the snow is bad, the road to Nordic Base will close. And of course, expect snow on the trail and prepare accordingly.

Gear for the Hike

While this hike isn't a long mountain expedition, it is a backcountry hike and you should have proper hiking gear. I'd bring at least 2L of water. The hike back includes some uphill and can be tough, so having a snack at the halfway point is a good option. If you are doing the shorter 4 mile hike to Mt Pinos, you can get away with fitness clothing. There are a lot of vista points on the hike and binoculars are nice to have.

Gear That I Love Right Now

Nothing is sponsored or promoted, just the actual gear that I use.

Garmin InReach Mini 2If you are out of cellphone range the Mini 2 will reliably allow you to hit SOS via satellite. You can see my review here.

HOKA Speedgoat 5These are a great balance of comfort and performance. The high stack height leaves my feet feeling great after a hike.

Check out the complete list here.

Mount Pinos & Sawmill Mountain Trail Maps

Use This Map:
View in CalTopo | PDF Map | GPX File

How Will You Navigate?

Using the Apple Watch for Hiking

Garmin Fenix 7 & Epix Review For Hikers

How To Read a Topographic Map

Garmin GPSMAP 67i Review

Elevation Profile

If you go all the way to Sawmill Mountain, you have some up and down. On paper the hike doesn't look too tough, but if you're coming from sea level, the up and down can be harder than you expect since you're at 8000+ feet.

3D Map

Hike Brief

Keep your eyes open for the critically endangered California Condor, North America's largest bird with a wingspan of over nine feet.

Along the hike you'll come to the Condor Observation Point, which gives you a panoramic overview of the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Condors only eat dead animals, and lead poisoning and micro-trash (plastic, bottle caps, etc.) have taken their toll; in 1987 only 22 California Condors existed. They were bred in captivity and reintroduced to this area in 1992. Today, there are over 200 California Condor living in the wild here.
There's some controversy regarding the actual highest point in Kern County. Is it Sawmill Mountain or Mount Pinos? The border between Kern and Ventura counties goes through Mount Pinos, and some folks think the pile of rocks on Mount Pinos is higher than Sawmill Mountain. Does it matter? If you bag both peaks on this hike, you'll have the high points covered regardless.
You'll enter the Chumash Wilderness Area, named after the Chumash native peoples and created in 1992. Some Chumash place names you might already know are Malibu and Ojai. The Chumash consider Mount Pinos to be the center of the world. And here's what a Wilderness Area actually is.
We'll also hike on the Tumamait Trail, named after Vincent Tumamait, the Chumash spiritual leader who helped keep their culture alive. His daughter Julie is active in Native American culture and has some good YouTube videos that share Chumash culture.
Pinos is the Spanish word for pines. As you might have figured out, this high altitude hike is home to many Jeffery and Limber pine trees.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions

Mt Pinos Trailhead — The trailhead is at the beginning of the parking lot, on the left hand side.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 4 — The trail winds around, with the parking lot down to the right.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 5 — Go through the gate

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 6 — At the fork in the trail, bear to the left.

Want to get into snowshoeing? The trail from Nordic Base to Mt Pinos on the Forest Service road is a great place to do it, especially for beginners.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 7 — The next mile or so is a nice windy dirt road up through the pine trees. It's a gradual climb and not too tough.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 8 — When you come out of the pines, bear to the left on the main road. The side trail to the right leads to a viewpoint, but you'll have plenty of great views shortly.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 9 — At the top of the climb you'll come out on this nice meadow. The radio towers of Mt Pinos in the distance. Almost there. We're cutting right across the meadow in front of us at the next turn.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 10 — Now we could take the dirt road all the way to the summit, but what fun would that be? Make the right onto the small trail for a scenic detour.

When you return, just come back on the dirt road and skip the side trail if you'd like.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 11 — Unlike the last trail, this one is a single-track. It winds away from the peak and then loops back.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 12 — You'll see the trail unfold in front of you up to Mount Pinos summit.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 14 — At the top of the hill you reach the summit of Mount Pinos. Unfortunately it's covered with radio towers.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 13 — From here on out you'll be treated to incredible views. Mt Pinos is the highest point in the mountains to the west of the Tejon Pass (the big mountain pass on I-5) and has the 11th greatest prominence in California. You can see the Central Valley and up to the southern Sierras on a clear day.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 15 — There's a geological marker on a pile of rocks marking the summit. There's also another pile of boulders about 80 feet away of the trail that some folks think is the real summit.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 16 — After you're done at the summit, continue straight down on the dirt road.

If you are just doing the 4 mile hike to Mt Pinos, make the left in the last picture and just continue back down the dirt road to the start of the hike.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 17 — In a few minutes you'll reach the clearing for the Condor Observation Point. The actual trail (the Tumamait Trail) is going to be a hard right from here, while the bench and interpretive display are straight.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 18 — The observation point has a viewpoint and nice interpretive display.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 19 — The views from here into the Sespe Condor Sanctuary are spectacular.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 20 — Head back to the Tumamait Trail and hike straight.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 21 — At the junction you can make a short trip to the right for a viewpoint, and the main trail to Sawmill Mountain goes left.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 22 — The viewpoint is impressive and offers unobstructed panoramic views. That's Sawmill Mountain in front of you, our next stop.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 23 — Heading back onto the main trail, you descend on some wide sweeping switchbacks.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 24 — And soon you enter the Chumash Wilderness.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 25 — Eventually you descend the last stretch onto the saddle.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 26 — And then immediately start heading uphill from the saddle.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 27 — Toward the top of the climb, bear to the right, passing the false summit to the left.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 28 — And then the trail flattens out and you find yourself walking through the pines.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 29 — At the fork, bear right to head up to the summit of Sawmill Mountain.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 30 — The trail is a little less worn than the others, but is still easy to follow.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 31 — Soon you'll see the massive stone marker in the distance.

Mount Pinos Hike Directions 32 — And here you are, Sawmill Mountain!

From here you just turn around and go back the way you came. And remember, you can skip the summit of Mount Pinos and just go straight back on the dirt road if you like.

And if you want to get a few more miles in (about 3), you can continue back to the junction and head to Grouse Mountain, the next peak over. There's actually something called the 321 Challenge for bagging all three peaks, and you can get a patch if you complete it. The summit of Grouse is not as spectacular as Sawmill, but the trail and wilderness are beautiful. I included the trail on the downloadable PDF.

Need More Info?

Have a question about the guide or want to see what other people are saying/asking? View the Youtube comments for this video. Leave a comment and I will do my best to respond.
When planning, always check the park website and social media to make sure the trails are open. Similarly, check the weather and road conditions.

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This Guide Was Written by Cris Hazzard

Cris Hazzard 4 Mile Trail Yosemite
Hi, I'm Cris Hazzard, aka Hiking Guy, a professional outdoors guide, hiking expert, and author based in Southern California. I created this website to share all the great hikes I do with everyone else out there. This site is different because it gives detailed directions that even the beginning hiker can follow. I also share what hiking gear works and doesn't so you don't waste money. I don't do sponsored or promoted content; I share only the gear recommendations, hikes, and tips that I would with my family and friends. If you like the website and YouTube channel, please support these free guides (I couldn't do it without folks like you!). You can stay up to date with my new guides by following me on YouTube, Instagram, or by subscribing to my monthly newsletter.