Car Wreck Trail (Laguna Beach)

In This Guide	Video & Turn by Turn Hike Directions How to Get to the Car Wreck Trail Everything You Need to Know To Prepare for the Hike
Total Distance	3.8 miles (6.1 km)
Other Options	2.6 miles - 2 hours to Car Wreck and Back
Hike Time	2-3 Hours (Total)
Difficulty (?)	Moderate
Total Ascent (?)	950 feet (290m)
Highest Elevation	1,020 feet (311m)
Fees & Permits	None
Dogs Allowed	No
Alerts & Closures (?)	Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park
Park Phone	949-923-2200

Hidden in the hills high above Laguna Beach, far away from any road, lies the fabled “car wreck,” 1946 Dodge 5-passenger coupe. Visiting the car wreck became so popular that Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park officially made a trail to it in 2013. Today it’s a fun hike, offering not only a cool vintage car wreck but also expansive views from Catalina to Mt Baldy. This guide has a 3.8 mile loop that makes the climbing a little easier, or you can do a shorter hike to the car wreck and back.

Where is the Car Wreck Trail?

The hike to the Car Wreck Trail starts in Alta Laguna Park, about 1,000 feet above the ocean at Laguna Beach. From the parking area at Alta Laguna Park, you hike into Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park and then to the car wreck.

Use this trailhead address:
Alta Laguna Park, 3299 Alta Laguna Blvd, Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Car Wreck Trail Directions 2 — The parking lot at Alta Laguna is big, but is shared with people using the park’s tennis courts and other attractions. If you can’t find a spot here, there is street parking just outside of the park.

Car Wreck Trail Directions 3 — If you need to use the bathrooms, there’s a bathroom with the best view in SoCal at the end of the parking lot. You can also fill up with water here.

Gear for the Hike

The trails are rather steep, and there is virtually no shade, so it helps to bring the right gear. I recommend good hiking shoes or boots, at least 1L of water, sun protection, and trekking poles if you have them. If you don’t have proper hiking gear, you can certainly get away with fitness clothing, but don’t forget the water. Leave at sunrise before it gets too hot and crowded for the best experience.

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If you hike a lot or just want the best (but not the most durable) hiking footwear, the Wildcat trail runner is your best move. It’s fast and light on trails, the sole gives me good grip off-trail or scrambling, and they dry quickly.
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Best All-Around Day Pack: Osprey Talon
I try so many backpacks and I can usually find something I love about all of them. But no matter how many I try, I always find that I come back to the Osprey Talon 33 (or for women, the Osprey Sirrus 36). It’s just the right balance between everything. You save weight because there is no frame, but the vented and padded back holds its shape, giving it a pseudo-frame. It’s big enough for long day hikes or overnighters, but when I don’t fill it on a shorter hike, it’s still nice and light. It’s got a sleeve for a hydration bladder and side pockets for Smartwater bottles. I’ve been using (and beating) the same one since 2017 and it’s still going strong.
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Stay Safe Out of Cell Phone Range
If you’re not familiar with the Garmin InReach technology, it allows you to send and receive text messages where you don’t have cell phone signals. You can also get weather reports and trigger an SOS to emergency responders. Even if you don’t have an emergency, sending a quick message telling a loved one that you’re okay or are running late is well worth the cost. The Garmin InReach Mini (REI | Amazon | My Review) fits in your palm and weighs next to nothing.

Here’s my complete gear list that I personally use, have tested, and recommend, updated December 2020.

My December 2020 Top Gear Picks

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Car Wreck Trail Maps

Car Wreck Trail Directions 1 — The trails are all well marked with these posts. With the exception of a few little wrinkles, you should be able to confidently navigate the big trail junctions.

Download the Hike GPX File View a Printable PDF Hike Map

Elevation Profile

Car Wreck Trail Elevation — For me the toughest part of this hike is doing the descent first, and then having to climb back out.

3d Map

Hike Brief

Dodge — Here’s the “before” picture of the wrecked car. Photo Allpar

The car wreck is a 1946 Dodge 5-passenger coup. In 1946 they sold for between $1,200-1,700, depending on how fancy you went. Innovations on this 1946 model include electric wipers and replaceable oil filters.
How did the car get here, in the middle on nowhere? There’s no official answer, but it’s speculated by local historians that it ended up here in the 1960s. At the time, the dirt roads in the hills around Laguna Beach were popular spots for pop-up hippy concerts and hangouts. The likely scenario is that this Dodge was in the hills then and got washed down into the canyon during one of the bigger flash floods caused by heavy rains. That’s the theory, but no one really knows for sure.
The hike makes a stop at the scenic “Top of the World,” a high point in the area that actually sits on top of a buried reservoir. So it’s more of a “Top of the Reservoir.” The 3 million gallon tank, built in 1996, is gravity fed and acts as a water supply to fight fires.
The “Top of the World” hill lined up nicely with the takeoff path from the (now closed) Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, and planes have crashed here over the years. Some remains of aircraft used to be visible if you really looked, but I believe the park has removed them now.

Car Wreck Trail Hike Directions

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