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Tin Mine Canyon Trail Guide

By Cris Hazzard, Professional Hiking Guide
Updated January 18, 2025

Hike Stats

Total Distance: 5 miles
Time: 2 Hours
Total Climbing: 820 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Crowds: Quiet
Dogs: Leashed
Gear: What I Use
Weather: Latest Report
Park: Cleveland National Forest - Trabuco Ranger District

Hiking the Tin Mine Canyon Trail takes you into another world. You'll park your car in suburban SoCal, but end up in a lush, shaded gully alongside a mountain stream. On the way you get to check out the old tin mine shafts, over 100 years old and once part of the search for the purest tin in the world. The Tin Mine Canyon Trail is relatively short, easy, shaded, and great for the family.

Where is the Tin Mine Canyon Trail?

Parking for the Tin Mine Canyon Trail is easy and free. The hike starts on the Skyline Trail, and there is a lot of curbside parking by the trailhead. Just know that this trailhead is popular, and you'll probably have to walk at least a few minutes on the sidewalk to get to the trailhead. Use this trailhead address:
Skyline Drive Trail, Skyline Dr, Corona, CA 92882

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 3 — There's plenty of parking along the street, but it does get full.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 5 — The trail starts at the bridge in the middle of the parking area. Look for the Skyline Drive Trail sign.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 1 — There's a water refill but no bathrooms.

Gear For the Hike

This is a pretty easy hike, and you don't need anything more than light hiking gear or fitness clothes to do it. There can be poison oak and overgrown parts of the trail, so having long pants is smart. There can also be gnats and flies; put some insect repellant on. After a rain, there are stream crossings where your feet can get wet, but most of the time the creek is dry. Bring at least 1L of water to stay hydrated.

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Full October 2025 Gear List →

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Maps

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 2 — Some sections of the trail can be overgrown, but it's always pretty easy to spot where it continues if you keep going.

Overall the hike is easy to follow and straightforward. Some sections of the trail split apart and rejoin each other, and I'll point them out in the directions below, but you are in Tin Mine Canyon, the options for getting lost are limited.

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Elevation Profile

Tin Mine Canyon Elevation — This profile looks worse than it is. The hike is a very gradual uphill with no steep sections. It's also shaded as you make your way into Tin Mine Canyon.

3D Map

The Tin Mine Canyon Story

Interior View Of The Santa Ana Tin Mine, Orange County, March 20, 1903 — Here's what a tin mine in the Santa Ana Mountains looked like 1903. At the time, tin was booming like gold and everyone wanted to find it. Photo USC

In the 1800s and 1900s, mining was basically free money that you could access with some elbow grease. Thousands flocked to California to mine for gold but found other minerals that they could sell, like silver and tin. The Santa Ana Mountains were no exception, with lots of mining occurring (ever think about how "Silverado Canyon" got its name?). In 1859, what was to become California's largest tin mine, the Cajalco Tin Mine, opened about 7 miles east of Tin Mine Canyon.

Ben Harrison With Tin — The tin found in this area was said to be some of the purest in the world. It was so important that in 1891, President Benjamin Harrison came out to have his picture taken with a stack of tin.

This is where milk comes into the story, which used to be delivered in wooden buckets. The Department of Health decreed that milk had to be covered and sterilized, and tin can packaging (which you still see on things like Campbells Soup) became a thing. Knowing that a productive tin mine was only a few miles away, the Borden Milk Company dug dozens of exploratory tunnels searching for another lode of tin. It never happened, and the mine shafts you see on this hike are just part of that exploratory effort.

The Borden Milk Company and the Santa Ana Tin Mining Company, partially owned by Borden, both shared the eagle as their logo. The eagle is long gone, replaced by a smiling cow, and the tin cans have been replaced with steel and other materials.

Tin Mine Canyon Hike Directions

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 4 — Start on the paved path, which is the start of the Skyline Drive Trail.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 6 — The beginning of the path is paved as it skirts around a residential area.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 7 — On your left are some great eroded rock formations, similar to what you get to hike though at a spot like Annie's Canyon.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 8 — When the pavement ends, pass through the gate to continue on the (now dirt) Skyline Drive Trail.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 9 — Keep hiking up the dirt road. In front of you is Tin Mine Canyon.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 10 — When Skyline Drive makes the sharp right and starts to climb uphill, go straight and look for the official start of the Tin Mine Canyon Trail.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 11 — There's a board at the start of the trail. Hike straight past the sign to start on the singletrack.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 12 — There's also a trail post here, which is the only one that you'll see until you reach the end.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 13 — The trail immediately feels different from the previous stretch as you hike into the narrowing canyon.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 14 — There are a few areas like this one that split and rejoin each other. It doesn't matter which branch you take.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 16 — You'll start seeing more oaks, sycamores, and shrubs as you hike along the stream.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 17 — When you see a trail heading 90 degrees to the left, go straight, continuing up the canyon.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 18 — You'll pass a bench under a tree.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 19 — And then three benches.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 20 — And then the canyon narrows, with cliff walls on the side.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 21 — And at about 1.7 miles in, keep your eyes open for an old post from an interpretive display. The mine is back to the left from here (and easy to walk past if you're not paying attention).

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 22 — Turn back from the post to see the mine shaft.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 23 — Here's what the mine looks like inside. FYI I took this picture at the gate. I didn't go inside.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 24 — Keep hiking past the mine, and in a minute you'll climb a small rise. At the top, look back for another shaft.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 25 — Notice the shaft up and to the left in the picture.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 26 — Continue up the trail, which is now narrower and lusher.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 27 — You'll criss-cross over the stream several times. If there's water, look for newts and salamanders, which are common here.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 28 — Towards the end of the trail is a small log crossing on the creek.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 29 — And then you'll scramble up some rocks.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 30 — And then reach the "trail end" sign, which marks the official end of the Tin Mine Canyon trail.

Some folks continue up the canyon, which you can follow up to Skyline Drive or Black Star Canyon Road. However, the trail eventually disappears if you continue, and you will need to have experience in off-trail navigation and scrambling to complete the hike. As you can imagine, the area past this point gets more than its fair share of rescues. Only attempt to continue if you are confident in your skills and experience.

Tin Mine Canyon Trail Directions 31 — Otherwise just turn around and go back the way you came. That's the hike!

Originally published November 4, 2021

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