Gabrielino Trail (NRT) Guide

Stretching 28.8 miles through the heart of Angeles National Forest, the Gabrielino Trail covers not only some of the most popular areas, but also some of the most remote. And not only is it a beautiful hike, but it's also got historical significance. The Gabrielino Trail was chosen as  the nation’s first National Recreation Trail (NRT) in 1970 because it "represents its region, supports a diverse community, and is among Americas best trails." Some sections of the Gabrielino Trail were in sad shape (and impassable) until August 2018 when local mountain bikers led a restoration effort that reopened this iconic trail once again. Today you can enjoy the Gabrielino Trail as a backpacking trip or an ambitious day hike. Keep reading for all the details.

When planning, always check the park website and social media to make sure the trails are open. Similarly, check the weather and road conditions.

Planning Your Trip on the Gabrielino NRT

Since the Gabrielino NRT is a point-to-point hike, there's some planning involved unless you want to do it as an out-and-back trip. There's no "this is the best way" to do the hike, although when the hike was first announced it was described in an east to west fashion. But it really just depends on your time, logistics, and preferred camping spot if you're doing it overnight. Here are the popular options.

• Do it in 2 days, east or west-bound, camping overnight at Valley Forge, West Fork, or Devore Trail Camps (all beautiful).
• Do it as a very long (and tough) day hike
• Do it as a three-day backpacking trip west to east, camping at Spruce Grove the first night, then at some dispersed sites between Red Box and Switzer the next day, and finally finishing at Altadena.
• If you're looking for some more camping options closer to the western terminus of the trail, you can detour a bit off the Gabrielino to Bear Canyon Trail Camp (waypoint in GPX file, about 2 miles off the trail) or even camp at the Comodore Camp ruins (by Switzer Picnic Area), although this isn't an official campground anymore and has a lot of traffic.

I don't recommend staying at the Gould Mesa Campground. It can be noisy and popular with people who want "to party."

Oakwilde Trail Camp is closed and mostly gone.

How to Get to the Gabrielino Trail

The Gabrielino Trail has two ends, the east end of the trail is at Chantry Flat, a popular trailhead for the hike to Mt Wilson. Chantry Flat is technically open from 6am to 8pm, and when it's closed, the gate to the area is closed so you can't drive in and out. In reality the gate opens a little earlier most of the time, but it's not guaranteed. You need a National Parks Pass or Adventure Pass to park at Chantry Flat, and the lot fills up quickly. You can park overnight here as long as you display your pass (and know that you're locked in while the gate is closed).

East Trailhead:
Chantry Flat, Chantry Flats Rd, Arcadia, CA 91006

There's usually no cell service at Chantry Flat so it doesn't make for a good place to get an Uber.

The western terminus of the trail is in Altadena, and the parking lot closest to the trailhead is the Windsor Blvd Bike Trailhead Parking Lot, which is used mainly by fitness folks and mountain bikers using the Gabrielino Trail, but it is open to everyone. The status of overnight parking here is murky. I've been on the phone with multiple local officials and have gotten multiple answers including "I don't know." Fair enough. I've parked here overnight several times without any problem. If you're paranoid, you can pick up an inexpensive overnight parking permit online and give that a try.

West Trailhead:
2755 N Windsor Ave, Altadena, CA 91001

If you want to do this hike solo point-to-point, you can park at the west trailhead in Altadena, Uber or Lyft to Chantry Flat, and hike back westward.

Gear For the Hike

There's a couple of things to be aware of.

• First are the stream crossings; there are a lot of them. If you have trekking poles, it will help.
• The other thing is (black) bears. You might encounter them, especially on the more remote parts of the hike between Chantry Flat and Red Box Gap. 99% of the time they will be running away before you even spot them. I don't bring bear spray here but if you're worried you certainly could. You'll want to hang any food that you carry if you camp overnight. You could also take a bear canister but I've always been fine by just hanging my food here. There are a lot of trees by all the campsites.
  

  

  

• You will probably need a water filter to refill your stores as you go. There is generally water by the Valley Forge, Devore, and West Fork Trail Camps, along with the Switzer Picnic area. The picnic area at Red Box Gap has a spigot where you can reliably fill up on water all the time. Call the ranger station if you're in doubt.
• Insects can be a problem in the summer in these lower slopes of Angeles National Forest. I treat my clothes, put repellant on my skin, and bring a head net for the sections of the hike that are really bad.
• The trail is pretty easy to follow but can be overgrown in sections. Having long pants will help avoid scratches and poison oak.
• Likewise, using a GPS with the GPX file from this site will help you navigate some of the trickier sections, especially on the Arroyo Seco between Oakwilde and Paul Little.
• Temperatures and conditions can vary wildly based on the season, so check the weather. In the summer you can get away with a very light sleeping bag, but in the winter you'll want something more. It does snow here too, but not as much as in the high peaks of Angeles National Forest. Check the weather and call the ranger station if in doubt.

Don't forget your free campfire permit. You need it for portable camping stoves too.

My Latest Gear Picks

As a hiking guide, I test lots of hiking gear. On my picks page, I'll show you all of the gear that I actually use. I don't accept paid promotions or talk about the stuff that doesn't make the cut. It's just the gear that works best, so you don't have to waste your money.

All My September 2023 Top Gear Picks

Water on the Trail

Let me first start out with a disclaimer: the water levels vary. I'll give you a list of areas where you can usually refill, but I would check with the ranger station or local sources before you go. In the spring there is usually a lot of water, and then later in the fall not so much. Red Box Picnic area has a spigot and is really the only reliable spot for water, but luckily it's about half-way. They can also turn it off when conditions are below freezing. So again, check with the rangers. Here are the sections where there is usually water.

• Cascade Picnic Area
• Spruce Grove Trail Camp
• Devore Trail Camp
• West Fork Trail Camp
• Valley Forge Trail Camp
• Red Box Picnic Area (spigot and potable without filtering)
• Switzer Picnic Area to Switzer's Ruins
• Paul Little Turnoff to Altadena Trailhead

There are small streams along the way, but consider this list a guide to the major landmarks with water.

Gabrielino Trail (Gabrielino NRT) Trail Maps

If you want a nice overview map of the hike and area, the National Geographic map of Angeles National Forest is a good one to have with you as you do the hike. You'll be able to ID the peaks around you and see other trail options in case of an emergency.

Explore Map on CalTopoView a Printable PDF Hike MapDownload the Hike GPX File

Best Smartphone Apps to Navigate: AllTrails | GaiaGPS | OnX

Gabrielino Trail Elevation

Gabrielino Trail Landmarks East to West

Gabrielino Trail Landmarks West to East

Trail Conditions

The Gabrielino is long with remote sections, and the trail conditions aren't always the best. And when I say that, there are times that it can be impassable. The main offending section is between Newcomb Pass and West Fork Trail Camp, although other sections can be tough too. Generally the best time to go is late summer or fall after winter tree falls have been cleared and other hikers have hacked their way through the tough sections. In the spring and early summer the trail can be severely overgrown.

If the worst sections between Newcomb Pass and Red Box are overgrown and miserable, bail out and take Rincon Red Box Road. It's dirt and usually in decent condition. And it's much better than hacking your way through poison oak.

To check on the trail conditions, I'd first give a call to the ranger station listed at the top of this article. Then I'd ask around on the SoCal Hiking Subreddit board. The images in this guide are from a early Fall hike.

What's a NRT and Why is the Gabrielino NRT So Special?

You might see the monikers Gabrielino Trail and Gabrielino NRT thrown around in different places, but they both refer to the same place. The Gabrielino Trail is actually a National Recreation Trail (NRT). In fact, it was the first National Recreation Trail ever created (created for "hikers and horseman"), and it's been around since May 20, 1970.

The NRT designation comes from the National Trails System Act of 1968 which was enacted "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation." When it was enacted in 1968 it also officially created the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and Appalachian Trail (AT). Those trails are designated as "National Scenic Trails" which offer "spectacular natural beauty and allow the pursuit of healthy outdoor recreation."

NRT trails are different that Scenic Trail in that they tend to be shorter and focus on a specific region.  "National Recreation Trails recognize existing trails that connect people to local resources and improve their quality of life" according to the National Parks Service. Organizations can nominate trails to become NRTs, which then gives the trail recognition, assistance, and maybe some funding. Other NRT trails that you might know include the Tahoe Rim Trail and Lost Coast Trail.

But the Gabrielino Trail, running through the heart of Angeles National Forest, was the first of these National Recreation Trails. When the Gabrielino NRT was created, Congress stipulated that it should be reasonably accessible from urban areas, hence the Altadena trailhead. There were also plans to have it join up with the PCT. But in a lot of ways the Gabrielino Trail been left behind by the more glamorous NRTs out there (like the ones I just mentioned). The official NRT webpage for the Gabrielino just includes a sad  picture of the Chantry Flat toilet.

I wasn't around in the 1970s and 80s when the Gabrielino NRT was relatively new, but from my conversations with old-timers, the trail was "lightly used" in the 90s and 00s with lots of downed trees, rockslides, and other tough sections. The Station Fire of 2009 and subsequent big El Niño rains were the death knell of the trail and it finally "closed" in 2009.

Fast forward to 2016 when volunteers started working with the Forest Service to find a plan to fix and reopen the trail. REI and SoCal Edison donated money to hire professional trail builders to tackle the tricky sections, but the majority of work was done by volunteers. The Mount Wilson Bicycling Association (MWBA) organized 102 volunteers on 283 volunteer days, and they performed over 1,900 hours of work to finally open the trail once again in August of 2018. The partnership between the Forest Service, local volunteers, and benefactors like REI is now considered a model for other similar trail restorations.

“This project couldn’t have been done without the hard work and incredible dedication of our volunteers,” said Fabian Garcia, Partnership Coordinator for the Angeles National Forest. ”Our ANF volunteer organizations set a high bar of collaboration and excellence. The Gabrielino Trail Restoration Project is a perfect example of both.”

Gabrielino Hike Brief

• The Gabrielino NRT is named after the native Tongva tribes who lived in the area before the Spanish arrived. The Spanish colonist's word for the local peoples was Gabrielino. The western trailhead starts at the Arroyo Seco (Spanish for "dry stream") where the Tongva established a Hahamongna village over 7,000 years ago. Originally there were 7 villages along the Arroyo Seco. At that time, steelhead trout would spawn up the river from the Pacific Ocean; today you can find small rainbow in the upper creeks. The Tongva would summer in the hills along the Gabrielino Trail, hunting deer and collecting black walnuts and acorns. In the winter they would migrate down the river valley to the LA River, and eventually to the Long Beach area where they would winter.
• The trail goes through the heart of activity in the Great Hiking Era of LA (the early 1900s). The 9 miles or so from Altadena up the Arroyo Seco section was built to get visitors and supplies to the Switzer-Land Resort. You can still see the ruins of it on the hike today. You can also hike to Switzer via the popular Switzer Falls hike.
  

  

• If there are heavy rains the Arroyo Seco can be impassable. In fact, many of the early "great hiking era" structures were wiped away in the great flood of 1938. If it's a rainy weekend in the mountains you might want to do another hike.
• This isn't a high-peaks trail. The highest point on the hike is Red Box Gap at 4,635ft. It's more of a "tour of the lower-slopes in Angeles National Forest", and for that reason, it's pretty unique. Don't assume it's not tough because there are no high mountains, there's still enough up and down to make it challenging, especially if you're carrying gear for an overnight.
• The Gabrielino NRT is shared with mountain bikers and horses. The section from Red Box Gap to Altadena is a popular downhill route for mountain bikes. And the lower slopes of the Gabrielino from Altadena to Gould Mesa and up are popular with horses (look for the hitching posts at the campgrounds) and fitness buffs. Other than that, it's mainly hikers.

Gabrielino NRT Hike Directions

I have the bulk of the information on the hike in the westbound section, including some historical background to the different sites. If you are looking for eastbound directions, I have them below, but I recommend reading the westbound section as well for more context.

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Hike Directions East to West (Chantry Flat to Altadena)

Newcomb Pass is named after Louis Newcomb, one of the original mountain men in the area.  In 1892, when the area become the protected San Gabriel Timberland Reserve, he was one of the first forest rangers and built the first ranger station in California, down by West Fork Trail Camp. Over the years he also helped build many of the trails in Angeles National Forest. When the Angeles Crest Highway was opened in 1939, Newcomb left the area and lived quietly in Sierra Madre until his death in 1954 (103 years old!).

The Devore name has a long history in this part of Angeles National Forest. In 1910 Ernest and Cherie DeVore had their honeymoon here in the forest. A few years later with land leased from the Forest Service, they opened the 10-acre Camp West Fork, and then a second resort constructed upstream, Valley Forge Lodge, on five acres. Up until 1993 their son, Keyon Devore, dubbed "Mr. San Gabriel Mountains" worked for the Forest Service and in his later years helped visitors at Chantry Flat. Today the trail camps here pay tribute to their presence.

Valley Forge Lodge was known as "the Gateway to the Wild" in the 1920s . It was advertised as "a pleasant picture for a city-dweller looking for a change" and featured cowboy dances, trout fishing, a library, and food.  The Great Flood of 1938 destroyed all but the main building, which was then turned into a Long Beach YMCA camp called "Kamp Kole" which then burnt down in 1949. Today it's a primitive campground.

Red Box Gap is a gateway to the trails of the area. It's also popular with motorists; the picnic area has views that stretch to Mt Baldy. Red Box got it's name just before 1920 when the Forest Service built a red box here to store firefighting equipment. At that time there were only trails, no roads. The Angeles Crest Highway was completed in 1934, and the red box is now long gone. But there is a payphone, bathrooms, the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center which has snacks when open, and a reliable water source.

I have a guide on the hike to Switzer's Falls that has more in-depth coverage of this part of the trail if you'd like to check it out. It also includes the section down the falls (which leads to Bear Canyon Trail Camp),

The Oakwilde Trail Camp is across the Arroyo Seco close to the area where the trail spills out to the river bed. If you want to explore the ruins, you need to leave the trail and cross to the other side. Some maps show the trail going through the camp but that's not the case anymore.

There was actually a road to this point until the flood of 1938 wiped it out. The Oakwilde campground was the location of the Oak Wilde Resort, another popular wilderness resort in the Great Hiking Era of LA. There are remnants of an old trail/CCC road from Oakwilde straight up the slopes to Angeles Crest Highway. The lower road is washed away (now just a trail) but as you get higher you'll reach the "road road."

Hike Directions West to East (Altadena to Chantry Flat)

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.

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