Mount Baldy Trail Name Clarification?

[mattytreks]

I've been hiking Baldy for years, and in that time I've heard the trail leading to the summit from Baldy Village called a number of different names, including:

• Baldy Village Trail
• Old Baldy Trail
• Bear Flat(s) Trail
• Bear Canyon Trail

I guess I'd like to put to rest once and for all, what IS the actual trail name here?

Thanks!

[Hikin_Jim]

The official name of the trail is the "Baldy Trail" according to the USGS map, but almost nobody calls it that because it's indistinct; I mean just which trail to Mt. Baldy are you talking about? Hence the names you used, all of which are names of common use. To make matters worse, the other three trails to Mt. San Antonio have no official names at all!

Hence the following names:
The Ski Hut Trail
The Devil's Backbone Trail
The "other" (or North) Devil's Backbone Trail
The Bear Flats Trail

Those are the most commonly used names in my opinion for the four principal routes to the summit.

HJ

[Sose]

Blue Ridge trail comes from the north. Great trail!

[Sally]

I call the trail to Baldy from the Village simply "Bear" being as it is a "Bear." Bear Flats or Bear Canyon also works for me.

[mattytreks]

The "other" (or North) Devil's Backbone Trail

Blue Ridge trail comes from the north. Great trail!

This.

I am planning on hiking this route next month. I haven't debated yet if I'm going to start from Wrightwood Village (via the Acorn Trail), or if I'm doing to start from Guffy or Wright Mountain (necessitating a drive up Blue Ridge Road).

If I do the latter, should I have any concerns tackling this road with my all-wheel drive Subaru Outback -- either to Guffy or all the way up to Wright Mountain? Never been up there before, so not sure.

[Hikin_Jim]

Matty,

1. The first thing you should do is verify that the gate at Hwy 2 is even open. If the gate's not open, then no sense driving all the way to the top of the ridge. I suspect it's closed, but I don't really know.
2. Be careful of parking restrictions at the top of the road for the Acorn Trail (if you decide to hike from there). The residents are particularly serious about any "no parking" signs up there.
3. In the past, I've taken my plain old Honda Accord on that road and, with reasonable care, been perfectly fine. I have no idea what shape the road is in now.
4. Good luck. It's a great route although the use trail up the back side of Baldy is steep.

HJ

[mattytreks]

Matty,

1. The first thing you should do is verify that the gate at Hwy 2 is even open. If the gate's not open, then no sense driving all the way to the top of the ridge. I suspect it's closed, but I don't really know.
2. Be careful of parking restrictions at the top of the road for the Acorn Trail (if you decide to hike from there). The residents are particularly serious about any "no parking" signs up there.
3. In the past, I've taken my plain old Honda Accord on that road and, with reasonable care, been perfectly fine. I have no idea what shape the road is in now.
4. Good luck. It's a great route although the use trail up the back side of Baldy is steep.

HJ

Jim- thanks so much for the info! I actually did call the Angeles National Forest earlier today and they stated the gates to Blue Ridge Road would be opened at the end of May.

In terms of driving up Blue Ridge, did you end up parking at Guffy? Or did you drive out all the way to Wright Mountain?

[Hikin_Jim]

In terms of driving up Blue Ridge, did you end up parking at Guffy? Or did you drive out all the way to Wright Mountain?

I've done both. It's a little more convenient from Wright Mountain.

HJ