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 Reporter |
Summary: This trip takes you along the banks of the east fork of the San Gabriel River. While the river banks are wooded and quite lovely, most of the trail traverses the rim above the high water line and most of your travel is through scrub brush. The highlight of the hike is a mysterious bridge built over the east fork in 1936, which has no road leading to it. Actually, in the 1930's a road did lead to it, but was swept away by floods in 1938. There are some small trails that lead down to the stream just after you cross the bridge. This is a stunning setting with shear pink tinted granite walls, roaring cascades, and the lovely bridge in the background. Route finding was a bit challenging with many day use trails mixed in with the main trail, washed out sections of trail, and over a half dozen stream crossings (bring waterproof boots even when the water is low). I was also astounded at the number of swimming holes. This place must be a zoo in the heat of the summer! Trailhead: From Interstate 10 or the 210 freeway, exit on Azusa and head north 10 miles or so, paralleling the San Gabriel Dam on your right. Turn right on East Fork Road and continue 8 more miles to the East Fork Station, where the road dead ends. Note that if you go around a hairpin 180 degree turn on East Fork Road, you missed the road into the Sheep Mountain Wilderness. The trail head is short distance down an obvious service road. (Lat:34.2372 Lon:-117.76546) Trail Guides for San Gabriel River - East Fork: Day Hikers Guide to Southern California by John McKinney (Olympus Press) 101 Hikes in Southern California by Jerry Schad (Wilderness Press) Best Seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring User Groups: Hikers, Dogs Ranger Contact: Angeles National Forest (626) 335-1251 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Jim Zuber, who has posted 104 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 1 of 21 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by ellspops on 11/21/2009 Very enjoyable family hike. The weather was coot so it was a good day to hike it. Lots of bungee jumpers at the bridge made for an interesting sight while we ate lunch. So many interesting pools on the creek worth exploring. A really pleasant hike.
Reviewed by PK on 11/19/2009 I got lost the first couple of times I tried this hike. To avoid my mistakes, be sure you eventually make it to the upper trail (it'll be West of you) a bit past the wooden Sheep Wilderness bridge. At a moderately steady pace, I made it to the bridge in 2.5 hours. It does get hot on the trail, but there is also cover in places, shade, and nice breezes. The upper trail is a bit overgrown, so either wear thickish pants or prepare to get poked by the flora. Also some of the stream crossings are more challenging than others, so if your balance isn't so great or you're just plain unlucky, prepare for soggy foot/feet. Otherwise, damn awesome! 
Reviewed by Greg H on 10/10/2009 plan on making this a day trip. It took us 8 hours 20 min to finish but we were stopped half the time. If it's hot def. plan on it taking a long time. It was between 11 and 12 miles and i followed the GPS Route on this to the T. Thanks for the review Jim it was helpful
Reviewed by Greg on 10/10/2009 Nice day and weather for this hike. Cool breeze, nice river. It's low enough to rock hop across river but bring a change of shoes as you will prob. get a pair wet if you slip on a rock and your shoes get soaked. If you climb down to the bottom under the bridge be careful when you climb back up. People above you can step on loose rocks and they will go flying and may hit the people below climbing back up as they roll very fast. Saw some Big Horned Sheep very cool
Reviewed by calescapeartist on 9/16/2009 My buddy and I went camping up here in Aug and walked the trails near the East Fork. Lots of rednecks and prospectors. The river is definitely lovely but because it is so close to our major cities you can find discarded sandals, beer bottles, etc. littering the water and trailside. Pretty hot and dry up above the river but a quick dip in will help that. Lots of pools for swimming down by the river. I would come back considering that camping here was free and so close to LA.
Reviewed by Ryan on 8/21/2009 Good weather. We left at 7:45am to beat the heat and it seemed to work. Took less then 2 hours to the bridge. Made camp past the bridge and enjoyed some swimming in the stream. Left the second day about 8am and took about the same time coming back. Second time in a month and I still enjoy it.
Reviewed by Mike R on 8/6/2009 Just did this 08/06/2009. Trail has changed dramatically since I hiked it last about 10 years ago. Most of it is washed out, probably from the floods of 2004. Did it with a 10 year old and 12 year old. Neither was able to keep their shoes dry (though I did, waterproof hiking shoes helped). Lots of swimming holes along the route. Last 1/4 of the hike is pretty exposed and can get hot. The bridge is really neat and the kids liked it, even if they were tired. Hike took all day. Started at 10:30 am, finished at 7:30 pm. Spent about 1.5 hours swimming and seeing the bridge.
Reviewed by dave on 7/23/2009 Great hike - water amazingly clear and felt great in the hot sun. Trail was tough to follow at spots, but easier coming out. Camped for a few nights at the Narrows (past the bridge). Just downstream of the bridge was our favorite spot to swim and hang out. Beautiful country. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: California Hiking, California Trails, California Hikes, Los Angeles County Hiking, Los Angeles County Trails, Los Angeles County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||