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 Reporter |
Summary: This is a fun hike with quite a bit of diversity. The hike starts out on Sunset Ridge, with great views of Millard Canyon and a 50 foot waterfall. The trail then drops sharply into a dark and heavily wooded canyon with an abandoned gold mine to add an interesting twist to the trek. The hike through the canyon has many lovely spots with gentle pools and small cascades. Bring along a camera. Note that the route show in the topo map was from the hike outlined in 101 Hikes in Southern California. Route finding was a little challenging, so hikers should make sure to have a map when hitting the trail. Trailhead: From Loma Alta Drive in Altadena, drive up the Chaney Trail (past a locked gate that opens at 6am) to the top of sunset ridge, where there's parking by the roadside. The trail starts east on the gated paved sunset Ridge fire road. (Lat:34.2148 Lon:-118.1477) Trail Guides for Millard Canyon - Dawn Mine: 101 Hikes in Southern California by Jerry Schad (Wilderness Press) Day Hikers Guide to Southern California by John McKinney (Olympus Press) Hike Los Angeles Volume 2 by Dennis Gagnon (Western Tanager Press) Best Seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring User Groups: Hikers, Dogs Ranger Contact: US Forest Service, 818-790-1151 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Jim Zuber, who has posted 105 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 1 of 9 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by girljo on 4/21/2008 Went from the Sunset Ridge trail past Cape of Good Hope to the benches at the top of Millard Canyon. Here is the marker down to Dawn Mine. This trail is steep and dry with lots of loose gravel/scree. Some sections have had small landslides and the trail get quite narrow. When you get to the canyon floor turn right to Dawn Mine. It's alot of boulder hopping and stream crossings. Nice shady route back along the creek where you'll pick up Sunset Ridge Trail to the left just after the cabin. Spring wildflowers pretty now and LOTS of poison oak! 
Reviewed by MB on 3/23/2008 nice long hike. i got a little off track as i took an alternate route back but it worked out fine. just a reminder to bring a map (i had the compass but you cant have one w/o the other duh). the water was nice and there were few hikers since i went on easter. the only thing i miss is wildlife. part of the reason that i hike is to see the animals but this is a confined space so they probably smelled/heard me coming a mile away so all i got were bugs, squirrels, and a few cool birds. anyway i would recommend but i wouldnt do again (for my own reasons). 
Reviewed by SB on 3/23/2008 This is a great half-day hike! We actually did this as a counterclockwise loop. You can either take the main fire road all the way to Dawn Station, or catch the Sunset Trailhead on your left (then continue right) up to Cape of Good Hope, which connects to the fire road. The trailhead down to the mine is located near the covered bench at Dawn Station. This track is narrow and "slippery" due to the crushed rock. It ends up directly across from the mine entrance on the other side of the creek. We had brought flashlights and did some exploring inside -- very cool, just watch your step. Then we descended into Millard Canyon, boulder hopping, until we connected back up to Sunset Ridge. Wonderful day! About 6 mi. roundtrip.
Reviewed by TyFi! on 2/1/2008 Don't listen 2 any of the other reviews, dawn mine is the shit!!! Im currently training 4 the La marathon so I start my hike(run) @ the cobb estate(lake ave)go up 2 echo mountain and take the mt lowe railway trail 2 the dawn station that leads me 2 the dawn mine trail. Once u get 2 the bottom of the canyon keep right along the creek till u see an old piece of machinery w/ wheels. Dawn mine is 2 the left of that,go around the corner where the big rock is @, U can't miss it. If u plan on going in bring a friend, 2 flashlights per person and plenty of water. U cant imagine the rush u get once entering the abandoned mine, its half scary/half amazing! Dont worry about Bears or Mountain lions, but be very careful, the mine has alot of deep pool
Reviewed by Keith on 1/24/2008 The entrance described by Allyson is NOT and entrance to the mine. It is a water tunnel for the San Gabriel Water District. (Hope I have the district right). It has been a while since I did this hike, I was looking up direcetions for a co-worker. Much of the year water flows out of the mine and that makes it easy to find (untime it finally dries up). Inside there are some easy areas and others that are more work. Have to go back for those parts of the mine. The trail changes each year since the part in the streambed gets washed out each year.
Reviewed by AMM on 1/14/2008 Dawn Mine is at GPS coordinates 34.22622, -118.12994. I found Dan's Hiking Pages article very helpful (Google it). Went up the creek doing the boulder hopping, and then came out to Dawn Station for nice views on the return.
Reviewed by JDubbs on 7/14/2007 Allyson, that is an entrance to the mine although I wouldn't recommended it. About another 1/4 mile up or so is the real entrance it's hidden behind a rock on the hill so it's tricky to find. And above that is another entrance higher up. There is old machinary that indicates the area of entrance. It's not right next to the entrance though. If you go back in the reviews here someone has a link to a map of the mine.
Reviewed by Allyson Wright on 7/13/2007 this hike is sooo sweet. there's so much to see! we were surprised to see HUGE boulders in the river bed..nearly impassable but fortunately we discovered an alternate route on the left. it's true, there is a lot of poison oak but if you keep your eyes open and are careful it is easily avoided. we weren't able to continue long enough to find dawn mine, but definitely plan on going back. we did however see what looked like a very small mine entrance on the left side of the canyon...it was filled with water and if you wanted to go in you'd have to get on your belly and crawl in, then again the entrance was so small i'm not sure even that would work. anyone know what that was? maybe an impassable exit to the dawn mine or just another mine? 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||