{"id":5213,"date":"2016-08-31T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/?p=5213"},"modified":"2022-11-14T10:06:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T18:06:18","slug":"san-gabriel-mountains-mount-baldy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/trails\/san-gabriel-mountains-mount-baldy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Baldy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mt. San Antonio, more commonly known as Mt. Baldy, is the highest peak (10,068 feet) in the mountains and visible from much of the Southland. Its summit gleams white in winter and early spring, gray in summer and fall. Old Baldy is so big and bare that it seems to be snow-covered even when it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
Baldy is a bit austere from afar, but up-close, the white granite shoulders of the mountain are softened by a forest of pine and fir. Padres of Mission San Gabriel, circa 1790, named the massive stone bulwark after Saint Anthony, a 13th-century friar from Padua, Italy. In the 1870s, gold-seekers dubbed the massive peak a more earthly \u201cOld Baldy.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Baldy Notch, Devil\u2019s Backbone Trail offers a moderately challenging route to the summit. This popular trail is the one most hikers associate with Baldy. Clear-day views from the top offer a panorama of desert and ocean, the sprawling Southland and the Southern High Sierra.<\/p>\n
An alternative is to walk up a fire road to Baldy Notch. This option adds 3 miles each way and a 1,300-foot gain to the hike. The fire road switchbacks up the west side of steep San Antonio Canyon, offers a good view of San Antonio Falls, then climbs northward to the top. This fire road is subject to closure. Check with the US Forest Service before you go.<\/p>\n
From the Foothill Freeway (210) in Claremont, exit on Baseline Road and head west one block to Padua Avenue. Turn right and drive north 1.7 miles to a stop sign and an inter\u00acsection with Mt. Baldy Road. Turn right and drive 7.2 miles to the national forest\u2019s Mt. Baldy Visitor Center in Mt. Baldy Village, then a few more miles up to Manker Flats. To walk up the fire road, drive to the upper end of the Manker Flats Campground. Look for a vehicle gate and a paved road.<\/p>\n
Those riding the ski lift will continue 0.25 mile past the campground to the Baldy Ski Lifts and free parking. Purchase a ticket and ride the ski lift up to Baldy Notch. (The lift is operated weekends and holidays all year.)<\/p>\n