Mount Islip
Crystal Lake Recreation Area · near Azusa · Los Angeles / SoCal
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 10.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 2,800 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Late spring–fall · Snow in winter
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No hiking permit; a National Forest Adventure Pass or Interagency pass is required at Crystal Lake.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- 8,250-ft summit · Historic stone summit shelter · Crystal Lake — the range's only natural lake · Windy Gap & PCT junction
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Access is via Highway 39 out of Azusa, independent of the SR-2 closure, so it often stays open when Angeles Crest is cut off — but confirm SR-39 gate hours and carry water, as the summit is dry.
The guide
A rewarding high-country summit above Crystal Lake — the San Gabriels' only natural lake — topping out at 8,250 feet with a his…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mount Islip — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.3189, -117.8469