Mount Wilson (Mt. Wilson Trail)
Sierra Madre / San Gabriel Mtns · near Sierra Madre · Los Angeles / SoCal
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 14.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 5,600 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Fall–spring · Low, hot start bakes by mid-morning in summer
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit and no Adventure Pass on this route — free street parking in Sierra Madre, where the historic trail begins in town. Be courteous in the residential neighborhood.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Oldest trail in the range (1864) · Mt. Wilson Observatory summit · First Water & Orchard Camp · Sweeping LA basin views
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Start at dawn — the lower canyon bakes by mid-morning and there is little water past First Water. If 14+ miles is too much, hike to shaded Orchard Camp and back for a classic half-day.
The guide
The oldest and most storied trail in the San Gabriels, climbing from a quiet Sierra Madre street some 5,600 feet to the observa…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mount Wilson (Mt. Wilson Trail) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.1673, -118.0483