A great hike among cabins to a neat Waterfall!

Sturtevant Falls Trails

To get to the trailhead: Take the 210 east through Pasadena to Arcadia. Exit on Santa Anita Avenue and head north. Go up the mountain for 5 miles until the road ends at Chantry Flats. Display your National Forest adventure pass (read below for explanation) and park your car in the lot.

Trailhead address: Chantry Flats Road, Angeles National Forest, Arcadia, CA 91006

Meet up Details:

http://goo.gl/maps/dHUJc

Refer to the map in the link above. We’ll meetup at 9am by the bathrooms at the bottom parking lot (near the trailhead for the Sturtevant Falls Trails.) As always, feel free to call me at 213-949-2376 or Jon at 818-522-3219 but our phone service is spotty at best there.

Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Distance: Approximately 3.6 miles roundtrip

Elevation climbed: About 400 ft

Length of time expected: Should be about 1.5 – 2 hrs.

Type/Views: Woodsy, streams, waterfalls

Special Notes: Family friendly, dogs on leashes ok, Adventure pass needed to park (explained at the bottom)

Hiking in the woods? Cabins? Streams, waterfalls, beautiful nature? In Los Angeles? Yes, (well actually in Arcadia, but close enough)! We’ll be hiking the Sturtevant Falls trail this Sunday. You’ll be amazed at the ivy covered oak trees and be surprised by all the cabins in the area. The waterfall at the end is a neat thing to see and a great place to hang out.

I would categorize this hike as moderate. It is an out and back trail. We’ll actually start at the high point and hike down to the falls. It is heavily shaded once we hit the trail and move away from the parking lot. The hike back up isn’t too difficult but keep in mind that the last stretch of it (near the parking lot) is somewhat steep with very little shade. Other than that – this hike is one of the best I have ever been on.

Keeping that last statement in mind – it does get crowded and there is limited parking. We’ll try to beat the crowds by going a bit early. If you can’t find parking in the parking lot, you’ll be able to find parking on the side of the road.

IMPORTANT – You’ll need an “adventure pass” displayed in your car while parked here. Not a big deal. You can pretty much get them at any sporting store like REI, Big 5, Sports Chalet; you get the idea ($5 for a day pass). Below is a link of vendors including online options. Go ahead and buy it in advance at one of these stores. You need one pass per car.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/r5/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5181410&width=full

Taking this into consideration, this is the hike that you should invite as many people as can fit your car. Carpooling is a great idea here.

Below is some additional info including high Yelp reviews:

http://www.hikespeak.com/trails/sturtevant-falls/

Being a history buff, I couldn't find out too much information regarding this area. It’s really a neat area that will make you forget about the city life for a bit. It appears as if at the turn of 20th century, a lot of these cabins were built. Seems like some of them are still being used – it really made me scratch my head when I saw this. Anyways, this is a “can’t miss.” Hope to see you all there.