Hike to Sturtevant Falls

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Ed made me an Event Organizer a couple months ago and I have yet to lead an event. So this is my first one and I have chosen my all-time favorite hike: the hike to Sturtevant Falls. Hiking just to the falls and back would be pretty short - less than 4 miles - so we'll be extending it a couple miles by hiking to Falling Sign Junction, then backtracking to the falls. We'll rest at the falls for about 20 minutes before we hike the 2 miles back to our cars.

There are tons of conflicting mileage estimates between several hike authors and even on the trail signs themselves but the total distance should be less than 6 miles and elevation gain of about 1500 feet. Total time: less than 3 hours.

This hike is good for beginners in reasonably good shape and dogs are welcome. There are a few easy stream crossings and you'll be okay with just athletic shoes. Bring water, especially if it's hot that day. There may be a few poison oak plants but it's not thick with them.

You must have an Adventure Pass and you can buy them at the Pack Station adjacent to the parking lot (there are also a few parking spots there [maybe about 10] for around $10 and then you wouldn't need an Adventure Pass). HOWEVER, I would highly HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend that you buy it ahead of time at REI, Sports Chalet, Big 5, etc. and they don't open 'til at least 9:00 so buy it the day before at the latest. If you buy it at the Pack Station you have to trudge all the way back to your car and then all the way back to the trailhead, which will easily take 20 or 30 minutes.

Getting there is simple. Just take the 210 East and get off at Santa Anita Avenue. Take Santa Anita North (towards the mountains) all the way to Chantry Flat. You can't miss it; the road ends there!

Santa Anita Canyon is an extremely popular hiking place and there aren't very many parking spaces in the lot so it's usually full by 7:30 or 8:00. So you may have to drive back down the road as much as a mile or more to find a parking place alongside the road. So while the drive there only takes about 45 minutes (from the Valley, at least), it can take another 20 minutes to find a parking place. Carpooling is highly encouraged.

We'll wait for latecomers but not more than 15 minutes.

Rain cancels.