Conservancy Trail

Conservancy Trail is situated on the north-​facing slopes of Cherry Canyon and the view of Mount Lukens and San Gabriels is beautiful.
There are a few ways to get to this trail as follows:
— Descanso Trail on Descanso Drive just west of the entrance to the gardens. See my review for Descanso Trail. When you see the rusted out water tower on top of the hill stay to the left and you will see the sign.
— Forest Hill Trail Road — Park at the end of the street and walk past the gate a short distance and you will see the trail heading down into the canyon on the right.
— Cherry Canyon Motorway off Hampstead Road.
Pros:
— It’s a trail and not a fire road.
— Surrounded by California chaparral and lots of shade.
Cons:
— It’s a singletrack trail popular with mountain bikers. You should be able to see them coming because the trail loops.
— You have less room on either side of the trail to keep you away from things in the brush such as snakes and poison oak. My hiking partner and I saw a garter snake this morning and I almost had a heart attack. My friend Kris A. knew what it was right away and told me not to worry. Garter snakes are venomous, but it is supposedly pretty mild.
I would definitely recommend hiking on this little trail.