Sycamore Canyon Trail

I live in the area and have done the Hellman Park Trail countless times. I thought it would be fun trying out a new trail. I found this one, let me tell you. if you don’t like the wilderness don’t hike here. Right when you enter there are signs stating to watch out for wild life, including Mountain Lions. I began the hike with a friend and saw wild rabbits and rattle snakes (so watch your step)! However, it is gorgeous. There is a small stream of water, and you can sort of see the end of the Rose Hills sign. You then reach a zig zag trail that goes all the way up to one of the water towers. Big work out there! Highly recommend you go with someone on this trail.

Great place for a family hike… love it is local… almost in my backyard. So many different trails for short or long hike

This is a nice Trail. I first discovered it several years ago when a friend and I hiked from Greenleaf and came in from the top on the Switchback Trail. Unfortunately we ended up on Workman Mill, and being a little tired, had to still walk around back to uptown Whittier and Greenleaf. After that, I just park in the small lot on Workman Mill. I often walk this Trail after work, so I just walk until I hit the switch back then turn around and come back. The scenery is beautiful and there are many trees and plants, some native and some not. I used to walk the trails from the top of Greenleaf in uptown Whittier, but my favorite Trail was destroyed by people cutting through the switchbacks and causing erosion. As far as I know that trail has not reopened, which is a shame.

THE FIELDS ARE ALIVE WITH!!!
STATS:
Rating: Intermediate
Miles: 10 miles
Time: about 6 hours
Elevation gain: 1500ft
Trail: Single Track and Fire Road
New leader’s introductory hike led me and The Crew through the fields of Sycamore Canyon. From the trailhead of Sycamore Canyon we took the fire road for almost a mile. Then merged onto Serrano Canyon trail, a shady single track trail, with the marvelous plant that we hikers know and love, poison oak. Just kidding, we do not, I repeat, do not love PO.
The trek to the peak is a long, fully exposed to the elements, ascend up a hillside through waves of grain, dead grass, actually. Nevertheless, it is quite pretty. So pretty, in fact, the trail became the Swiss Alps as hikers belted out «The Hills Are Alive.» Chuckle chuckle chuckle. The ocean breeze and its horizon, as well as the view of the Conejo Valley, makes the ascent all worth it.
Considering this is a mostly fully exposed hike, it’s best to hike in the early mornings, and not recommended during the warmer months. Grass and heat are two of Rattlesnakes fa-​vor-​ite things. So, keep your head down and keep your eyes open for snakes.
DISCLAIMER:
Hiking is not something that can be taken lightly. It can be life-​threatening as you see and hear on the news, people die or get lost all time. Please, if you are going to hike, never go alone and prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Remember when going for a hike, no matter how short you think it may be, always be prepared. Carry at least two liters of water for every five miles (more if the weather is warm), protein bar, nuts, and electrolytes. Wear sturdy lug sole shoes and protective clothing. Some areas the weather can change quicker than a firefighter can put on his gear. It is also very important, always always always let a family member or friend know where you are going and when you expect to be back. Lastly, have fun when you hike it up.

As far as hiking goes, I felt this was a pretty drab hike. We took the actual trail from the lot by the oil refinery (?), I didn’t find the smell as bad as some claim it to be. But I do wish it was a bit closer to the stream. I found that this trail is riddled with Poison Oak, so be careful where you walk. trying to maneuver to the stream is where I found it the most, wear pants. the hillside trek was my favorite part, a bit tiring, but worth it… zig zagging all the way up the hill covered in bright yellow flowers (the bees don’t mind you passing through at all). I probably won’t come back here, just because there are so many other amazing hikes around and there was just nothing really great about this place.

I hesitate to give this gem of trail away on here. But since I’m moving to Oregon soon anyway I will give away this trail description for true adventure seekers who like to feel some solitude from the busy crowds on the rest of the nearby trails. With that said, you can make a nice a 6 mile lasso loop hike on the sycamore canyon trail system. Hike the well traveled sycamore canyon trail 1.3 miles until you reach the trail junction with dark canyon trail. Your going to cut south (right) continuing on sycamore canyon trail which will cross the creek and head up about 700 ft in elevation in the next .6 miles up numerous switchbacks to meet up at rattlesnake ridge trail. Hike left from the junction (Head east) along rattlesnake ridge trail for the next mile or so passing both peppergrass trail from your right and further down sumac trail from your right. A little further past the sumac trail, the trail divides into 3 trails, rattlesnake continues onto meet up with skyline trail and a steeper trail straight ahead (most popular) heads up to the graffitied water tower. It’s unsigned, but you want to take is the leftmost first trail junction that heads downhill towards the Buddhist temple. Remember here is where you want to drop back down into the canyon which will lead you back to the dark canyon trail. This trail is rarely used and is overgrown in some areas down in the canyon. Some bushwalking is required. Truly a path less traveled! You cross the creek a second time down here. continue down dark canyon back past the junction and out the way you came on sycamore. Enjoy!

Good Hiking enjoyable nature walk.

An easy to moderate trail. Not too crowded. There is a small lot at the entrance. Smells like rotten eggs at the beginning, yes, but that goes away quickly. There are several switchbacks, many are overgrown with weeds and other growth, but it’s beautiful. The trail connects to Hellman trail, but my friend and I just turned around and walked back since we parked on Workman Mill.

I do agree with the previous posts that it stinks heading to the actual trail. However, this place is not that bad. Beautiful scenery up top and a little more challenging trail then it appears.
Here is my breakdown of the hike and why I am giving them a favorable review.
Parking:
There is this small parking lot that you can find spaces. We came at 8 am on ¼/​2015 and did not see anyone there. From the lot to the trail it’s probably like a 10 minute walk and again, this area stinks.
Hike:
Pros:
* Hike has various pathways
* Nice scenery from the top where you can view the temple and chapel at Rose Hill. You can also see the snake-​like/​zig-​zag route that you took to get to the top.
* Not that many people compared to like Santa Anita
* Hike included many steep inclines and declines which makes the trip into a nice workout
Cons:
* The stinky part to from the parking lot to the trail. It reeks like crap.
* Trails do not wrap around — if you take one route to get to the top, you must take the same route to get back home.
* No waterfall destination — there isn’t a nice waterfall towards to the end. Well, at least I don’t think there is one from the routes we took. I’ll update this if I do find out.
Overall:
I think this place is pretty solid. I actually do see a lot of mountain bikers so this place is good for biking as well. Parking is free and I guess during the month of January there aren’t that many people. I would definitely go back here again.

A prrretty good never ending trail. The only downside is the bugs there .Be aware of your surroundings!

Three stars for the start of this trail. Four stars once you have several other options at the top. The trailhead is kind of smelly. I don’t know of it was the pools of still water or the fumes from an oil rig, but it was pretty funky at first. Lots of cacti along this route, which is nice but be careful not to bump into them. The switchbacks were no joke, but they provided a nice burn to the glutes. Also, watch out for ticks!!!

Never again will I go back! The parking is very small. The positive is there is a lot of shade throughout the trail. The scenery is beautiful. The hike was incredibly easy consider it a nature walk. I turned back once we got to the fork to continue to Hellman. I went with my friend n we saw a mountain Lion right around there. We ran all the way back n had to avoid the dozen of rattlesnakes on the trail n lizards that kept running across us. Way too dangerous to consider going back.

This review is long over due, since I went last week — this being the month of February. This is also one of the trails, I mentioned either on my review on Hellman or Turnbull, stating not to venture off to, unless your familiar with or a more advanced hiker that has survivor skills. I say this because they were an awful lot of snakes on this one (yes there are snakes on most trails). However, if you continue to hike past the fork, there appears to be a lack of maintenance (or maybe not enough money to maintain, who knows?) as there is a ton of vegetation & overgrowth that narrows in on you and practically swallows you up! If your brave to go that way, the shrubs and bushes make it hard to see snakes. The other big negative is that it appears to reach a dead end, unless your curiosity gets the best of you and try to attempt to go further, only to put yourself in a dangerous situation. The only few good things going that way is that it’s almost shaded throughout, there is a creek alongside it & the tiny frogs we heard chirping. (I assume they were tiny, the noises were very low). We weren’t fortunate to see any deer or other critters, though I say this with caution of the dangerous ones.
The experience going into from the parking: It started out nice, except when you walk by the industrial part/​oil rigs. Once you past that and a trail on right side that says no entrance, it’s not too bad. There was a view of the homes (assuming their were Spyglass) way on top and a wooden stair case that goes all the way up to what appears to be someone’s house; I imagine you could walk up them, until a certain point where it might be considered trespassing, if you wanted a bonus workout. But I wouldn’t if your not in shape or old (like me) and plan to do the switchback up to Hellman.
The switchback to Hellman: In the words of Janice — Chandler’s ex from sitcom Friends, «OH MY GOD!» Although what some might consider a helluva workout, honestly it just gets redundant and annoying, you get anxious and just want to get up there already. I think to myself «Would I rather do this crazy zig zag or go riding on a donkey on the ever winding road down the Grand Canyon?» — of course there is no comparison. To my friends on Unilocal that already know me, also know the situation I went through after this. With that said, I think I might consider going back later on in the future — only up to the fork and go up the crazy switchbacks to Hellman; Other condition: definitely not by myself (ladies, either a large group of you stick together or go with male companions, because I would have not feel safe going by myself and strongly suggest not to). Why would I go back you might ask? Because the time I went, I was struggling to the point where I seriously didn’t think I was going to make it to the top (again folks, out of shape & old person here). So I need to come to terms with it. My personal satisfaction that I did it and didn’t conk out doing so this time.
I think I remember seeing the sign that stated no bikes allowed, but did see bike tracks in the dirt. I’m also not sure about dogs, but highly recommend leaving them out of this one for safety reasons.
By all means, if you don’t live in the area, don’t waste your gas and time coming to this one.

This trail is a great change of pace from Turnbull Canyon. We only saw two other guys on the trail which is wonderful because I was tired of dodging bikers speeding down the hill or dog poo.
It starts off as a nice hike down the canyon. Shady. Then there is a fork and you can take the switchbacks up to the water tower. These switchbacks are very steep! But by the time you get to the top you forget about all of your huffing and puffing.
I will definitely come back to this trail. Nice parking, porta-​potty in the lot, shady, scenic, challenging, and solitary.

this place is scary i agree specially for the hiker that is inexperienced and yes there is some crazy narrow trails. If you come during the summer this place is abandoned everything is dried up so any noise is multiplied by ten times or something like that funny as heck tho. best place to prank someone lol. ***Disclaimer person might not ever want to hike with you again! :-).

Story time review!
Keep in mind I’m a huge sissy, and my relationship with nature is still iffy at best even though the outdoors is where I get most of my exercise… what I’m trying to say is I think this particular hiking trail is absolutely terrifying.
I frequent the Turnbull Canyon and Hellman park trails for most of my local hiking needs, and prefer those because the trails are nice and wide, and the brush and shrubbery is far enough away from me that I don’t have to worry about ticks attaching themselves to my yoga pants, or startling any snakes into attacking me. My hiking partner and I stumbled across a sign for Sycamore Canyon trail while at Hellman one morning. It was a new trail for me and figured I would go ahead and give it a try, assuming it would loop back to the Hellman Trails. Big Mistake.
Starting from Rattlesnake Ridge up at Hellman Park, the Sycamore trail starts with a long descent and a series of switchbacks [which are fucked up zigzags on the hill, I hate!] that are entirely too narrow for my liking and even more fucked up on the way back up to Rattlesnake Ridge. I visited this trail right in the beginning of spring so the place was just ABLAZE with wildlife: tiny rabbits, tons of lizards, and squirrels, and of course, millions of birds, so many god damn snakes, rattlers and a few other varieties. And even though I didn’t spot any, the singing frogs down by the creek were actually kinda lovely. This trail has the most wild life I’ve seen on any of the trails I’ve visited in the Whittier Hills. I guess it was due to the time of year I visited and because there were practically no other hikers on the trail, but yes, all those very adorable little creatures scared the shit out of me while on this trail. The lizards insisted on darting in front of us every five minutes, the squirrels ran through the brush like spastic assholes, the rattlesnakes hung out in the middle of the trail like it was their land or something! Ugh. I was a nervous wreck by the time we made it down to creek [which is so nice!] and to the main Sycamore trail stretch at the bottom of the canyon… which is where we started spotting all the snakes. Sigh. At that point, we had no idea where we were, and luckily found two other hikers [ a couple of stoney bear teens] who let us know we were near the Workman Mill trail head… Local Unilocalers, my hiking partner and I started at Greenleaf and Orange, and were now about 4 miles away from our car.
This spurt of spontaneity, and urge to try a new trail ended up being an almost 8 mile hike from start to finish and I was running on one banana, some mixed nuts and plenty of water [thankfully!] Of course, this is no one’s fault but my own. Even if I hadn’t made the mistake of taking this trail from Hellman Park, Sycamore is a bit too desolate and au natural for my tastes, and I probably won’t ever be convinced to visit again, even with a starting point at the Workman Mill entrance. But, there were a lot of beautiful sites I’m glad I saw, including lots of wild flowers, blooming nopales, cool looking houses on the top of the canyon, some great hillside and canyon vistas from the top… and for this, I give it three stars.

I agree, probably the worst trail in the Puente Hills Preserve. The other trails are much more challenging and much more beautiful. I went in November and there was a tree blocking the trail about ½ mile in. Save your time for the Greenleaf or Turnbull Canyon hikes.

This trail is probably the worst hike in the whole Puente Hills Preserve. I accessed this trail by taking the Sycamore Canyon Switchback Trail from the Rattlesnake Ridge Trail in the Hellman Wilderness Park (
). Near the end of that switchback connector trail at the bottom of the canyon, you cross a creek to hit the Sycamore Canyon Trail.
This trail just goes straight along the creek and it’s very loud with the sound of frogs. The ground is full of holes for a good stretch, then it starts getting better as you head more west. Towards the end of the 1.3mi trail, you smell some foul sulfur odor coming out of some treatment facility like plant there. There’s also an oil rig nearby. It’s funny because there are bunch of signs around there saying this whole nature preserve is heavily protected and dogs aren’t even allowed on the trail but then there happens to be industrial operations going on there. Weird…
I don’t think I’ll be coming back down here again.

A decent place to take a short hike while close to home (if you live in the area). You may miss the turnout to the parking area, but if you are travelling up Norwalk Blvd past Beverly Blvd, the road changes names to Workman Mill Road. Once you pass the condo/​apartment complexes, but just right before you get to the Rose Hills cemetary, there is a driveway on the right (if travelling northbound) and this is where you turn. There is a parking area for trail access if you keep to the left.
Once on foot, you are on an access road. Keep to the left when there are forks and you will soon see the trailhead. There are some steep climbs in some spots and various holes (probably from the snakes) in the ground so be careful. We went this past weekend and noticed the trail had alot of overgrowth. Once you get to a certain point, there are some steep switchbacks. If you are like me, you’d take that as your cue to turn back. But if you are more adventurous or if the hot sun is not bothering you as it did me, then I hear you get an amazing view up there.
This is a decent trail if you are looking for a short hike (1 hour roundtrip if you dont go up the switchbacks), live in the area and dont want to have to drive all the way up to the mountains. There is shade in some spots, but most of the time we were in the sun. Make sure to bring sun protection.