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Best Hiking in California : South

This list represents the most popular hiking in California : South (learn more about Top Trails). Use this list to plan your next California : South hiking trip. Select a state and/or activity below to find even more top trails.

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#1. Mount Whitney

  
This expedition takes you to the top of the highest peak in the contiguous United States, and to unparalleled views.…
From the guidebook "Hiking Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks"
Lone Pine , CA - Hiking - 22 miles    Top Trail in North America - Click to view allBest Trail in CA - Click to view all (About Top Trails)
Published by Falcon Publishing

#2. Cottonwood Lakes to Upper Rock Creek (Backpacking)

  
I’m always looking for trips with huge dividends per hiking mile. This one nears the top of my list. Magnificent alpine basins defined by sculpted peaks cradle shining blue lakes and are linked by hig…
From the guidebook "Backpacking California"
Lone Pine , CA - Hiking - 23.8 miles    Top Trail in North America - Click to view allBest Trail in CA - Click to view all (About Top Trails)
Published by Wilderness Press

#3. Holy Jim Falls Trail

  
Undoubtedly, the hike into Holy Jim Canyon is one of the most scenic and interesting in the Santa Ana Mountains. The hike passes under a multitude of trees, and crosses Holy Jim Creek many times befor…
From the guidebook "Best Easy Day Hikes: Orange County"
Lake Forest , CA - Hiking - 2.7 miles    Best Trail in CA - Click to view all (About Top Trails)
Published by Falcon Publishing

#4. San Gorgonio Mountain

  
This memorable trip is perhaps the finest backpack route in southern California, touring the region’s most scenic high-mountain landscape. Glacial cirques, virgin forests, windswept alpine ridges, two…
From the guidebook "Hiking Southern California"
Big Bear Lake , CA - Hiking - 21.3 miles    Best Trail in CA - Click to view all (About Top Trails)
Published by Falcon Publishing

#5. Santa Anita Canyon Loop Trail

  
In the lush, shady recesses of Big Santa Anita Canyon and its tributary, Winter Creek, you can easily lose all sight and sense of the hundreds of square miles of dense metropolis, and the millions of…
From the guidebook "101 Hikes in Southern California: Exploring Mountains, Seashore and Desert"
Arcadia , CA - Hiking - 9.4 miles    Best Trail in CA - Click to view all (About Top Trails)
Published by Wilderness Press

#6. Big Santa Anita Loop (Mt. Zion Loop) (Backpacking)

  
In the lush and shady recesses of the Front Range of the San Gabriel Mountains you can easily lose all sight and sense of the hundreds of square miles of dense metropolis, and the millions of Angeleno…
From the guidebook "Backpacking California"
Arcadia , CA - Hiking - 9.4 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#7. San Jacinto Peak (The Easy Way)

  
San Jacinto Peak is a close second after San Gorgonio Mountain on the roster of Southern California high points, but its more sharply defined and imposing bulk makes it instantly identifiable from alm…
From the guidebook "101 Hikes in Southern California: Exploring Mountains, Seashore and Desert"
Palm Springs , CA - Hiking - 12 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#8. Cedar Creek Falls Trail

  
The San Diego River and its upper tributaries drain the pastoral valleys and forested hillsides around Julian, and the rugged western slopes of the Cuyamaca Mountains. The water flows generally south…
From the guidebook "101 Hikes in Southern California: Exploring Mountains, Seashore and Desert"
Julian , CA - Hiking - 4.5 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#9. Beach Trail / Broken Hill Trail Loop

  
This hike will take you to the very brink of the Pacific, passing through scattered Torrey pines (one of earth’s rarest species of trees), and past two magnificent viewpoints on the 350-foot sandstone…
From the guidebook "Best Easy Day Hikes: San Diego"
Del Mar , CA - Hiking - 3.25 miles   
Published by Falcon Publishing

#10. Joshua Tree National Park Trails

  
Joshua Tree National Park is a huge granitic wilderness. Domes, peaks, ridges, and boulders crop out of the landscape like mushrooms. The granite faces attract climbers from throughout the United Stat…
From the guidebook "California's Wilderness Areas, The Complete Guide, Vol. 2: The Deserts"
Twentynine Palms , CA - Hiking - 40.2 miles   
Published by Westcliffe Publishers

#11. Mount San Jacinto State Park: San Jacinto Peak Trail

  
The San Jacinto Mountain range is one of those magical places that lures hikers back year after year. Hikers enjoy the contrasts this range offers— the feeling of hiking in Switzerland while gazing do…
From the guidebook "California's State Parks: A Day Hiker's Guide"
Palm Springs , CA - Hiking - 11 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#12. East Fork San Gabriel River (Backpacking)

  
On this epic journey along the banks of the East Fork San Gabriel River, you’ll descend nearly a mile in elevation, traveling from high-country pines and firs to sun-scorched chaparral. On the first d…
From the guidebook "Backpacking California"
Wrightwood , CA - Hiking - 14.5 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#13. La Jolla Valley Loop Trail

  
Lazily curving up the rumpled slopes of the western Santa Monica Mountains, the Ray Miller Trails takes in sweeping views of the Point Mugu coastline and the distant Channel Islands. This is the west…
From the guidebook "101 Hikes in Southern California: Exploring Mountains, Seashore and Desert"
Oxnard , CA - Hiking - 10.8 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#14. Bluffs - Panorama - Ridge Loop

  
This hike circles the western side of Andrew Molera State Park through a diverse cross-section of landscape that includes coastal bluffs, isolated beach coves, forested stream canyons, redwood forests…
From the guidebook "Day Hikes around Monterey & Carmel"
Big Sur , CA - Hiking - 9 miles   
Published by Day Hike Books

#15. Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal via the High Sierra Trail (Backpacking)

  
What would it be like to walk across the entire Sierra? many hikers wonder. What magical places are hidden in the heart of the range, far from any trip I’ve attempted yet? I want to see them! If you’r…
From the guidebook "Backpacking California"
Lodgepole , CA - Hiking - 68.5 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#16. Lake Sabrina to Midnight Lake (Backpacking)

  
This trip offers unusually quick and easy access to some of the most spectacular alpine wilderness in California. A cluster of striking granite peaks surround the headwaters of Middle Fork Bishop Cree…
From the guidebook "Backpacking California"
Bishop , CA - Hiking - 11.5 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#17. Arroyo Seco/Gabrielino Trail

  
This mostly flat hike begins along a paved service road with industrial views of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, then becomes increasingly bucolic as it follows a wide gurgling stream past several…
From the guidebook "60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Los Angeles"
Pasadena , CA - Hiking - 5 miles   
Published by Menasha Ridge Press

#18. San Gorgonio Mountain (Backpacking)

  
The rounded, talus-strewn summit of San Gorgonio Mountain (or “Grey-back,” as it was called long ago) crowns the San Bernardino Mountains and regally presides over thousands of square miles of varied…
From the guidebook "Backpacking California"
Redlands , CA - Hiking - 15.6 miles   
Published by Wilderness Press

#19. Cedar Creek Falls Trail

  
If your dogs like the water, they will love this area. While this is not a hidden hike, it certainly is a gem of San Diego County, even though at times it seems like everyone in San Diego is at the ma…
From the guidebook "Best Hikes with Dogs: Southern California"
Julian , CA - Hiking - 5.25 miles   
Published by The Mountaineers Books

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