Tongva Peak

It’s great to hike up here starting from Brand Park. A great workout, plus there’s nobody annoying around. Let’s keep it that way!

I took the Beaudry Motorway Loop to Tongva Peak. This peak can be reached from many directions. I have done this hike many times and this will always hold a special place in my heart. This was the first major hike I did that wasn’t Eaton Canyon. This is where I also meet a gentlemen that gave me the book Trails of the Angeles: 100 Hikes in the San Gabriels. I payed it forward at Fish Canyon Falls and gave it to someone else. Hopefully they passed it on…
Check out my video
Distance: 5.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 1500 ft
Hike Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Trail Condition: Fire road/​pavement
Hike Type: Loop
Animals: Dog Friendly
Activities: Hiking, Running & Mountain Biking

Tongva Peak is one of the peaks of the Verdugo Mountains and it lies at an elevation of 2,656 feet.
This particular peak lies on the southeastern side of the range and was named in honor of the Tongva (Gabrielino) people who were the original inhabitants of much of the Los Angeles Basin, Santa Monica Mountains and San Gabriel Valley. This is where a big cluster of communications towers are located and KROQ has their tower at this location. It is just north of Mount Thom which looms directly above downtown Glendale.
The fastest way to hike to Tongva Peak would be to take the Beaudry Motorway North which intersects the Verdugo Motorway just north of Tongva Peak. I did a little research and found that there is a marker at the top if you walk along the fence to the south of the towers. Another hiker had laid his jacket on top of it, but he picked it up after I asked him if the marker was underneath it. The rest of my hiking group didn’t care about the marker and just continued on the fire road, but I feel like an explorer sometimes and the peak hadn’t been set up on Unilocal yet. This is actually the third one I’ve set up. Other peaks I’ve set on Unilocal up are Mount Hollywood and Mount Lukens.
To get to Tongva Peak and back down via the Beaudry Loop is about 5.56 miles. The route we took was Beaudry Motorway South to Verdugo Motorway heading north and then Beaudry Motorway North back down to bottom. See my photos.
The hike is pretty grueling on Beaudry Motorway South and it is one of the steepest fire roads I’ve hiked on. I’d recommend starting early in morning, so you can get a little shade here and there.
I’ll definitely hike up here again and get a better photo of the marker. I did find one on the internet, so I posted that for reference. As soon as I get a better photo on my own I’ll add that.