Baldy Bowl Trail

If you’re going to do Baldy, you need do this trail. AKA The Ski Hut.
It’s a fairly moderate incline. Nothing too bad, but if you’re not used to hiking or are in bad shape it will be a little bit difficult. Just go slow and take breaks.
There are a few water sources to get water at which is pretty cool.
It’s pretty easy to lose the trail in a few spots — Near the rocks, and also near the top. But just use your best judgement. And near the top you just keep heading up and you’ll be fine. If you’re hiking this on a weekend you can just follow other people.

The hike up Baldy Bowl Trail, also known as the Ski Hut Trail to the summit of Mt. Baldy was one of the most difficult hikes I’ve done to date. The out and back round trip comes in at 9.2 miles, and you take on almost 4000′ of elevation gain during the 4.6 mile ascent. Don’t judge a hike by the distance; I’ve been on much longer hikes, yet never experienced such an ass kicking! Despite that, I totally love this trail and can’t wait to take it again to the top!
First, let me stress how easy it is to miss the trailhead from the fire road that starts at Manker Flats if you have never been here before. After you pass San Antonio Falls, it shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes to get to the trailhead. Keep your eyes peeled
for the lone yucca bush next to a trail splitting to the left and going up. Not too long ago there was apparently a sign that used to say «Mt. Baldy Trail» at the trailhead, but that sign is now missing. Hence my first time coming here, I ended up hiking past it going near the ski lifts and had to back track.
I’ll never forget that first time on the Baldy Bowl Trail. The visibility was bad and it was snowing as I hiked up. It isn’t very often one gets to hike under snowfall
in LA so I stopped often to take it all in. That day, I never actually made it to the summit. I only made it to the Sierra Club San Antonio Ski Hut at the 2.5 mile mark. It was surreal approaching 8210′ and out of the fog seeing this green building. Luckily, the door was open and I would end up spending the next couple hours in there by the furnace, chatting with some very cool people, drinking, eating, playing the guitar, and exploring the building. I had such a great time there that I didn’t want to leave! But enough about the Ski Hut, that’s another review
for another day!
The next time I came back here, the conditions were totally different. It was an incredibly clear day and I could literally see out to the ocean and spot a few of the Channel Islands. The view out towards Catalina Island especially was so clear
that you could even count the ships between the coast and the island! I learned that the real ass kicking starts after the Ski Hut. I had to put traction device on my boots because the trail got pretty icy. After traversing past the big boulders, I started climbing up along the side of the Baldy Bowl as the big trees became more sparse and that’s when things got really difficult! During the climb on the steep trail of loose rock and dirt through the manzanita bushes, I literally had to stop and take breaks every few minutes. At times, I would take these long breaks and get back up, start hiking again only to sit and rest after a minute or two because it was so tiring. I pushed myself up past the Baldy Bowl saddle
and with the toughest section behind me, I made my way towards the summit in the snow. I ran into a couple hikers just below the summit
also in awe of the breathtaking view. We talked about how lucky we were to make it up here on such a gorgeous day!
You could really feel the wind as you summit at the top of Mt. Baldy. And you can see the snow swirling as the wind hits the ridge top, blowing the white powder into the air. It’s an awesome sight! Even though it was really windy at the top,
nobody wanted to leave behind such a spectacular view. After taking a bunch of photos, collecting snow in my bottle (I had run out of water at that point), and even making a new friend at 10,064′, I started my 4.6 mile descent down this awesome trail. I think I finally made it back to my car after spending over 8 hours on this hike!
As strenuous as the hike is, you have to appreciate this kind of a challenge if you’re a hiking enthusiast. We are lucky to have access to such a mountain without having to drive very far! Just remember to bring plenty of water (2 to 3L), food/​snacks, hiking poles, and of course in the winter, some kind of traction device for your boots like microspikes or crampons.

This is a great mountain trail loop that takes you up to Mount San Antonio, the highest peak on Mt Baldy at 10,064 feet. The preferred route, which happens to be the hardest way, is to take the San Antonio Falls Trailhead, up the Baldy Bowl Trail to the Peak and down the great Devil’s Backbone Trail. The only downfall is walking the last 3.6 miles down from Baldy Notch on a wide dirt service road back to Manker Flats.
Start by parking just after Manker Flats where the road splits in two, exactly 4 miles from the Mt Baldy Visitor Center. The San Antonio Falls trailhead is on the north side, off Falls Road, where there is a porti-​pottie and a gate to go around. Walk up the asphalt road for 0.6 miles; just as you reach the sharp hairpin turn, the Falls is on the left. Continue to the right up the dirt road for another 0.3 miles to find the Baldy Bowl Trailhead on the left, also known as the Ski Hut Trail… but the actual sign is labeled ‘Mt Baldy Trail’. (The road going straight is the way you will be coming down from the ski resort if you do the loop).
Go left up the easy to miss STEEP trail for about 30 yards and sign the trail register.
** Make a note for another day, about 25 feet past the register box is a faint unmarked trail to the right. That is the Register Ridge Trail, which will take you up to the Devil’s Backbone Trail one mile east of the San Antonio Peak.
Once you are past the register box and the Register Ridge Trailhead, the Baldy Bowl Trail heads up the steep dirt trail along the edge of the ravine. Look up the mountain to the right and you will see the green roof of the Ski Hut. At 2.14 miles from the SA Falls Trailhead, the trail seems to end at a 3 foot boulder, a tree and the EDGE of the mountain. Pass through to the right, along the edge. Then at 2.22 miles there are a couple of huge boulders you will need to crawl over on all fours to get over. Don’t go around and miss all the fun! Even my pooch Sammy goes over them. You gotta love these mountain trails!
At 2.54 miles you reach the Ski Hut, putting you just a little over half way to the peak. There is a log bench and a table to take a short break at. Just behind the Hut there is a porti-​pottie… just in case. Up until now the trail offers a lot of shade. But as you leave the Hut, you head into the sun to cross a small creek, pass over a rocky trail section and head up some STEEP switchbacks through the pine and fir trees before you get a little break at the first ridge above the Hut. Enjoy the great views here! After the ridge, the trail gets a little confusing as you reach the huge rocky boulders and Manzanita section. At 3.45 miles you should see a trail sign ‘Baldy Bowl Trail To Manker Flat’.
At the sign, look down the mountain about 50 yards for a USMC Hellcat plane that crashed in 1949. The wreckage is scattered all about.
There is somewhat of a trail that goes down through the Manzanita bushes to the plane sections and loops back up towards the peak, to the main trail. Here you will be only 0.34 miles from the Peak. At 4.6 miles you reach the Peak at 10,064 feet!
To complete the loop, head east and take the awesome Devil’s Backbone Trail for 3.2 miles down to Baldy Notch at the ski resort. From there you will follow the boring dirt road for 3.6 miles, back down to San Antonio Falls and Manker Flats where you parked. This loop will cover around 11 miles and 3,904 feet of elevation gain.
On my hikes I use the Runkeeper app on my phone. It’s a great app that works off the satellite and does not require phone reception. It will run your phone battery down so I also carry an ‘Anker Astro 5600mAh Backup External Battery Pack Charger’ for all cell phones ($ 30). I also carry a Garmin Oregon 450t navigation device and a ‘3.0 Liter Platypus Insulator Hydration System’. I put ice cubes in it and the water stays cold all day. I like their top opening access better than Camelbak. Since the mountain weather can be unpredictable, I always carry a windbreaker and gloves. I just love the experience and the challenges of a mountain!