Trail Canyon Creek forms on the southern slope of Iron Mountain in the San Gabriel Mountains. The creek drops five miles down the steep, rocky canyon before joining Big Tujunga Creek. On its downward journey, Trail Canyon Falls freefalls 40 feet off a granite precipice into a pool etched into the metamorphic rock.
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This hike begins in Big Tujunga Canyon and follows the creek up Trail Canyon to the crest of the falls. The trail starts on a closed fire road that passes through a cluster of private cabins that date back to the 1920s. The diverse hike leads through streamside vegetation with sycamores, alders, and cottonwoods, then traverses an exposed chaparral-covered canyon wall to the falls.
To the trailhead
From the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) in Sunland, exit on Sunland Boulevard. Drive 0.7 miles east on Foothill Boulevard to Oro Vista Avenue and turn left. Continue 0.8 miles to Big Tujunga Canyon Road and curve right. Drive 4.4 miles to a dirt road on the left, directly across the road from a “Delta Flats” sign. (If you reach Ottie Road, you have gone 0.1 mile too far.) Turn left on Trail Canyon Road (Forest Service Road 3N34), and wind 0.4 miles on the narrow dirt road to the trailhead parking area at the end of the road. An Adventure Pass is required for parking.
The hike
From the trailhead kiosk, take the gated fire road. Pass a group of privately owned cabins, and follow the winding road on the east wall of Trail Canyon. Pass a small waterfall on the left, and drop into the canopy of oaks, alders, and cottonwoods. Cross a tributary and climb over an exposed scrub-covered slope. Leave the road at a sharp left bend, and veer right on a footpath. Cross Trail Canyon Creek and stroll up the shaded canyon floor along the west side of the creek. Cross the boulder-filled creek four more times, then leave the canyon bottom. Climb up the open chaparral-clad hillside to great views up and down Trail Canyon. Traverse the canyon wall on an upward slope. As the path levels out, bend left to an overlook of Trail Canyon Falls, dropping off a rounded granite rock lip. Continue on a sweeping curve, and pass a couple of steep paths with loose gravel on the right that descend to the base of the falls and pool. A short distance ahead, another side path on the right leads to an overlook from the brink of the falls. Return by retracing your steps.
To extend the hike, the trail follows the creek two miles to Tom Lucas Camp on a grassy flat with lush vegetation along the banks of Trail Canyon Creek. Beyond the camp, the trail continues up the east flank of Iron Mountain.
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