hikespeak

Warren Peak is a high point on the western edge of the Little San Bernardino Mountains in Joshua Tree National Park. Located away from Park Boulevard, Warren Peak offers private peace of mind and near endless views. A 5.5-mile round trip hike to the 5,103-foot summit begins from Black Rock Campground, the only campground in the park where visitors can sleep surrounded by Joshua trees. ... Read more.

With its vast view of Coachella Valley, the Salton Sea, and Mount San Jacinto, Keys View is the principal overlook in Joshua Tree National Park. The excellent vantage more than justifies the 7-mile drive from Park Boulevard, but why stop there? Keys View is also the starting point for a short trek to Inspiration Peak. Leave the crowds behind and visit this 5,550-foot summit, which is just... Read more.

Mastodon Peak offers panoramic views of southeastern Joshua Tree National Park. The low summit is located in the Colorado Desert, so you will not see any Joshua trees around here. What you will see is some beautify desert that becomes populated with wildflowers come spring. Mastodon Peak can be reached via a 2.6-mile loop with 440 feet of elevation gain. The easiest way to complete... Read more.

The shortest route up San Vicente Mountain approaches the peak from the east. This 2-mile round trip hike follows an unpaved portion of Mulholland Drive and climbs just 335 feet. In the 1950s, San Vicente Mountain was used to defend Los Angeles from soviet missile attacks. Like Mount Disappointment in the San Gabriel Mountains and White Point on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, San Vicente... Read more.

At a saddle in the Santa Monica Mountains 2,375 feet above the Pacific Ocean and three miles from the coast, the Backbone Trail crosses Stunt Road, creating a high trailhead for nearby destinations like Saddle Peak. The 2-mile round trip hike to the summit climbs just 450 feet but offers fantastic views of Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains. A spring bloom of gazanias (invasive) along... Read more.

In the 1950s, San Vicente Mountain served as a mountaintop military installation to defend Los Angeles from soviet missile attacks. Today, the 1,960-foot peak provides visitors with a look back at this chapter in the city's history, along with a great view of West LA and the Santa Monica Mountains. Westridge Fire Road leads to San Vicente Mountain and is a popular path for mountain bikers,... Read more.

Calabasas Peak offers panoramic views of the Santa Monica Mountains, Red Rock Canyon Park, and a sliver of the Pacific Ocean. To the north, the peak looks down on the city of Calabasas and a wide stretch of the San Fernando Valley. The 3.6-mile round trip hike to Calabasas Peak travels an easy-to-follow fire road. There is 900 feet of elevation gain along the way, but that effort is rewarded... Read more.

Stunt High Trail begins with a gentle walk along Cold Creek, and then ascends through meadows and chaparral up the northern slope of Saddle Peak to offer great views of the Santa Monica Mountains. Stunt High Trail ends at a road, 2.17 miles from the start, which is a rather anti-climactic high point. From there, pick up the Backbone Trail and hike to the top of Saddle Peak, the sixth... Read more.

Ryan Mountain offers a fairly straight forward out and back hike to a round summit at the center of Joshua Tree National Park. The 3-mile round trip trail climbs 1,050 feet up a dirt trail with numerous stone steps. The sun-exposed trail crowns a 5,457-foot mountain with impressive panoramic views of the jumbled rock formations and Joshua tree forests that surround the peak. The summit of... Read more.

The New York Mountains are a micro-range in the northeast corner of Mojave National Preserve. The highest peak in the range (7,533 feet) offers a sprawling desert vista, and is considerably easier to reach than other peaks in Mojave, which require slower hiking around cacti and other obstacles. Those driving a low clearance vehicle will not be able to make it all the way up the dirt road... Read more.