Woman hiking to Sunset Peak and looking at the San Gabriel Mountains blanketed by clouds

Primo Peaks in the San Gabriels

The San Gabriel Mountains are a crown jewel of SoCal's wild outdoors, providing loads of open space and ahhhmazing mountain scenery. Try these peak and high vantage hikes for a San Gabriels trifecta.

Week: 01.13.2021
Regions: Southern CA

Lukens Good, LA!

Hike Mount Lukens to the Highest Point in the City of Los Angeles

woman standing at the peak of Mount Lukens in Los Angeles
A 5,074-foot mountain the city? It’s not part of a movie set—it’s Mount Lukens in LA! And you can conquer its peak on a 10-mile (round-trip) hike starting from the Deukmejian Wilderness Park.
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Sunsetsational!

Hike to Sunset Peak for Beautiful Panoramas of the San Gabriel Mountains

Woman holding a wood sign saying Sunset at Sunset Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains
With a name like Sunset Peak, expectations are high—as in 5,796 feet high and 1,272 feet in elevation gain—with thrilling views on this summit hike near Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains.
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Summit Up!

Hike to Echo Mountain Lookout in the Angeles National Forest

Hike to Echo Mountain Lookout in Angels National Forest
The 5.5-mile out-and-back adventure to Echo Mountain Lookout is not only an instant Angeles National Forest gem, but also one of the coolest treks in the entire lower half of the state.
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Aloha from California

    Say Aloha without leaving California with a 7-mile out-and-back hiking adventure to Lake Aloha in El Dorado National Forest. You can also camp here, a premier place for stargazing.

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  2. Sequoia Re-opens Crystal Cave

    Step inside Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park's hidden world by visiting the newly re-opened Crystal Cave—the only cave in the parks open to the public. Closed for four years, this rare marble karst cavern is welcoming visitors once again, but only through the summer season!

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  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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  4. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Can't Top This

    San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Make that two cherries on top, with the newly opened (July 2025) Outpost Meadow, a 1.5-acre green space located at Old Mason Street across from the Crissy Field Marsh in the Presidio.

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  2. Underground Garden

    Looking to escape the summer heat? Head to Fresno and discover its cool secret: the Forestiere Underground Gardens–an enchanting garden and architecture oasis like no other.

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  3. Volcanic Activity

    Northern California is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the country: Lassen Volcanic National Park. The region features geothermal areas, including the largest dome volcano in the world, Lassen Peak. Hike to the top of this active volcano on a 5-mile out-and-back.  

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  4. Oh Ryan

    Sure, it’s those whimsical trees that give Joshua Tree National Park its marquee billing; but this beautiful landscape also has surrounding mountains and its night sky—one of the darkest in Southern California and designated an International Dark Sky Park. Joshua Tree has four allowable stargazing parking lots, and a newly opened haven for spending the night nearby...

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