Claremont Wilderness Hike

I am seeing a health benefit of hiking challenging trails so this weekend (August 16th), I decided to invite my sister Christine to hike along with me and Coney.

Hike number two of the week: Claremont Wilderness Trail Hike.

Previously, several weeks ago, my sister took us out for a hike a Mt. Tibidoux out in Riverside area.

This time, we drove out to Claremont, a city along the Freeway I-210 corridor to challenge the Claremont Wilderness Trail. Its a five mile loop hiking trail that is quite a workout. I would say this was more challenging than Blue Sky Reserve - Ramona Lake Hike which we did two days previous.

Parking is provided at the foot of the trail which costs $3.00. Now that I think about it, as long as you visit the trail on broad daylight, you can park half a block away on the street and save your $3.

We started our hike at noon time on a hot Summer August day so we brought lots of water and sunscreen on our skins. We chose a clockwise direction of the trail called Burbank Canyon trail. Burbank Canyon trail starts out steep with a 1200 Ft elevation gain from the Parking lot so its definitely a good cardiovascular workout hike.It plateaus about 3.5 miles later at the summit of the trail. It affords a breathtaking view of the San Gabriel Mountings, Freeway 210 below, and even the smoggy skyline of Los Angeles from afar.

Mountain Bike riders, Horse riders also share the trail so watch out for incoming traffic and for traffic coming from behind. People hiking the trail are cordial and respectful, people hiking with dogs keep their pets on leash.

City issued waste receptacles are spread throughout the trail and the trail is fairly clean and maintained. I saw a couple empty plastic water bottles littered along the trail, so I picked it and threw it on one of the garbage cans. I notice there are lots of hikers on this trail on a Saturday morning but turns into a empty trail at the later part of the day. If you want to hike this trail, definitely visit on a weekday or on a weekend during the later part of the day to avoid the crowd and congested parking. Bring a head lamp or flashlight in case darkness sets in before you finish the five mile trail.

Five mile hike on a hot Summer day was a tad too much for me. I felt my thighs ache with pain after the hike and felt dehydrated despite lots of water intake.

Next stop, Palomar Observatory Trail out in Cleveland National Forest.

Click on the image below to view our hiking pictures.