A small pool of reliable water at the base of a sandstone bluff has attracted humans and animals for centuries in this arid region. Ancestral Puebloans built a village atop the 200-foot-tall mesa and Spanish explorers carved their names alongside petroglyphs at a place they dubbed “el morro” (the headland). Today, El Morro National Monument is located about 125 miles west of Albuquerque, about 42 miles off Interstate 40.
Highlights
Inscription Rock Trail, Atsinna Pueblo ruins, Mesa Top Trail
Must-Do Activity
The National Park Service visitor center offers a 15-minute film and the half-mile paved Inscription Rock Trail loop to view the carvings. Pick up a free guidebook that provides details on the earliest European inscriptions that date back to 1605 and the petroglyphs that may be around 1,000 years old.
Best Trail
The Mesa Top Trail loop climbs to the top of the bluff where there are Ancestral Puebloan ruins and great views of the volcanic El Malpais National Monument. The hike is about two miles roundtrip, with interesting steps carved into the soft sandstone in places. The trail may be closed during thunderstorms during the summer and after heavy snowfalls in the winter.
Instagram-worthy Photo
It is worth the short but steep climb to check out the ruins of Atsinna Pueblo (built in the late-1200s) atop the sandstone bluff.
The small primitive campground at El Morro National Monument is open year round (except during snowstorms), plus there is a private RV park located near the entrance.
Inscription Rock TrailWater attracts wildlifeCottontail rabbitWinter visitBighorn sheep petroglyphsScott on Mesa Top TrailTiff on Mesa Top TrailRaven about the park
Explore More – Who were the first Anglo-Americans to inscribe their names at El Morro in 1849?
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument was proclaimed on October 10, 2014, by President Barack Obama under the power of the 1906 Antiquities Act. Located just north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, about 15-million people live within 90 minutes of this mountain range, which provides 30% of their drinking water. Despite this region’s reputation for sun and surf, the high elevations (topping out at 10,064 feet on Mt. San Antonio) regularly get snow in the winter. The vegetation ranges from chaparral to oak and mixed evergreen forest and is prone to wildfire (see our post on Angeles National Forest for information on recent fires).
Highlights
Angeles Crest Highway, Inspiration Point, Lightning Ridge Nature Trail, Mt. San Antonio, Mt. Baden-Powell, Throop Peak, Silver Moccasin Trail, Gabrielmo National Recreation Trail, High Desert National Recreation Trail, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail
Must-Do Activity
It was a sunny November afternoon at 7,000 feet in elevation on the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2), which traverses the steep-sided San Gabriel Mountains that rise above southern California’s infamous smog. The rich odor of incense-cedar trees filled the warm air as we ascended the rocky trail from the historic Big Pines Visitor Center. This soulful smell may be more familiar to you than you think since its wood is commonly used to make pencils. The partially shaded path was lined with interpretive signs that introduced the trees and shrubs growing on this dry, south-facing hillside. Across the narrow valley, a ski resort was cut into the dense stands of conifers on the shady north slope.
Best Trail
The 2,600-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail cuts across much of the National Monument with easy access from Highway 2 at the Lightning Ridge Nature Trail and Grassy Hollow Visitor Center. Other long trails include the Gabrielmo National Recreation Trail and High Desert National Recreation Trail.
Instagram-worthy Photo
Just west on Highway 2 from the Big Pines Visitor Center is Inspiration Point, which looks south at the often smoggy Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Peak Season
Spring and fall
Fees
An Adventure Pass is required to park at many trailheads. The Forest Service also accepts all America the Beautiful Passes, which can be also used at National Park Service sites.
Road Conditions
The paved Angeles Crest Highway cuts through the National Monument and it used to go through to Glendale, but closed due to damage from the 2020 Bobcat Fire.
Camping
There are many campgrounds in Angeles National Forest, but we did not see any great places to do dispersed car camping when we drove through different portions of it (although we did not drive any dirt roads which is where they typically are found).
Wilderness Areas
Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness
San Gabriel Wilderness
Sheep Mountain Wilderness (also in San Bernardino National Forest)
Big Pines Visitor CenterMemorial tower at Big Pines Visitor CenterSteller jayOld fountain at Big Pines Visitor CenterIncense-cedar treesInterpretive signs on the Big Pines TrailOn the Pacific Crest TrailGrassy Hollow Visitor CenterTiff hiking on Lightning Ridge Nature TrailRaven about the forest
Explore More – The movement to preserve the San Gabriel Mountains began in 2003 with what Congresswoman initiating an environmental feasibility report?
Angeles National Forest is registered as a California Historical Landmark since it became the first protected woodland in the state as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve in 1891. It serves as a major recreation destination north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area with 697 miles of hiking trails, several lakes, and two alpine ski areas. Most of the shrub and tree species are adapted to periodic fire and about one-quarter of the National Forest burned in the 2009 Station Fire and an additional 115,796 acres in the 2020 Bobcat Fire.
Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) cuts through the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, established in 2014. Coming from the east, a good place to start is the Big Pines Visitor Center or the Grassy Hollow Visitor Center, both of which have short interpretive trails with signs identifying local species. Further west, Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial andMonument (est. 2019) commemorates the tragedy that cost at least 431 people their lives in 1928. Watch in the coming weeks for blog posts specifically detailing these two National Monuments.
Best Trail
Across from Inspiration Point on Highway 2, there is a parking lot for Lightning Ridge Nature Trail. The half-mile loop trail offers great panoramas of the surrounding mountains. It even includes a portion of the 2,600-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. Along the trail, my wife and I stopped to sniff the orange, platy bark of a Jeffrey pine for its pleasant vanilla scent, which brought back memories of our time spent living in California.
Watchable Wildlife
On our November visit, we first saw a western gray squirrel with an incredibly poofy tail atop the Big Pines Visitor Center. On the Big Pines Interpretive Trail, we spotted dark-eyed juncos and Steller jays flitting about. Despite its proximity to the city, there are even black bears, mountain lions, and bobcats in this National Forest. You are more likely to come across coyotes, gray foxes, or mule deer.
Instagram-worthy Photo
Many species commonly found in this National Forest are endemic to this region and grow nowhere else on Earth, including Coulter pine (famous for its massive pinecones that weigh up to 11 pounds).
Peak Season
Spring and fall
Fees
An Adventure Pass is required to park at many trailheads. The Forest Service also accepts all America the Beautiful Passes, which can be also used at National Park Service sites.
Road Conditions
The paved Angeles Crest Highway cuts through San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and it used to go through to Glendale, but closed due to damage from the 2020 Bobcat Fire.
Camping
There are many campgrounds in the National Forest, but we did not see any great places to do dispersed car camping when we drove through different portions of it (although we did not drive any dirt roads which is where they typically are found).
Wilderness Areas
Cucamonga Wilderness (also in San Bernardino National Forest)
Magic Mountain Wilderness
Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness
San Gabriel Wilderness
Sheep Mountain Wilderness (also in San Bernardino National Forest)
Joshua trees growing the National ForestTiff hugging a Jeffrey pineDark-eyed juncoAngeles Crest Highway at Inspiration PointLightning Ridge Nature TrailScott and Tiff on Lightning Ridge Nature TrailView of Angeles Crest Highway from Lightning Ridge Nature TrailLightning Ridge Nature TrailPicnic area at Grassy Hollow Visitor CenterCottonwood leaves turning in the fallFire damageRaven about the forest
California black oak, canyon live oak, California walnut, serviceberry, western mountain-mahogany, California coffeeberry, cup-leaf ceonothus, flannel bush, Parry’s manzanita
Explore More – How long are the Gabrielino and High Desert National Recreation Trails?
Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial and Monument was authorized on March 12, 2019 to commemorate the 431 lives that were lost when an 185-foot tall concrete gravity dam failed on the same date 91 years earlier only two years after its completion. The death toll is second in the history of California to the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. Other dams from that time period remain in use as part of the Los Angeles aqueduct system. Currently, a California Historical Landmark is located 1.5 miles south at Powerhouse No. 2, but there is nothing developed at the actual site.
There are plans to build a National Memorial at the dam, but currently it is a pile of rubble heavily spray-painted by local teenagers. After its fall in 1928, authorities further toppled the structure with dynamite, bulldozers, and jackhammers to discourage sightseers and souvenir hunters. The site is located in a scenic canyon where the leaves were just turning yellow for winter during our mid-November visit. It is less than a mile walk to the site from the unmarked pulloff on the east side of San Francisquito Canyon Road in Angeles National Forest. The pathway is the heavily overgrown original roadbed that was abandoned after a storm in 2005 and it reeked of urine. It will be interesting to see how the Forest Service cleans up the area in the future.
Best Trail
There is no official trail, and it is quite a steep drop from the paved remnants of old San Francisquito Canyon Road to the actual rubble pile down at creek level.
Instagram-worthy Photo
The dam disaster site is not much to look at right now, but there are some angles where you can avoid getting graffiti in your photo.
Peak Season
Spring and fall
Fees
None
Road Conditions
San Francisquito Canyon Road is paved, but exercise caution as there is currently no sign for the parking areas nor is there a turn lane on this high-speed two-lane highway.
Camping
There are numerous Forest Service campgrounds in the area, with Spunky Canyon and South Portal being the closest to the north.
Related Sites
Santa Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area (California)
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (California)
Driving San Francisquito Canyon RoadTiff walking on old San Francisquito Canyon RoadThe road has overgrown since 2005Scott walking on the dam ruinsLooking down towards the creekLooking back towards old San Francisquito Canyon RoadNorthern parking area off San Francisquito Canyon RoadLooking at the southern end of old San Francisquito Canyon RoadA California Historical Landmark is located 1.5 miles south at Powerhouse No. 2This area is still important for supplying L.A. with waterCrowin’ about the park
Explore More – How many billions of gallons of water were released when the St. Francis Dam failed in 1928?
Columbian mammoths grew up to 14 feet in height, much larger than woolly mammoths that reached about 10 feet. About 65,000 years ago, a nursery herd of Columbian mammoths died in a ravine here due to unknown causes, possibly a flood or drought. Then about 51,000 years ago, another three mammoths died at the same spot before the onset of a new glacial period. Many of the fossils have been left in situ within the Dig Shelter, but others are on display at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex.
Highlights
Dig Shelter tour, Eagle Trail
Must-Do Activity
Established in 2015, this National Monument was already developed for visitors by the city of Waco and Baylor University. As such, annual America the Beautiful passes provide no discount for the guided tour to the Dig Shelter where the 65,000-year-old Columbian mammoth and camel bones have been excavated. First discovered in 1978, this dig site has since had a building constructed around it, making it a pleasant place to visit year round.
Best Trail
From the paved Mammoth Trail, there is the short Deer Loop that connects to the longer Eagle Trail. Located south of Waco Mammoth National Monument, Cameron Park in Waco has trails along the Brazos and Bosque Rivers.
Instagram-worthy Photo
The Dig Shelter is only viewable on a guided tour (admission charged).
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