Big Baldy Ridge Trail is a 5.5 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Stony Creek Village, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until November.
FIRE CLOSURE: As of March 2021 there are closures in this park or area due to wildfire. For more information, please visit https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/conditions.htm. Sequoia National Park charges a fee to enter. Fees are $35 per vehicle or $30 per motorcycle. If you are entering on foot or bike the fee is $20 per person. You can also purchase a park specific annual pass for $70.
April 12, 2021Generally easy and rewarding views. Got the trail to ourselves since we went on a Monday morning. Good views of kings canyon and sequoia mountains.
April 4, 2021Started this hike around 10am today and I was the only one on the trail all the way to the summit. I did encounter two groups of people on my way back, however. Much of the snow is melting, but the trail is still covered in some spots- no need for snowshoes or spikes. The trail is beautiful and so are the views!
April 2, 2021Great view from top. With the snow on the trail this is not a trail for the casual hiker. Wait a few weeks.
March 27, 2021Best snowshoe trail I have ever done. Hiked in 3 hrs round trip on march 27 2021 + 1 hr lunch at summit. Plenty of snow, yet warm weather no gloves no hat and in jeans. Would NOT attempt with shoes as throughout the trail saw 1-2 ft deep steps. Views are incredible. On a Saturday saw only one other person. Not an easy trail, would rate as moderate.
March 25, 2021March 23rd 2021 - it was a partly sunny day around 40F. We were hopeful to get above the clouds and get some amazing views of the canyon. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas. We caught a few glimpses but the mist/fog took over! The trail itself was easy to follow with clearly marked trees, the snow was packed down we didn’t even put on our mico spikes! The snow at the top was able to hold us up for the most part. I had a couple steps collapse into a foot of snow. Best of all we were the only ones on the trail I would say this was easy to moderate.
February 22, 2021Love this hike! only downside was that on the way down the snow had melted, and we were sinking about 4 inches every step BUT incredible views and so worth it. didn’t see ONE person. no people and no bears!
February 7, 2021Beautiful view
January 18, 2021don’t miss out on this hike! total of six people on the trail on mlk, jr. day. three hours round trip with lunch at the top. bring layers for shade and wind at viewpoints. icy in the morning (suggest walking sticks at the very least) but slush once the sun hit the trail early afternoon. incredible views of kings canyon & the valley at the top. moderate due to altitude, by incline gain was steady and not too sharp.
January 14, 2021Do not skip this one! Beautiful throughout. Very slippery on the icey portions right now. We got by with just hiking boots without traction devices, but we couldn’t have done it without some sort of hiking stick (we left the ones we used at the start of the trail). I still slipped a few times though. If you are unable to do the whole trail, there are still beautiful views on the way, but nothing beats the peak.
January 10, 2021Loved it! Went yesterday Jan 9th. It was snowy. First half mile was VERY slippery and we almost turned back but it was so worth it! Views were amazing. It’s actually quite uphill and challenging but really not terrible. I will 100% do this one again. Would suggest hiking poles, it would help a lot with that first half mile.
January 5, 2021Great trail and a beautiful day! I wore my yaktrax and they were super helpful. The map is way off so that’s a thing.
January 2, 2021Packs snow soft in place is not a bad afternoon hike.
January 2, 2021Fantastic experience. Parked at the trail head and walked in. Wore snow boots but trail was well established so snow wasn’t too deep. Even the littlest 6 yr old in our group enjoyed the hike. Incredible view, watch the ice on top.
January 1, 2021Amazing! Snowshoeing
November 20, 2020Great shorter hike with amazing views along the way and at top. They trail is mostly uphill the whole way but not steep. Some snow along the way, but definitely still doable.
November 5, 2020Nice even pacing, with a good mix of climbs and descents. The views were still really great given the haze from the recent wildfires. Big Baldy was fun to climb and have the best views of the trail.
November 2, 2020Went hiking with a few fellow REI coworkers on our day off. Hazy because of the fires but perfect for a group of 10, all of us had a great time and was perfect for all levels of hikers.
October 29, 2020Cows wearing bells in the woods. Doesn’t get any better!!
October 25, 2020The Ridge was really cool, the hike otherwise but a bit underwhelming but definitely worth the view from the ridge.
October 22, 2020September 11, 2020This trail is perfect combination of steep, plateaus and slope. Get good work out and as soon as you think it's getting too hard it balances out with nice vista points, cool breeze and some spots in shade to sit and just enjoy the view. Its 5.5 miles, wear good shoes. Water is must here.
September 7, 2020Did out and back about 2.5 miles each way. Due to fires, it was very smoky/hazy most of the hike. At the peak it started clearing up near there, but was still very red/purple back at the car.
August 29, 2020August 23, 2020This is an easy hike with a great view (well, a relatively good view due to the hazy smoke in the air). We treated it as an out-and-back (not a loop) and clocked it around 5 miles. Not too steep, and goes by pretty quick. We started at 9am, and the ridge was getting a great breeze - very refreshing. Trail was well marked and in good condition. Saw only two small groups on the hike.
August 8, 2020Closed today for prescribed fire
