Devils Canyon Trail [CLOSED]

Had a great morning on this trail! The previous reviews were on point. The trail path is very narrow and the uphill on the way back is a bit tough. There is also a lot of poison oak, make sure your legs are covered. Biggest recommendation to offer: Go early! Hiking back when under the hot sun made it tougher than it needed to be.

Loved this hike! Solid workout. We started about 2:30 (silly time to start, yes, but it was only 85) and hiked in moderate sun on and off but were comfortable. The hike up around 5pm was completely shaded and very comfortable! I agree with whomever mentioned not to underestimate the switchbacks. At a time of day where the trail faces sun, it would be quite hot on the way up. Bring lots of water. This hike is closer to 7 miles round trip. The trail itself is pretty narrow with very loose dirt and gravel in some spots. I would not recommend with kiddos unless they are mindblowingly agile. The stream was very nice! Solid adventure.

A sunny hike into the shaded canyon. Be sure to hike all the way to the campground or you will miss the deep part of the stream. A little hot on the climb out of the canyon. A nice uncrowded hike!!

The sunscreen mentioned in Melanie’s post has been retrieved, thanks! Moderate trail, it winds itself around steep sloping mountain sides, very narrow at times. Probably not suitable for young children. There is a lot of poison oak in the lower portion wherever there’s shade and water, it’s growing out onto the trail in several spots and there’s not much room to go around it. Plenty of parking available on this day however the restroom there is currently out of service.

A nice trail with enough shady spots to catch a break from the sun, which was much needed. Bring lots of water and start early- it’s a short trail but it gets much hotter as you go down. Trail along creek at the bottom was unbearably buggy. Not too steep on the way up, but so, so hot.

This was a fabulous hike! I did it on Friday 6/12/20 and only saw 2 others when I got close to being back to the car. Great water at the bottom with a few primitive places to camp. It weirdly took me 1 hrs 20 down and 1 hrs 20 min back even though it is a reverse hike. The grade back up is not terrible. Note- I dropped my sunscreen downslope just after crossing the tree near the end that is cut out like a seat. Didn't go for it since I was solo, but a group could grab it if they want. Brand new bottle.

This was a very lovely hike. There is minimal shade on the way down, but once you hit the creek there are pleanty of trees to keep you cool. There is pleanty of running water. Be warned, while at the Greek of water, we came across a rattle snake, and encountered a second snake on the way back up. The only reason I'm not giving this hike 5 stars is because there are some areas of the trail that are really narrow, worn down, and loose. You have to be extra careful in those areas if going with kids.

this trail is awesome really easy to see very steep drop with about 2 and half feet wide trail really nice scenic and nature wise fair warning on the way back it's a big leg work out have fun

Great hike overall! Really pretty coming back. Trail is a little narrow at some points with a steep drop off, but not an issue unless you’re extremely unsure footed. Lots of poison oak. You start going down into the canyon and then hike back up. We went on a Wednesday and only saw two other families the whole time. The deeper creek at the end of the hike was great. We could wade in up to our knees and had a snack. No run ins with snakes or anything. Definitely bring sunscreen! We weren’t aware that we would need a parking pass, but we drove just slightly farther up the road and parked at the visitors center and that was fine. The sign said San Gabriel trail instead of Devils Canyon but was definitely the one on the all trails map

This was a great day hike. Take lots of water or a filter for the stream. Wear a hat as you go in and out of shaded areas. Be careful as we came upon a rattlesnake near the 2nd creek crossing. Then saw another one on the trail almost same spot going back up. We had to shew it off the trail both times with a Long branch. The first one was coiled up on the edge of the trail under some brush and didn’t make any sound until my husband was about 3 feet from it, then we saw it. The 2nd one was stretched out across the trail quiet but we saw it luckily. We also saw just a mountain snake on the trail but not worrisome. Down at the end of the trail the creek opens up quite a bit so we found a great spot on some rocks for lunch and to splash around about knee deep in the water. Felt amazing! Found some frogs too! We hung out there for about an hour and half then headed back out the canyon. Wear your sunblock as not much shade at the creek but worth it the water was ice cold!

Pros: Very well maintained and secluded trail. The river at the bottom is beautiful and there are plenty of spots to rest before heading back up. Cons: the first/last section is pretty exposed so bring sunscreen and try to avoid hiking during the day if it's hot. There is a lot of poison oak as you hike near the river, some overgrown on the trail, so make sure you are comfortable IDing it and/or bring tecnu.

So many pockets of blossom fragrance along the higher parts of the trail. Someone deserves great praise for clearing away thick debris on the lower trail segments, easily walkable again!! Stream water still running, lots of gnats in places.

I done the trail in May 2 2020 A fantastic hike You can sit by the water in the end of the canyon. I did total 7 miles I loved it a lot

Pleasant down and back up. Some narrow slippery jags to the trail so watch your footing. Good shade. Not crowded. Met some rattle snakes.

Lovely hike down into the canyon. Probably 50% shaded by tree canopy at midday. Lots of wildflowers and a decent amount of water flowing once you get to the canyon floor. Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes—quite a few spotted and heard along this trail. I had trouble with the app crashing so didn’t get the full hike recorded, but our other device recorded 6.2 miles.

Like the previous reviewer I also liked this hike. You are walking next to a cliff most of the time and it’s a bit gravelly in spots but some good hiking boots will do. Quite a bit of shade for so cal hiking. The stream at the camp is still flowing well and it’s nice and cool to wade in around the camp ground area. The Nats were pretty annoying but they are only at the bottom 1/2 of the hike. Do be aware of rattlesnakes especially once down near the camp ground, heard a couple of rattles around the stream area but never saw the snake.

This may not be the best hike in the world, but I thought it was really nice. Not sure why people are so negative about it. Easy parking across the street, still open on April 19, 2020. Not at all crowded.

So.... Every hike is awesome int its own way, etc... But this was not great. I went a couple days ago in the rain (39 degrees, only people there, high winds) and it if wasn't for the groovy cloud drifts and spooky mists, this would have been a ho-hum experience. The views for the first couple miles are cool but the valley floor is uneventful. We hiked to the campground where I guess you could say there's a "river" but it was anticlimactic. Several fallen trees, easily navigable. No signs of wildlife. (NOTE: This is one of the few trails open/accessible due to COVID-19; as of April 5th.)

A highly accessible and well maintained trail. The early/late views are spectacular. Feels like I had an entire canyon to myself. Once on the canyon floor, the trail flattened out, with a few logs to hop over / duck under. Still, the sounds of the flowing stream were an auditory delight.

This trail sucked. Pass. not much to say about it. There are much better ones out there

Fallen trees. Landslide. Narrow path. Possible mountain lions. Don't fall off the mountain. Fantastic views. PSA: Drive safely. On the way back we saw two accidents and asked to relay the information to the police. There was no cell reception. And it was 38 degrees.