Summiting Santiago via Maple Springs Road gets a bad rap, but it's one of my favorite trails. Here are the tips to make it your favorite trail too:
- DO NOT hike this route on a weekend. Seriously. You will be competing with countless OHV and it will suck.
- Hike on a weekday and start before 8am. You will encounter few, if any, vehicles and few, if any, hikers. For this Monday morning hike (8am start) I saw 1 dirt bike and 0 hikers.
Why this route is cool:
- If you follow my tips above, you will likely have the entire trail and peak to yourself. How often can you say that in SoCal???
- You can choose your own adventure in terms of distance/difficulty. Park at the bottom for 21 miles roundtrip. Park where the paved road ends for about 14 miles roundtrip. Park at the turnout on AllTrails for 9.5 miles roundtrip. Park at any of the numerous turnouts in between for any mileage in between.
- Killer views the entire time. Because you curve around the mountain, you are literally looking out the entire time and the view goes between the ocean (on a clear day) and snow capped peaks.
- The grade is super even and mellow with no really challenging parts so it's a great way to train for other trails or if you're nursing an injury but still want a hike with some elevation gain.
Responses
I would agree that it is best to hike it not on the weekend. I’m glad you had a lovely hike.