Mount Lukens via Stone Canyon

Overview

A leg-buster from Big Tujunga Canyon to Mount Lukens — the highest point in the Los Angeles City Limits. A river crossing, stony trails, and long winding switchbacks lead up to a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding landscape. This is a great training hike for taller mountains, and is often used by hikers who are planning to hike Mount Whitney. Mount Lukens is the highest point of elevation within L.A.’s city limits. The summit itself is full of radio towers and fire roads and not exactly the most pleasant summit in the San Gabriels, but the views can be outstanding and the journey is tough but rewarding. This trail gains over 3000 feet of elevation in just under 4 miles – a relentless, leg-busting trip that makes this an excellent training hike for taller peaks – especially if you’re not in the mood to spend that much time in your car. This is one of the best Mount Whitney training trails out there and it’s not rare to see people on this trail in full backpacking gear getting ready for their big journey. In most cases, you can park down at the picnic area at the bottom of Doske Road, but when I hiked this the gate to the parking area was locked – adding some extra distance to the journey. The road to the Wildwood Picnic Area was about a half mile paved descent to a mostly-empty parking lot. A few cars had managed to get down there, somehow, and a couple of scattered fishermen stood knee-deep in the Big Tujunga Creek, casting their fishing rods into the distance. Looking up, I could see the distant antennae atop Mount Lukens. From here, it looked like quite a distance. I walked through the parking lot and onto an unofficial trail that meandered along the riverbed. On the other bank, I could see a small piece of neon tape tied to a branch, but was having trouble finding a good place to try to cross the Big Tujunga Creek. Depending on the level of water in the creek, you can either boulder-hop or, as I did, just take your boots off and walk carefully across the stones to get to the other side. If you do

Trail Stats

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