Howdy! I’m Jaclyn Cosgrove, an outdoors reporter at the L.A. Times. I write about the best trails, bodies of water, campgrounds and more that you should visit in and around Los Angeles County. I’m also the voice behind The Wild, our weekly outdoors newsletter. I am often out hiking alongside Maggie May, my trusty trail dog, whether it’s for work or fun. As the seasons change, I’d love to meet you out on the trail to determine if fall foliage does in fact exist in L.A.
I’m inviting 30 L.A. Times subscribers to join me on a hike from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Oct. 19. This is the second event in our subscriber-exclusive hiking event series. (We’re already busy planning fun outdoors events for 2025.)
We will start from the lower parking lot of the Gabrielino Trail and take an easy three-mile stroll along the Arroyo Seco. This is one of my favorite hikes in all of Angeles National Forest, as it includes a river, a shaded path and plenty to look at and listen to. Along the way, we’ll be on the lookout for native trees, like bigleaf maples and black walnut trees, that change colors with the season. (And yes, you’re welcome to take photos for Instagram, iNaturalist or both!)
The trail starts with a very brief steep incline up a paved road before quickly flattening out. We’ll walk along a paved path parallel to the river, which after about half a mile turns into a dirt trail. We will follow this pleasant path as it heads northwest through the canyon.
I’ll bring Maggie, as this is one of her favorite hikes, too. Your leashed dogs are also welcome to join us. You may want to bring a towel for Fido, as we will likely cross the river at least once.
We will turn around one and a half miles in, but you can hike the additional two miles (an additional four miles round trip) to the Brown Mountain Dam waterfall on your own if you’d like to continue (preferably with a downloaded or paper map).
Rather than parking in the small paved lot off Windsor Avenue, you’ll want to continue north on Explorer Road until you reach a large sandy parking lot. Parking is free, and no pass is required.
Please park toward the northern end of the lot. We will meet here, near the short bridge that leads to a back entrance of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (where we won’t be going, but which does host occasional public tours). Please wear good shoes, a hat and sunscreen. We will have water bottles for attendees but you’re also welcome to bring your own. You must be 18 or older and will be required to sign a waiver prior to attending. Grab a spot on eventbrite.com.