Southern California is a great place for hiking. With it's moderate climate many adventures can be found year round. From the beautiful mountains to the seemingly never ending coast, your options are endless.
This section will take awhile so please be patient. We will update this page frequently as we explore more areas.
Type: Out and back
Location: Lake Balboa, CA
Length: 2.6 miles
Terrain: flat packed dirt
Difficulty: Easy
Adaptive Equipment: everyday wheelchair with FreeWheel Wheelchair Attachment
Trailblazer: T. Cleveland, Burbank, CA
Description: The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve is an oasis in the San Fernando Valley. This 225 acre wildlife sanctuary is a great afternoon walk by a small lake. If you like birds this is the place for you. Many migratory birds can be seen on the bird refuge island in the middle of the lake. If you're lucky you might see a rabbit or two. This is a flood basin so stay away from the area during a heavy rain season. It can also be quite hot in the middle of summer.
Type: out and back
Location: Cornell, CA in the Santa Monica mountains
Length: various
Terrain: hard packed dirt
Difficulty: easy to difficult
Adaptive Equipment: everyday wheelchair with FreeWheel Wheelchair Attachment
Trailblazer: T. Cleveland, Burbank, CA
Description: There are several trails throughout this state park, but most are quite difficult for the wheelchair user. To the west of the entrance to the park are a few pleasant hikes. Your starting point is a little challenging at first. A paved drainage ditch makes a steep dip in the road before you get to the main trail. The shaded trail on the north side of the park is a flat easy stroll to the visitors center. At the end of the flat portion of the trail is the visitors center. If you continue straight the trail takes you up a relatively steep section to Century Lake. The trail continues past Century Lake towards the MASH set site. The last time we were there this section of the trail was washed out and narrow. It was definitely not safe for wheelchair travel. Conditions may have changed. Be careful on the trip back down because of steepness. When traveling down (or up) a steep trail you can traverse the trail (zigzag) down the trail to control your speed.
Type: out and back
Location: Windsor Ave., Pasadena
Length: N/A
Terrain: paved and hard packed dirt
Difficulty: Easy
Adaptive Equipment: everyday wheelchair with FreeWheel Wheelchair Attachment
Trailblazer: T. Cleveland, Burbank, CA
Description: This trail is a nice hike by a babbling brook to a beautiful Burch forest. It can be very hot during the summer months so bring plenty of water. There is a small parking lot near the trailhead with very limited spaces. The passageway to the trail is just left of the main gate. Your initial view consists of backyards, JPL and Hahmongna Watershed Park. But don't fret, just past JPL you will enter the forest. Further up the trail is a nice waterfall, but we haven't went there yet so we don't really know the trail conditions or difficulty. Enjoy the trail.
Type: Out and Back
Location: Azusa Avenue, Pasadena
Length: 6.5 miles one way
Terrain: Paved
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Adaptive Equipment: Everyday Wheelchair
Trailblazer: T. Cleveland, Burbank, CA
Description: This is a great hike along a river that is the last wild stream in Southern California. If you're a fishing enthusiast it is allowed along the trail, but after the one mile marker it is catch and release only. Pasadena gets quite hot during the summer so bring plenty of water. The good news is that there are accessible bathrooms at the trailhead, 3.5 miles in and at the end of the trail. There are a lot of trees along the way to rest and cool down a bit. Near the trailhead there is a swimming hole that can get very busy, but after a half mile the trail gets quiet and peaceful. There are several waterfalls along the way for you to enjoy. Whether you do the entire trail or just a short section you won't be disappointed.