Switzer Falls Trail — Attraction in Altadena

Wow, do I not already have a review saved? This is one of my favorite trails in Los Angeles, because it has favorite things:

Flat wide group friendly paths Incline, high elevation gain more narrow paths

A waterfall within a couple miles

Stream along side the trail

Plenty of parking usually (although I'm not sure if the bottom lot by the beginning of the trail is open again, so these pics are from one of the last times I tried to hike it about a year ago)

Restroom (potty in an enclosure...no sink/soap, so may want to consider reducing .5 a star for that)

Picnic tables

TREES...Lots of shadey options, but the further up you hike it gets sunnier if you're into that

In the fall and after the rain especially, there can often be moss growing on the rocks and water flow from the beginning of the trail. It has been dry my past few attempts at hiking this, August 2021 I think, but it's been raining this week so I'm curious if it's back to it's more normal flow rate.

Wildlife I've seen deer, probably squirrels and usual kind of animals, but there might be more exotic animals lurking around, so stay aware and be ready to both respect the wildlife and know you're in nature.

Poison Oak is likely common outside or along the trail, so know what to watch out for, it blends in more in the spring and summer when the leaves are green, but in the fall will have more red tones.

It is a popular trail, but not usually crowded when I've hiked it (numerous late afternoon-evenings, not sure about mornings as I'm rarely up that early for a hike).

Some handicap parking spaces available and could be feasible to manage a wheelchair for the beginning portion of the trail when starting at the base. If only the top parking lot is available, it will be difficult to manage rolling a wheelchair downhill. Not feasible going up hill or getting to the waterfall in a wheelchair. Millard Canyon is similar in some wider dirt paths that have some waterflow along the trail, but closer to the waterfall involves more maneuvering over rocks and terrain.

Lush landscape easy to take at a beginner to more advanced...

This is a great hike. The first half is mostly shaded as you walk under tall trees along a small stream. The path crosses the stream many times, but all are easy crossings. About half-way in, the path becomes more exposed and more difficult as you hike up and away from the stream-bed. The path narrows quite a bit as you hike along the side of the mountain there, and the elevation changes are enough to give your legs a workout. Eventually, the path leads back down under the trees and back to the stream, at which point you hike up-stream a little ways to see the waterfall. We went in October, just before noon, and the weather was great (i.e.- sunny, but cool). I especially like hiking under all the trees (reminds me of Millard Falls a little; hopefully that reopens some day). The best time to go is probably early spring: as there may be more water in the falls, and the sun is would still be low enough to not be blistering hot on some of the exposed sections. Deducting one star because the road down to the lower parking lots was closed (locked). Hiking down the quarter/half-mile of asphalt in full sun was not too bad, but hiking back up was unpleasant (especially with young children). If we could drive in and park in the parking lots at the bottom, that would have been perfect. There's also a bunch of picnic tables right next to the lower parking lot. Will definitely come back. Hopefully that lower parking lot is open...

There are several popular waterfall hikes like Eaton Canyon near Pasadena on Angeles National Forest. Have been to some of them few times in past. Recently, got to know about this lesser known waterfall hike. Headed out there on an weekend with not much expectation as most waterfalls in Southern CA usually have very little water. As we approached the trailhead, it seemed to be quite populated. The mountains in this section were lot greener compared to SoCal standard. The trail initially goes downhill into the forest. Good part of the trail was by the stream and totally shaded, which makes this trail suitable for any season and anytime during day. There is a beautiful picnic area near the start by the stream. The trail had a lot of adventurous stream crossings. So make sure you either practice balancing or go there with extra pair of cloths/shoes :) The later section of the trail was through the midst of pure nature in Angeles National forest and beautiful panoramic mountain views ending at the Switzer Falls. The falls had decent amount of water. Thanks to the rain this December. More importantly though, we spotted another waterfall in the wilderness little far from the trail, which seemed pretty huge and comparable to the ones you typically see in Yosemite. While returning the Sunset view from the Hwy 2 was breathtaking. Overall this 5 mile hike proved to be far above my expectation and definitely a must...