Whitney Canyon Park — Attraction in Santa Clarita

Awesome hiking trail! Very family friendly and not difficult at all. I hiked it with my 8 year old son and we had a blast. It wasn't a hot day, and we started around 3:45pm this week of May, but there are plenty of shaded areas to take breaks and enjoy the scenery. We followed the left trail all the way back for a bit over a mile and a half and found the creek and little waterfall. The bigger waterfall in the back takes a tiny bit of climbing to get to. Maybe 6-8 ft up some rocks. My son managed it fine, but the rocks can be slick due to weathering and water erosion. Little ones will need some help, but the smaller falls at the base are plenty interesting enough for them (full of tadpoles and water striders when we went!) if you don't want to risk them getting hurt or can't help them up and down. The round trip took us about two hours; however, we were taking our time and enjoying the sights and hung around the waterfalls for close to half an hour. There were a few other families out that we passed on our ways up and back but there was enough separation that we never felt crowded and felt like we had the area to ourselves.

The were people on bikes we saw, and the trail is wide enough at the beginning that it can easily accommodate them. I think they take the middle trail once it forks, there is no way a bike is making it easily through the narrow portions of the trail to the left as it gets deeper in the canyon. There were several people walking leashed dogs that seemed to be managing well and several of the families had children much younger than my son making the trek to the falls.

I didn't hear or see any signs of rattlesnakes, but we wore jean pants and hiking boots to be safe. I also recommend knowing, and teaching little ones, about how to identify poison oak. There's some growing near several portions of the trail but it's easy enough to avoid.

Overall, I highly recommend this trail! We have hiked Placerita Canyon in the past and enjoyed it but my son was blown away by the waterfalls. It sparked a new interest in getting out and seeing more of nature which is just what I...

I prefer Elsmeare, which is right next door but this is a worthwhile hike as well. Should be called the trail of fallen trees. You have to have trees to begin with and this trail has em but I've hiked most pf the trailheads and open spaces in the SCV and some of them have plenty of trees but I've never seen so many as there are here. Oddly many but they won't slow you down. Parks has done a good job of clearing and/or detouring the trail around them but it is a strange feature of this hike. My photos will show it with no measurable rain in almost 9 months so dry, yellow/brown but at least not muddy. Also no waterfall or pond. I can't even tell where the waterfall is supposed to be. Anyway, I may sound like I'm sh1tt1ng on it but I enjoyed it and more importantly, Luci gave it a full paws up rating. Ascent in the first quarter mile and a few ups and down but generally pretty mild hike. Get there early. It was getting crowded as I was leaving,...

PROS Wide enough for trail running and mountain biking and group hikes

Good incline (I did about 2.5 miles and over 400ft Elevation gain)

Different loop options to explore, the Creek Trail was lovely, but it's August 2021 and dry.

Tons of parking

Great views

Plenty of free parking (no overnight parking sadly my precious Nomads)

Emergency 911 codes if you need assistance on the trail - think it's my first time seeing that.

Saw a bunny tonight

CONS

Bit open and sunny (Nice scattered clouds today, I bet a rainy day would be lovely)

Go in the late afternoon or early morning in the summer so it's not too sunny and hot, the weather was perfect when I hiked from about 6:30-8pm 8.14.21

Traffic noise a bit at the beginning and end

Electric static noise from the POWER LINES, which distract from feeling the nature vibes, but if you hike in about a mile or 2 it gets more into the mountain and less surrounded by them.

Dry, no water...