USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
Location: Ventura County, about 20 miles southwest of Frazier Park, 90 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Ventura County, Los Angeles and Vicinity |
| Forest Service | Los Padres National Forest: Mt Pinos, Ojai and Santa Barbara Ranger Districts |
| USGS Topos | Lion Canyon 7½, Lockwood Valley 7½, Topatopa Mountains 7½ |
| Official HPS Maps |
TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| | Viewable JPG file - Approximately 660K |
| | GPX file or Google Earth KML file to
download to GPS units and other map software (How to use GPX and KML files) |
| | Routes as shown on
CalTopo using the above files (How to use CalTopo) |
Nearby Peaks: Lockwood Peak, San Guillermo Mountain, San Rafael Peak
ROUTE 1
(USFS Adventure Pass may be required)
- Distance: 8 miles round trip on trail (see note below regarding trailhead access since 2019)
- Gain: 2000'
- Time: 4-5 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 1, moderate
- Navigation: Easy
Original: Warren E. von Pertz, January 1974
DRIVING ROUTE 1
- Take I-5 north past Gorman to the Frazier Park turnoff.
- Go west on Frazier Park Mountain Road for 7 miles to the signed
junction with the Lockwood Valley Road. Turn left.
- Go 10.5 miles on the Lockwood Valley Road to the Mutau Road
(7N03) on the left with a sign "Pine Springs CG". Turn
left. Note your odometer and go as follows:
- At 1.5 miles, pavement ends.
- At 2.1 miles, Piano Box Road on the left. This is the turnoff
for Lockwood Peak. Keep straight.
- At 2.5 miles, another junction with Piano Box Road on the left. (This turn
also leads to the Lockwood Peak trailhead). Keep straight.
- At 2.7 miles, fork with 7N03A on the right. This is the
turnoff for San Guillermo Mountain. Keep
straight.
- At 7.4 miles, stream crossing.
- At 7.5 miles, fork to the left (east). This is the turnoff for
San Rafael Peak. Stay right on 7N03B.
- At 8.4 miles, two more stream crossings just before Thorn Meadow
Campground.
- At 9.1 miles, Thorn Meadow Campground. Park here. Ample parking.
Note: During the winter of 2018, the road was washed out at approximately 8.1 miles/elevation 4900'.
This makes the hike approximately 10 miles and 2200' gain. The Forest Service indicates this will be
repaired because it accesses a campground. Repairs were not scheduled as of June 2020.
Sometimes the next to the last stream crossing near the campground is too
deep for vehicles to cross safely. In this case, parking at the
crossing and walking to the trailhead is recommended. This will add about
1.4 miles round trip and 100' of gain to the hike.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- The trail starts at the fence on the west side of the parking area
(5000') adjacent to the campsite with a lone Jeffery pine tree. Follow
the trail across two small ravines to reach a second fence where the trail
goes up to the left just before a canyon.
- Turn left and follow this trail
up a shallow canyon for about a mile.
- It then ascends a ridge via
switchbacks and goes west along the ridge to the lookout tower on the
summit. The register is on a rock 30 yards east of the tower.
