The beautiful and amazing Sturtevant and Winter Creek Trail Loop is a family-friendly trail that features waterfall and wildflowers. This trail is located near Sierra Madre, California and it’s pretty close to L.A, which also means you can expect it to be crowded.
It’s a 14-mile loop trail with an elevation gain of 4,573 feet. It is rated as difficult and it takes around 5 hours to complete the loop. The trail is famous among hikers because of its 50-foot waterfall, historical cabins, granite canyons, pine trees, and much more. The best seasons to hike the trail are fall and spring, you can go in summer too, but it can be extremely hot sometimes.
The hike starts from Chantry Flats; it’s a popular spot, so it will be crowded, especially on weekends. So, if you decide to go on the weekend, go very early, or you will have to park on the road, further away from the trailhead. To park your vehicle, you need an adventure pass, if you don’t have it, you can park at Adams Pack Station by paying a fee. You don’t any permit to hike Sturtevant and Winter Creek Trail Loop.
Start hiking from Chantry Flats and go down on the paved road and you would reach Roberts Camp. For 0.6 miles you would descend for around 350 feet. The first section of the road is well paved and often the most crowded.
When you get to the bottom, you will have to cross a bridge and then you can turn left to Lower Winter Creek Trail. After 2.1 miles the trail climbs out of the canyon and soon reaches another junction. You will climb for around 4.5 miles to Mount Wilson. You will go through a forest and climb to an elevation of 2,800 feet. When you see the parking lot of Chantry Flats, it means you just have to hike for another 1 mile. The trail runs downhill and passes a seasonal spring. You can turn left and after passing from the picnic area you would reach the trailhead.