This blog will detail 1,000 video hikes in Southern California. By Southern California, I am drawing a line from San Luis Obispo to the Nevada Border. Anything south of that line will be declared "Southern California". In a way, it is a personal challenge to do so many hikes. Mainly, however, it is my way of showcasing how many hiking opportunities there really are right in our own geographic back yard. As a blog, it serves as a companion piece to my Youtube channel "Mike On The Trail". It is also a work in progress, as I don't actually have 1,000 edited videos completed. This will take effort for quite some time before it is declared done. Even then, there will still be more out there. Here's to hiking and all the positive effects it has had on my life...and possibly yours!
Since Chino Hills State Park has many access points, there is more than one way to do this loop. The starting point that I find most useful for this hike is from Rimcrest Drive in Yorba Linda. It is a short walk from parking on the street to a free park entrance next to homes. The trailhead crosses the South Ridge Trail via the Easy Street Street Trail, which goes north toward Telegraph Canyon. Along the way, Gilman Peak is the visible high point in the hills ahead. Once accessing Telegraph Canyon, I turned right and looked for the peak access trail on the left (which appears after about a half mile on Telegraph Canyon. Once picking up the Gilman Trail, the hike begins climbing toward the peak. This is when views begin opening up. Once reaching the summit, I found a post and a benchmark and some good views (the peak is reached in 2.1 miles).
A flowery ascent.
When ready to leave the summit, I kept going forward and connected with the North Ridge Trail. A good amount of time is spent continuing eastward toward Five Points Junction. Fortunately, in the spring time, there are abundant wildflowers to see along the way (at least it was for me). Otherwise, there are good views of the rolling hills and open spaces as you go (regardless of the time of year). Five points gets reached about 3 miles beyond Gilman Peak. The site has a covered picnic table and a porta potty station. The Bovinian Delight Trail gets picked up there and continues to the South Ridge Trail. Once on the South Ridge, a left turn and about 0.4 miles of walking takes you to San Juan Hill (the highest point in Chino Hills State Park).
On the summit of Gilman Peak.
San Juan Hill is a good place to pause and take in the views (both natural and city views). When ready to continue with the loop, backtrack from the peak onto the South Ridge Trail and follow the roller coaster like hike back to Rimcrest Drive. Truly a satisfying hike within some of the last remaining open spaces around.
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