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!
Whenever visiting Bonelli Regional Park, I always choose the Park & Ride lot on the west side of the 57 Freeway. This simply allows me to avoid paying unnecessary fees to park when I am just going for a hike. After crossing the freeway bridge, I turned right on a short use trail that drops me down to the Bonelli Trail (which is the main trail that encircles the park). The trail skirts the edge of the park while climbing toward the high points on the south end. When reaching a small reservoir in the hills, I went left off the Bonelli Trail and picked up a trail that stays on a ridge. I proceeded to follow the ridge on the Park View Trail and passed over Puddingstone Point and a few other rocky high points. The trail continues forward and dips before climbing to Via Verde Hill on the east side of the park.
On top of Puddingstone Point.
Via Verde Hill has a chemical installation, so without a hazmat suit, there is no way to actually stand on top of the peak, but a nice trail works its way up its side before bypassing the exact summit.
The chemical "carousel" on top of Via Verde Hill.
The trail drops down and crosses the park road before climbing to the highest point in the park, Bonelli Peak (which is just a little bit higher than Via Verde Hill).
Sharing the views with succulents.
From Bonelli Peak, I crossed over the campground road and picked up the Kikos Trail. This is the most scenic and remote section of trail on the hike, passing through lightly visited backcountry. Meanwhile, the trail descends toward the lake. It eventually drops to the park road next to the lake where the Tree Line Trail is accessible on the left.
Down by the lake.
The Tree Line Trail gradually climbed to another high point at Peak 1106, which features nice lake views.
Views from Peak 1106.
The trail continues forward and quickly descends down to the lake. The trail meets Eucalyptus Park Road, where I made an optional move of going right on the road and quickly picking up the Lake View Trail at the end of the road. The Lake View Trail gives some additional time in remote areas before connecting with Raging Waters Road, just across the freeway from the parking area.
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