Valley Forge Trail - #ValleyForgeTrail

Socal - Los Angeles County - La Canada NickNames: #ValleyForgeTrail

The Valley Forge trailhead is about 3.5 miles up the Mt.
Wilson Road from RedBox. To get there, go up the
Angeles Crest Highway from La Canada, stay right at
the Clear Creek junction with Angeles Forest Hwy, and
turn right towards Mt. Wilson at Red Box. The trailhead
is on the left side of the road, just before a small
parking area at Eaton Saddle. You will also see a
gated fire road on the right side of the road.
Be aware that the Valley Forge singletrack will end in
the West Fork river valley below Red Box. You will need
to climb about 3 miles up the fireroad or the Gabrielino
singletrack to make it back to Red Box. Then you will
need either a second car or another three mile uphill to
get back to the trailhead.

2 Review(s)Login

• Trail UpdateFun Ride-We did it a little different then the previous poster.Climbed up Merrills to the tunnel then crossed the street over and descended Valley Forge.Although not overly technical this is an A+ ride.Some parts of the trail are difficult to make out due to all the leaf/pine cone litter,but still do-able.The trail is very narrow in a lot of places with not much more the six inches on each side of your tire.The penalty for going over the side can be severe in some areas.Does Gabrielino mean exposure in spanish? We finished our ride thru Chantry Flats, all total we did over 40 miles and climbed over 6000.Good day and some fun singletrack.Valley Forge is realitively short but you have a number of options to take to make it a killer ride.The one area we did try was the Gab towards the bottom and this is impassable due to poison oak.Gawd,I hope this Technu stuff works because we were in it to our eyeballs.The stuff is really thick down there.If you do the route we did I suggest you take in excess of 150 ounces of fluids.This is a keeper.I'll be back.
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: 40+miles Elevation change: 6200+
  Singletrack=50% Truck Trail=50%
  Pain Freak riding a Surly Turner from The 909

  Posted:06/20/2004

• Trail UpdateA Valley Forge Loop-Valley Forge is a good singletrack with minimal traffic.
  The trail is well maintained, and has less exposure
  than many trails in the San Gabriels. Some parts are
  covered in pine cones and leaves, but nothing to really
  get in the way. While not all that technical, the problems
  with making a feasible loop with this trail make it better
  suited for advanced riders.
  I did Valley Forge as part of a 32 mile loop from
  Altadena. I left from JPL, biked over to Chaney Trail,
  and ascended the Mt. Lowe Railroad to Markham
  Saddle. After a quick decent to the Mt. Wilson road, I
  soaked up the Valley Forge singletrack as the morning
  fog burned off. At the bottom, I started up Gabrielino to
  Red Box, but found it slow going with multiple river
  crossings. Instead, I found a cut off to the Red Box -
  Rincon fire road and climbed to Red Box.
  After that, I did the regular Gabrielino descent to
  Switzers, Oakwilde, and finally JPL. Tiring, fun day.
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Ride distance: 32 miles Elevation change: 5500 feet
  Singletrack=45% Dirt Road=55%
  LCS a 33 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Cannondale Super V 1000 from Hollywood

  Posted:04/22/2002