Weldon Canyon - #WeldonCanyon

Socal - Los Angeles County - Santa Clarita (Newhall Pass& NickNames: #WeldonCanyon

Trailhead: An unmarked gated dirt road, with walk around, 200 meters (yards) west along Coltrane Ave from Weldon Canyon Road. This is just across the 5 freeway from The Old Road in the Newhall Pass area (near Oak Tree Gun Club)

11 Review(s)3 Photo(s)Login

• Trail UpdateHad A Nice Ride Today-I got tired of reading other people's internet postings on trails around here. So I got out today and hit this trail for the first time. I found it steep at the beginning. I learned from a solo passing mountain bike rider about a bench on the way up the hill. I didn't see it on the way up but did note a walking trail off to the right which I figured I would check out later. I rode up to the intersection of Mission Peaks and the SCE property which is secured by a fence. That was about 3.25 miles in from where I started I believe. I turned around and rode back down the way I came. On my way back down I checked out the walking trail and found the wooden bench which is located at a very nice vista point. Aside from the one mountain biker I only saw one other person who was running the trail. I saw some beautiful hawks. I picked up some trash on my way down leaving the trail nicer than when I arrived. It was a 6.25 mile ride for me which I felt was a great workout because there was a quite bit of uphill. I am looking forward to extending my ride next time.
  M a Weekend Warrior riding a Specialized Hardrock

  Posted:10/28/2012

• Trail UpdateRode In The Shade-trail is rutted from the rains in march, 2011 but definetly still rideable. Stopped at weldon canyon and went back the way i came. rode the so cal gas trail a couple weeks ago, the fire road is in bad shape and super steep on the simi side.
  SCVStumpjumper a 29 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a 2011 FSR Elite, Specialized from Cali

  Posted:03/29/2011

• Trail UpdateSoft And Sandy...-Rode up East Canyon and down Weldon Canyon. Weldon is super soft and sandy, especially since it looks like the fire trucks recently used it. And there's so much of it, a bit of speed will not get you through the sandy spots like usual. Almost felt like sandboarding instead of mountain biking in some spots! I imagine the climb wouldn't be too great either. Next time will stick to East Canyon and explore the spur singletrack.
  Steve K a 23 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Giant Trance X3 from Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo, CA)

  Posted:08/19/2010

• Trail UpdateI parked at the gate and rode this trail all the way to Neon. Wanted other people to know that the trails around the So-Cal Gas fences are a bit overgrown, but are perfectly useable, and gets the job done. From the gate, up and over, and back up the Old Road to my car was 1 1/2 hours.
  rippinron a 42 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Santa Cruz Superlight from West Hills

  Posted:06/12/2006

• Trail UpdateGood Father's Day Ride!-My dad and I took decided to take a ride 6/19. climbed Weldon Canyon to Mission Pt. to Neon Wy. (Mario De Campos Trail) and it was a great ride. Clear skys and clean air. no smog or clouds. The climb up Weldon Canyon is a pretty good workout, the trail was pretty recently graded and cleared of brush so the trail is in pretty good condition. There are some sandy spots throughout that make your tires slip, but nothing serious. After the climb, we crossed the ridge at the top of Weldon, we saw 2 deer and a bobcat which was right on the trail. scared little guy just ran off though. We continued up to the socal gas fences and took the new cut trails around them to Mission Pt. There are 3 of these little trails which are really overgrown right now, but I guess they work. Stopped at Mission Pt. for a snack and continued all the way down to Neon Wy. Mario De Campos trail is in great condition with a lot of sunflowers on the sides of the trail. very quick and no overgrowth. the socal gas fences below mission pt. and at mission pt. have been torn down by vandals who felt it was disrespectful to the De Campos viewpoint and hikers who wanted to use the old trail. most of the fence material is just lying around and tagged on a pole was a saying that it took 2 men 3 hours to tear the fences down. so there are 2 paths leading down from mission pt. we'll see if the fences are reinstalled or not, but some hikers or bikers clearly got upset over the socal gas issue. overall, great ride. enjoyed the cool weather, the nice shady oaks just above mission pt. and nice clear sky. bring water and have fun. About 6.5 miles. about 90-120min ride.
  Steve K a 17 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-1000 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:06/19/2005

• Trail UpdateWeldon Canyon-Rode this on 4-25-05. Signs and yellow tape say closed but rode on anyways. A bit overgrown but someone is working on it. A few deep ruts, but none the less fun and a good stimulating uphill.
  jb a 30 year old Weekend Warrior riding a cannondale from santa clarita

  Posted:05/02/2005

• Trail UpdateWeldon Canyon To Mission Peak-This morning I rode up Weldon Canyon, across the ridge to Mission Peak and down the Neon Way trail. There were a couple of short sandy spots on Weldon, but not bad. Both trails are in very good shape, except for the new bypasses around the infamous Gas Co fence. On the north side of Mission Peak there are three short stretches, only about 100 yards each, where the fence cuts off the old trail. There are bypasses around each of them. Apparently each of these are spots is where there is an overlook into the gas well field. I guess the homeland security thinking must be: "If they take the trouble to come all the way up here and don't actually see the gas field they won't bomb it." Of course there is also the ridulously steep new bypass on the south side of the peak also, just below the four trees.

  No mountain lions. (They may have spotted me, but I didn't spot them.) I did see several hawks.

  From the Weldon trailhead, just off The Old Road, to Neon Way took an hour and forty minutes. An additional half hour took me west on the dirt extension of Sesnon and across Aliso Canyon to Porter Ranch. There is a lot of dirt moving going on along Sesnon and in the canyon, with a sign that says there is a new housing devolopment going in there. Part of the trail at the bottom of Aliso Canyon has been obliterated.

  Ride rating: Novice
  Dirt Road=100%
  JimNo a 64 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Marin Hawk Hill from Northridge

  Posted:11/26/2004

• Trail UpdateA Fine Ride In June Gloom...-I did the East Canyon/Weldon Canyon Loop once again Wednesday June 30. This time I went with two buds of mine Sean and Jeff both essentially first-timers, but nevertheless we all had fun. We climbed past the intersection of East and Weldon Canyons to see the new trail cut across the hillside connecting to O'Melveny Park. It looked pretty decent but I am holding it off until next ride.

  We started our ride at 8:15am about 60 degrees with a little wind and the cloudcover stayed out all day along with a pretty constant temperature. Great weather for riding, except for the limited views. Ride time was 2 hours 20 minutes.

  Started off at the trailhead at East Canyon. A sign is up with rules for the open space Santa Monica Conservancy area which suggests a $3 parking fee to a parking post, but no envelopes were available so free parking. We were the first vehicle at the trailhead and there were about 4 vehicles when we returned. East Canyon is still pretty much in the same condition as my last ride except a bit dryer in the brush and sandier on the path. Climb up out of the canyon past a big meadow and to a big oak at the top where you hit Rice Canyon. Continue on to Weldon Canyon. Weldon Canyon follows the power lines down the hill and was much sandier compared to last ride about a month or two ago. We once again stopped at the lookout post to rest although we couldn't see much. The first mile of the trail is up and down across the ridge and then it is a lot of steady descent with steep and curvy areas. Saw a lot of scat on East Canyon trail but a ton more footprints on Weldon Canyon. We saw plenty of coyote and deer tracks as well as some mountain lion tracks. We thought we heard a mountain lion but can not confirm anything. We did later on down see 3 deer. There are two forks in this trail on the way down. One is the Sunshine Canyon Trail which by map just ends up at the landfill in Sunshine Canyon. The power lines follow this trail all the way down and follow Weldon Canyon only along the ridge. The second fork is about halfway down Weldon Canyon and is a private road of BFI waste company leading also to the dump. We saw the deer at this fork. Weldon Canyon was cool and breezy just like the rest of the day and a good doubletrack kind of ride, just a little sandier than last time. To complete this loop, take paved road from the trailhead across the bridge over Interstate 5. Make a left on the Old Road and descend this highway for another mile or so to the parking lot for East Canyon. Overall, a good loop. I hope to go exploring some more with the new over-the-hill trail and the Rice Canyon loop.
  Steve K a 17 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-100 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:06/30/2004

• Trail UpdateSoCal To Correct Problem-After seeing the trail information posted on your website, and getting similiar reports from concerned members of our organization we contacted Supervisor Antonovich's office on 4-27-04 and this is the reply we received on 4-30-04 regarding the fence and lack of access. The NVC hopes the following response will please you:
  ------------------------------------------------------
  I met with the Gas Company this afternoon. They inform me that the fences that have been erected are to provide protection of their property that is located in the canyon below the trails in regards to National Security issues raised by both local and federal government agencies. The property they have fenced is property either owned by the Gas company or property that is leased by them. In coordination with the County of Los Angeles's Parks & Recreation Department new trails will be cut in a short time that will connect the trail with those areas that have been fenced off insuring a complete trail system for those individuals using the trail. The Gas Company will be in contact with you to go over the details and answer any questions you have.
  
  Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention.
  
  Bob Haueter, Supervisor Anonovich's office

  North Valley Coalition from Granada Hills URL: North Valley Coalition

  Posted:04/30/2004

• Trail UpdateNO GATE...UNSURPASSABLE FENCE-No longer a little gate at the top...an unsurpassable fence put up by Socal Gas Co.

  Rode 04/07 (Wednesday).

  Intended ride: East Canyon to Mission Peak to Three
  Trees to Neon Wy. & O'Melvheny Park.

  What we did b/c of stupid SOCAL Gas Co. gate and closure: East Canyon/Weldon Canyon Loop Trail.

  yes, as Dirtshark said for East Canyon entry Socal Gas. Co. has erected a fence about 8ft. tall with barbed wire on top and extending about 100m in one direction down the hillside and at least 1/4 mile the other direction from what i could see. It is not climeable or really possible to get around the fence at all and sure not with a bike, so let's just assume they don't want anyone on the other side of the fence period. It shows. The fence is right next to the water towers and blocks access of the Mario De Campos trail which passes Mission Peak and Three Trees on its way to Neon Wy. and also blocks the route to Oat Mountain and any of the other peaks with communication towers. I guess the property is now owned by SOCAL gas and may no longer be private or parts of property next to the fence are private but cannot be reached from the East Canyon side. I am curious as to where you would hit a fence going up from Neon Wy. and coming down from Oat Mountain but this fence seems to cover a lot of space near the top, blocking many possible routes. I did descend the hillside where the fence went down and crawled past a tree to get on the other side, but its not really doable by bike. Better off just to not go up there anyways. So basically when you ride to the water towers from East Canyon or Weldon Canyon, you can't really go on and the best idea is to make a loop. The fence is by the watertowers just after the intersection of East Canyon and Weldon Canyon.

  Now about the details of the loop ride: Started East Canyon about 8am. Saw 2 other mtbr's and 3 hikers at the trailhead. East Canyon Trail is beautiful. The fire damage is barely even noticeable anymore and most of the canyon is shady and green. First section travels through oak forest near a creekbed which actually did have water in it. Very green in this area. Easy riding. Trail continues and begins a climb which just increases in difficulty as you ascend. You will pass a large green meadow and a couple more oaks. Good views of East Canyon, Interstate 5, and the community of Santa Clarita. Meet intersection with Rice Canyon near the top of the hill. Rice Canyon is another trail in the Santa Clarita Woodlands/Santa Monica Conservancy to make a loop with. Just past Rice Canyon is a viewpoint. On a clear day, like this one we saw highway 126, interstate 5, Santa Clarita Valley, Towsley canyon,
  Oat Mountain, and all the other mountains along the top ridge. Fire damage was still a bit evident as it was a little worse to the north. We continued on past Weldon Canyon Trailhead and then got to the water tanks and huge fence. Turned back and decided to ride down Weldon Canyon. Weldon Canyon is a doubletrack ride and a quick downhill. As an uphill it is probably advanced if we were to call East Canyon and intermediate climb. Weldon Canyon is a very sunny ride in a chaparrel setting. At the top of Weldon Peak, there is a lookout hut with a bench and shade to stop at. Pretty nice work from the Santa Clarita Woodlands/ LA County Supervisor Michael Antonvich who helped to get the land and the Santa Monica Conservancy. (I read a sign at the top). Weldon Canyon is a little technical but nothing much. Just a quick speedy ride like East Canyon would be as a downhill. One bad thing about Weldon Canyon is that despite its great views of everywhere around, the landfill in Sunshine Canyon takes up a lot of the view and sometimes Weldon Canyon is a little smelly. Anyways, Weldon Canyon comes up at Coltrane Rd. To get back to East Canyon Trailhead, take Coltrane rd. bridge across the 5 Freeway and make a left on the Old Rd. Descend about a mile and you're back. Mileage for this loop ride was around 5 miles. East Canyon climb is about 2.25, Weldon Canyon is 1.75 and about 1 mile of highway. Good ride overall. Enjoy! Just hope we can do something about the fence. Maybe we can write letters to get our trails back for mountain biking and hiking.
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: 2 Elevation change: 1000
  Singletrack=Doubletrack 100%
  Steve K a 16 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-100 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:04/09/2004

• Trail UpdateWELDON CANYON MOUNTAINWAY - Length: Approximately 2 miles; Elevation Change: 650 ft
  A dirt road climbing to the ridge between East Canyon and Sunshine canyon. As you reach the ridge there is a junction in the road, take the right road. The left descends to the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. The ridge has planted groves of holly cherry trees. Overlooking East Canyon is the East Canyon Wildlife Nature Observation Platform, which was constructed in 1998 by the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. This trail provides views of the rugged East Canyon and Rice Canyon, views of Santa Clarita, and views of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill. The road ends at a locked gate. Before the gate on the right side, a foot path takes you up over the ridge to connect with the East Canyon Trail.
  Trailhead: An unmarked gated dirt road, with walk around, 200 meters (yards) west along Coltrane Ave from Weldon Canyon Road. This is just across the 5 freeway from The Old Road in the Newhall Pass area (near Oak Tree Gun Club)

  This trail is good for creating a 5 mile loop with East Canyon Trail. I'm not sure if you can go past the locked gate, but I think it will lead you to Oat Mountain and O' Melvheny Park /Three Trees.
  Ride distance: 5 Elevation change: 1000
  Singletrack=20% Truck Trail=80%
  Steve K a 16 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-100 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:11/28/2003