confusing
User: jimmy peace - 8/20/2016  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 3.20 Miles Duration: N/A

this trail becomes confusing.. it seems to disappear, ... on the southern half

Pretty bridges, interesting wildlife, but problematic after a rain
User: plectrudis - 1/18/2016  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 9.50 Miles Duration: N/A

This was a nice, long trail with some pretty, forested bits, but we went astray right after crossing the Hoxie Bridge (take an IMMEDIATE right, even though the trail also continues straight ahead).  Also, lots of little temporary springs had sprung to life, so parts of the trail were a muddy mess.

On the plus side, there is a good bit of shade, the many bridges that cross little runnels and ravines are neat, and there are mile markers every1/10 mile (starting after the Hoxie Bridge :-(  ).  The park staff were very helpful--as they had no maps on hand, they drove out from the main office 15 min away to bring us some.

But the biggest drawback was at marker ~2.7--a big slough kind of thing crosses the path, and we couldn't find a way around it. You can follow what looks like a utility right-of-way up to a Jeep track, so we did that for a while, but it never rejoined the trail proper, and there was a lot of shooting going on (from hunting, not drug deals gone wrong), so we gave up and turned around.  This area was also thick with litter washed in with the rains, unlike the rest of the trail, which was quite clean.

Even so, it made for a good, long hike (especially with our wrong turn after the HB), and all the up-and-downing through the ravines gave us quite the workout.  Also, we saw 10 white-tailed deer, and a big black boar went crashing through the forest about 40 feet in front of us.  Much excitement.

solitude!
User: crocodile235 - 5/2/2015  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: N/A

My dog and I started at the alternate trailhead and took the trail 3 miles to the Fox Bottom Primitive Campground.  The trail winds in and out of small wooded areas, but spends much of its time in meadows with tall grasses and wildflowers.  In places the trail was almost entirely obscured by grass, but common sense plus occasional trail markers made it impossible to get lost.  I did not see any cow patties or snakes.  The driftwood has been cleared off the trail.  I did see a fair amount of poison ivy, but it was *mostly* outside the trail zone.  Although it was a gorgeous day, we only saw one person on the trail.

We spent the night at the campground in blissful solitude - no one else around other than a few folks going by in small boats.  The campground was quite overgrown and had poison ivy around its edges.  The chemical toilet was full of trash and unusable.  There are two short trails from the campsite that provide access to the San Gabriel River, but one of them has a deep drop-off such that it is pretty much impossible to climb back out of the water after you swim.  My dog jumped in and couldn't get out - I jumped in, gave him a hefty shove onto the bank, then realized that I couldn't get out either!  Ha.  Luckily the other river access location is quite a bit easier to climb out of.  That one is still a fairly good drop-off, though, which makes filtering water a bit of a balancing and stretching exercise. 

User: Jessica.Preston - 12/15/2013  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 3.20 Miles Duration: N/A

Hiked from Alternate TH to Primitive Camp
User: rrtex1 - 2/12/2011  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 5.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Family started at Alt. TH and headed west on trail from parking lot. Trail is well marked and well groomed. About .75 miles down trail came across a brush fire that was being put out. Trail is great but becomes littered with debris from last years flood. After we got to the ponds on the road portion of the trail we lost the trail completely due to flood debris and overgrowth and just followed river until we found camp. Camp is very nice with big trees and nice open grass. We will go here to camp in the future. When we left we followed the road all the way out which was not as scenic but was a bit shorter than following the trail. Saw lots of hawks, cardinals and other birds. Had a good time.

Nice trail
User: c1seachelle_and_dogs - 5/8/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
Went with family and dogs. We loved it. Narrow trail that is over grown, but that's nature. Saw only one person for 2.5 miles. Could see campsite at one bridge.

User: Daniel N - 11/7/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

User: johnbivona - 2/22/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 7.50 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes

This is a nice half-day hike with medium difficulty.  The trail is not well marked, especially during the last mile near the primitive camping area.  Stay on the beaten path and you should eventually get to the campsite.  I was amazed at the amount of drift wood and plastic trash that has accumulated around the trail area during periods of high lake levels.  Be on the lookout for deer and hogs as you approach the last 1/3 of the hike!

Poorly maintained but pleasant
User: raediant - 10/25/2008  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 8.00 Miles Duration: N/A

The trail was hard to follow at points, especially with so much leaf fall. I followed the car tracks beyond the trail turnaround for about 3/4 mile and found myself at a lake inlet dotted with birdhouses. Litter was all too common along the driftwood sites. Other than that, the hike was extremely enjoyable. If you enjoy photographing wildlife, bring a camera and be ready - I spotted at least six armadillos, a black snake, a few lizards, a hawk, a blue heron, and various smaller birds. The high degree of solitude was refreshing and occasional unobscured views of Lake Granger were lovely. I recommend the trail to hikers that enjoy a raw trail full of surprises.

Not the right time to hike this one
User: kstahnke - 6/24/2007  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 3.20 Miles Duration: N/A
I've hiked this trail before but it has been a while. Right now, the trails are overgrown with poison ivy and trees have fallen over several spots requiring some cutting off trail. This can be a fun little hike, but I definitely didn't pick the right time to take it this time. I cut the hike short when I hit the western trail head and the trail followed a fence line and the trail was hemmed in with honeysuckle and poison ivy. At that point, I turned back because I'm quite allergic. I'm not dogging the trail, just advising anyone else thinking of heading out right now.

Had no idea it would be so cool...
User: LVX - 4/20/2007  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 3 hours
We went out to Granger lake because we were looking for a geocache. We had no idea that it would be so cool. It was very wet and muddy but we didn't care.

Kinda Flat
User: jsr59jsr - 3/10/2007  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 7.50 Miles Duration: 6 hours
Close to the water but a little dry.