Little Santa Anita Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3B III (v3a2 III) Raps:11-15, max ↨50ft
Red Tape:Closed to entry Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 26 Dec 2024
"Anchors are in good form; there was one that looked recently reslung with a 9/16" BW tubular webbing (i want to say R7/R8, the one DCR in that narrow |
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| Best season: | Spring;Summer;Fall;Winter
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34.1840, -118.0468
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Introduction[edit]
The Mt Wilson trail is still CLOSED DUE TO EATON FIRE as of 6JAN2026, however the canyon itself is now technically open using other approaches like https://ropewiki.com/Little_Santa_Anita_Canyon_(2.0)
Little Santa Anita is a short beginner canyon, adjacent to the larger Santa Anita canyon, with many short rappels. In the past, LSA contained many water challenges but sediment from landslides has filled in many of these challenges and it is rarely more than an easy class B canyon, except following strong rains.
Approach[edit]
Drive[edit]
Exit the 210 at Baldwin and proceed north toward the mountains. Park on Mira Monte Ave next to the Mount Wilson Trail Park.
Hike[edit]
Follow the paved Mount Wilson Trail road up hill for 530 ft until there is a trail head register and map on the left. Follow the unpaved trail 1.6 miles to a Y and take the trail to the right toward First Water as specified by the sign. The stream (First Water) is the beginning of the canyon.
Descent[edit]
The first rappel is approximately 10 minutes downstream from First Water with plenty of little waterpark features and one bigger slide. This slide is typically very shallow, so depth check first and plan to bottom hard on your feet, if you choose to slide it. All these water features can be bypassed with class 2 scrambling. The first rappel is marked by a huge (still alive, healthy and spray painted) tree right in the middle of the canyon. There are many pools in the canyon, but as of 9JAN2026 none are more than waist deep; even the BIG pothole on the 2nd to last rappel is totally full of gravel and no longer a swimmer. Because of the large number of rappels, a group not using efficient rigging and rappelling practices may take substantially longer to complete this canyon. Note that several of the rappels can be skipped by a competent down-climber.
R1: ~50' bolts LDC which are now hard to reach and sketchy in high flow (purple webbing JAN2026) or an oddly shape tree DCR (long white webbing JAN2026)
R2: ~35' from old but solid bolts (that survived the 2025 Eaton Fire floods) RDC (olive drab green webbing JAN2026)
R3: 23' bolts RDC "The Spout" (olive drab green webbing JAN2026) In high flow, you will get pounded with crazy water flow force if you lose you stemming stance. You may want to use the chock stone LDC (will need webbing, or meat anchor)
R4: 45' bolts LDC smooth slippery sloped wall to thigh deep pool (red webbing JAN2026)
R5: ~30' bolts LDC to small pothole with a 3 foot boulder in the bottom. The pour-over from the pothole drops down another 6 feet into a shallow pool. Thus you may want to rig 40+ feet of rope to handle the second stage. (red webbing JAN2026)
Short hike follows to:
R6: ~30' one bolt LDC low angle rappel or downclimb RDC on granite slab
R7: 43' bolts RDC low angle then steep (green webbing JAN2026)
R8: ~20' eyebolt up high RDC, or slab traverse LDC, or slide center. The slide pool is shallow with rocky bottom!
R9: ~75' glue-in bolts on a boulder facing down canyon. (purple webbing JAN2026) You don't see the bolts until you are standing at the drop and look behind. This is now a 2 stage rappel. In high flow pick you line carefully!
Moderate hike follows to:
R10: 25' one bolt RDC "V" notch, downclimb the notch or for high flow, downclimb all the way LDC. Note that the house sized boulder just beyond this drop has moved down canyon to make the next drop.
R11: ~40' bolts center on outward slope of the house sized boulder (red webbing JAN2026)
R12: ~20' bolts LDC (purple webbing JAN2026)
(Optional Ridge exit full of poison oak prior to last three rappels)
Moderate hike follows to:
R13: 16' bolts RDC (purple webbing JAN2026)
R14: 35' bolts center on outward slope of the large boulder LDC into BIG pothole. As of JAN2026 the BIG pothole is totally full of gravel! NO JUMPING!
R15: ~30' bolts LDC after aid climbing 3 bolts to reach the anchor. Or a partner assisted downclimb (moderate to no flow), or with strength and skill stem high over the hydraulic boil (high flow and up).
Exit[edit]
There are 4 possible exits from LSA:
Gully to Ridge[edit]
Near the end of the lull in the canyon, canyoneers may escape up a wide gully to the ridge between them and the dam. The exit point is the only place where there is a climbable dirt slope that continues up out of sight into the brush. The scramble up the gully is approximately 150 ft of elevation gain, and will require some traversing to maintain an "easy" line. Once you reach the ridge proper, there is an additional 80 ft of elevation gain back to the Mount Wilson Trail.
This exit is steep, eroded, and covered in huge amounts poison oak. The Dam exit is preferable.
Rope climb to Ridge[edit]
At the top of the BIG pothole rappel are fixed ropes (orange, green and blue JAN2026) that will require one progress capture device (self belay) and better yet 2 devices for a rope climbing system. Climbing these fixed ropes about 100 feet vertically leads to easy terrain, and the ridge proper shortly there after. Follow the ridge to the Mount Wilson Trail.
Catch Basin[edit]
Most parties continue their descent to the catch basin, walk up the massive viaduct (like a LA freeway elevated roadway) and climb over the metal gate on the far RDC side. Note that by taking this exit you will be trespassing. This gate is often locked, necessitating climbing over it on the RDC side. From this point, take the middle of three streets (Idlehour Lane) down hill. Continue down hill until you reach the intersection of Mira Monte and Mountain Trail. Also, you may want to time your exit to avoid debris removal crews in the catch basin. You can check if they are working there on this webcam: https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/16196
Through the Dam[edit]
Some parties rappel through the catch basin dam (culvert pipe at the bottom) and then climb up somewhere down the exit ditch back to a neighborhood street. If you travel down under the first driveway bridge, and crawl up the first rectangular culvert pipe DCR, you can easily go through a hole in the fence back to the street. This exit through the dam is NOT recommended in high flow!
Red tape[edit]
The normal exit is technically trespassing through the LADWP / Amry Corps of Engineers property, but the workers that occasionally are there never seem to mind Canyoneers exiting that way. You will have to climb over the steel bar fence (it's easy enough on the right wall next to the gate). At least after the major via-duct construction, the fence no longer has sharp "spears" on top. It is now flat square bar steel.
Parking enforcement does ticket for not "curbing" your wheels in Sierra Madre. Be sure to turn your wheels toward the curb (in for downhill facing, out for uphill facing) at the trailhead to avoid a $40 ticket.
Beta sites[edit]
Chris Brennen's Adventure Hikes (San Gabriels) : Little Santa Anita Canyon- Stav is Lost - April 28, 2023
- ATS
- uCanyon
- Super Amazing Map : Little Santa Anita Canyon
- CanyonChronicles.com : Little Santa Anita Canyon
- SummitPost.org : Little Santa Anita Canyon
Trip reports and media[edit]
- Candition.com : Little Santa Anita (LSA)
- Little Santa Anita after dark
Like all canyons, character can vary with conditions. This video was taken the day after multi-week rains in 2010: