Bullish on Bear Canyon Trail in the Santa Ana Mountains

The Santa Ana Mountains may be the most overlooked and underutilized recreation area in Southern California.

Autumn is a nice time to explore the Santa Anas, which stretch the entire length of Orange County’s eastern perimeter, roughly paralleling the coast about 20 miles inland. The coast has a cooling influence on what is often a very hot range of mountains and the western slopes are often blanketed with fog. By midmorning, the sun scatters the fog into long colorful banners as though inviting you to some far-off parade.

Bear Canyon Trail offers a pleasant introduction to the Santa Anas. The trail climbs through gentle brush and meadow country, visits Pigeon Springs, and arrives at Four Corners, the intersection of several major hiking trails through the southern Santa Anas. One of these trails takes you to Sitton Peak for a fine view. Along the trail, refreshing Pigeon Springs welcomes hot and dusty hikers to a handsome oak glen.

Early morning is my favorite time here. A soft mist enshrouds the coastal range and chills the air. The wet dew glistens. As the sun slowly rises, the mist turns to haze and the brushy outlines of the ridges are silhouetted against the sky. The oak-dotted portreros glow golden, welcoming the new day.

Directions to trailhead: Take the Ortega Highway (California 74) turnoff from the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 5) at San Juan Capistrano. Drive east 20 miles to the paved parking area across from Ortega Oaks store. Bear Canyon Trail starts just west of the store on Ortega Highway.

Departing from the parking lot is the 2-mile San Juan Loop Trail, another nice introduction to the Santa Ana Mountains.

You can obtain trail information and purchase a Cleveland National Forest map at El Cariso Station, located a few miles up Highway 74.

The hike: From the signed trailhead, the broad, well-graded trail climbs slowly up brushy hillsides. The trail crosses a seasonal creek, which runs through a tiny oak woodland.

A half mile from the trailhead, you’ll enter the San Mateo Canyon Wilderness, set aside by Congress in 1984. The 40,000-acre preserve protects San Mateo Canyon, the crown jewel of the Santa Ana Mountains, a relatively untouched land of 200-year-old oaks, portreros and quiet pools. If hiking in the Santa Ana Mountains agrees with you, you’ll want to return for further exploration of this wilderness.

After a mile, a deceptive fork appears on the left. Ignore it. The trail climbs on, skirts the periphery of a meadow and crests a chaparral-covered slope. Just before the trail joins the Verdugo Trail, there’s a nice view down into San Juan Canyon. Turn right (south) on Verdugo Trail and proceed three-quarter mile to Pigeon Springs.

Pigeon Springs includes a storage tank and a horse trough. Forest rangers recommend that you purify the water before drinking. The springs are located among oaks on the left of the trail. If the bugs aren’t biting, this can be a nice place to picnic.

Option: To continue on to Sitton Peak, hike down the Verdugo Trail another half mile and you’ll arrive at Four Corners, a convergence of trails (fire roads). The Verdugo Trail pushes straight ahead to an intersection with the Blue Water Trail. To the left is Blue Water Fire Road leading down to Fisherman’s Camp in San Mateo Canyon. To proceed to Sitton Peak, bear right on the Sitton Peak Trail.

Follow the trail as it begins to climb and contour around the peak. There are a few trees up on the ridge but little shade en route. In a mile you’ll be at the high point of Sitton Peak Trail, a saddle perched over San Juan Canyon. The high point of the trail is approximately at Forest Service marker W-56. Follow the trail another mile until you reach the southeast face of the peak. Leave the trail here and wend your way up past the rocky outcroppings to Sitton Peak. On a clear day, there are superb views of the twin peaks of Old Saddleback (Mt. Modjeska and Mt. Santiago), Mt. San Gorgonio and Mt. San Jacinto, Catalina and the wide Pacific.

Bear Canyon Trail Ortega Highway to Pigeon Springs: 5 1/2 miles round trip; 700-foot elevation gain.

Ortega Highway to Sitton Peak: 10 1/2 miles round trip; 1,300-foot elevation gain.