Sunset Peak’s Panoramic View of Big, Bare Baldy

Mt. Baldy, highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, is visible from much of the Southland. Its summit gleams white in winter and early spring; in fact, Baldy is so big and bare that it seems to be snow-covered even when it’s not.

“Sunset Peak gives you the best view of Old Baldy,” Sam Fink says as he admires the panoramic view from the summit.

Fink, 85, knows his views. When I encountered him atop Sunset Peak a few weekends back, he was making his 82nd trip up this trail. Fink began leading Sierra Club trips into the San Gabriels back in the 1930s and has been day hiking for well over half of a century. Sunset Peak and its view of Baldy has long been a favorite of Fink’s, though it takes second place to Mt. Baldy itself, which he says he has climbed 103 times.

“I’m not as fast as I used to be,” Fink grouses, “but I still get to the top.”

When snow covers the San Gabriel high country, consider the short hike to Sunset Peak. For most of the winter and early spring, the 5,796-foot peak seems to be strategically positioned just below the snow line and just above the smog line. You’ll get great clear-day views of Claremont and the San Gabriel Valley below, and of Baldy and its neighboring peaks above.

Sunset views, as the name of the peak suggests, are often glorious. If you plan an evening hike, remember to bring warm clothing and flashlights.

Directions to the trailhead: From Interstate 10 in Claremont, exit on Indian Hill Boulevard and head north. Drive 2 miles to Foothill Boulevard (old Route 66 for the nostalgic). Turn right and proceed three-fourths of a mile to Mills Avenue, then turn left and follow Mills 2 miles to a stop sign, where the avenue becomes Mt. Baldy Road; continue another 8 miles to Glendora Ridge Road, which you’ll spot on your left just short of the hamlet of Mt. Baldy. Turn left and follow Glendora Ridge Road a mile to a gravel parking lot on the right. The trailhead is on the opposite (left) side of the road.

The hike: Sunset Peak Trail, a Forest Service fire road closed to vehicles, begins at a bullet-riddled stop sign and a candy-cane-striped barrier. The trail ascends moderately but steadily up the pine- and big-cone-spruce-shaded north side of Sunset Peak.

About halfway to the peak, you’ll ascend out of the shade into chaparral country. A 1975 fire scorched these upper slopes, and it will be a while before tall trees are seen here again.

A very steep fire break offers a route to the summit, but it would be wise to ignore it and continue on the main trail. A half of a mile from the top, at a wide bend in the road, the trail swings sharply left.

Just below the peak, the fire road gives way to a steep footpath, and you’ll ascend a final hundred yards to the summit. Up top are a couple of cement pillars and other debris, remains of a Forest Service fire lookout tower that was abandoned for several reasons: Smog hindered visibility and the Forest Service has for some years been replacing human lookouts with more automated surveillance. Also, a fire burned the peak.

The view of the metropolis below is notoriously undependable; however, the panorama of peaks above is always an inspiring sight.

Return the same route.

Sunset Peak Trail

Glendora Ridge Road to Sunset Peak: 5 miles round trip; 1,200-foot elevation gain