Arroyo Seco Offers History Lesson of Southern California

Arroyo Seco is undoubtedly the best-known canyon in Southern California. It’s the site of the Rose Bowl and has the dubious distinction of hosting California’s first freeway, the Pasadena. The arroyo includes both 10 miles of urban canyon dominated by the freeway and 10 miles of wild and rugged watershed spilling from the shoulder of Mt. Wilson.

During the early decades of this century, Arroyo Seco was an extremely popular place for a weekend outing. About halfway up the wild section of the canyon stood Camp Oakwilde, a rustic resort constructed in 1911. Hikers and horsemen stayed a night or two or used the hostelry as a rest stop on the way up to Mt. Wilson. During the 1920s, a road was constructed, and automobile drivers traveled the arroyo to Camp Oakwilde.

Southern California’s “flood of the century” wiped out Oakwilde in 1938. The awesome torrent also washed away the road and many vacation cabins. A few stone steps and foundations, ivy-covered walls and bridges give today’s hiker hints of a time gone by.

Besides the Southern California history lesson, oak-, sycamore- and bay-filled Arroyo Seco has much to offer. The modern-day traveler can walk the old 1920s auto road and newer Forest Service trails to quiet picnic areas. Because the path up the Arroyo Seco is officially part of the Gabrielino National Recreation Trail, it’s usually kept in very good condition.

This is a great morning walk. On hot afternoons, however, you might want to exercise elsewhere; smog fills the Arroyo Seco.

Directions to the trailhead: From Interstate 210 (the Foothill Freeway) in Pasadena, take the Arroyo Boulevard/Windsor Avenue exit. Head north on Arroyo Boulevard, which almost immediately becomes Windsor Avenue, and travel three-fourths of a mile. Just before Windsor Avenue’s intersection with Ventura Street, turn into the parking lot on your left. From the small lot you can look down into the bottom of the Arroyo Seco and see the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and JPL’s huge lot.

The hike: As you walk up Windsor Avenue, you’ll spot two roads. The leftward road descends to JPL. You head right on a narrow asphalt road, closed to vehicle traffic. You’ll pass some fenced-off areas and facilities belonging to the Pasadena Water Department and a junction with Lower Brown Mountain Road. A short mile from the trailhead are some Forest Service residences.

The road, dirt now, penetrates the arroyo and enters a more sylvan scene, shaded by oaks and sycamores. You can’t help but chuckle at the “No Fishing” signs posted next to the creek bed. These days the arroyo is quite “seco,” and if there are any fish around, they must have walked here.

Teddy’s Outpost Picnic Area is your first destination. In 1915, Theodore Syvertson had a tiny roadside hostelry at this site. A half mile beyond Teddy’s is large Gould Mesa Campground, with plenty of picnic tables. Next stop, a short distance past the campground, is a small picnic area called Nino. A mile beyond Gould Mesa Campground is Paul Little Picnic Area.

Now you leave the bottom of the arroyo and climb moderately to steeply up the east wall of the canyon. After curving along high on the wall, the trail then drops back to the canyon floor, where oak-shaded Oakwilde Trail Camp offers a tranquil rest stop. A few stone foundations remind the hiker that Arroyo Seco was once Pasadena’s most popular place for a weekend outing.

Return to the trailhead by the same route.

Arroyo Seco Trail (Gabrielino National Recreation Trail)

To Teddy’s Outpost:

3 miles round trip To Gould Mesa Campground:

4 miles round trip To Paul Little Picnic Area:

6 1/2 miles round trip;

400-foot elevation gain To Oakwilde Trail Camp:

10 miles round trip;

900-foot elevation gain