⊗ Little Santa Anita Canyon

October 12, 2017 tarannosaurus

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Los Angeles Area → ⊗ Little Santa Anita Canyon

⊗ Technical Route ⊗

Warning: Do Not Attempt Without Proper Training – click here for details

Location: San Gabriels front range, Northeast of Los Angeles

Distance: 3.2 miles total, 0.9 miles technical

Elevation Ascent/Descent: 1060 feet/1060 feet

Time Required: 3-5 hours

Rappels: ~10, lengths up to 50 feet

Red Tape/Notes: No permit required; curb your wheels when parking to avoid a ticket. There is a potential keeper pothole near the end of the canyon; be prepared with escape techniques if requires. Good beta and current conditions can be found on ropewiki.

What’s Nearby?: The Huntington, Allison Mine Loop, Eaton Canyon (Hike), Eaton Canyon (Technical), Bailey Canyon, Rubio Canyon, Mt. Lowe Railway, Millard Canyon/Dawn Mine Loop

Little Santa Anita is the best beginner canyon we’ve found in the area – it has an easy and straightforward approach, loads of rappels (making it great for practicing rappelling techniques), and none of them are very tall, so it’s less scary than other canyons. There’s enough water to make it interesting, but as long as you don’t go right after a torrential downpour, you’ll hardly get more than splashed a little and have some wet feet. The potential keeper pothole adds some interest and can be fun for practicing escape options (it was definitely in keeper mode the couple of times we ran it, but as of this post, it’s currently filled with sand and does not require special escape techniques). On a hot day, the canyon is a pleasant escape from the heat and is a nice way to spend a couple of hours. An interesting detour before starting down canyon is to drop your heavy packs and hike upstream half a mile or so, when you’ll come across the ruins of the Quarter-Way House (built in 1888) and Camp Nomad (which was popular in the 1930’s) – essentially just some building blocks, foundations, and remnants of walls – before coming to the more impressive ruins of the old gaging station.