About Icehouse Canyon Trailhead
Icehouse Canyon Trailhead is one of the most popular hiking destinations in the Angeles National Forest near Mount Baldy. The trail follows a scenic, tree-lined canyon with a year-round creek, historic cabins, waterfalls, and diverse mountain vegetation before climbing to Icehouse Saddle. From the saddle, hikers can continue to peaks such as Ontario Peak, Cucamonga Peak, and Bighorn Peak. It is a favorite destination for hiking, wildlife viewing, photography, and nature exploration, offering both shaded lower trails and panoramic mountain vistas.
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Hiking Backpacking Nature Walks Bird Watching Wildlife Viewing Creekside Trails Waterfalls Photography Mountain Climbing Access Wilderness Access and Scenic Overlooks.Reviews
Been here a couple of times recently. First did Three T's Trail clockwise on a Sunday morning in August - this required me to walk on Baldy Road for a couple of miles uphill to get to Manker Flats, then take the trail to Baldy Notch and return via Icehouse Canyon. The paved trails are no fun, and also took me 5 minutes to find parking at 7:40am on Sunday. Second time was when I did the Cucamonga, Bighorn, and Ontario Peaks on a Friday morning in October - this time, found parking immediately right at the trailhead, and also did trailhead to saddle both ways. Icehouse Canyon trail climbs 2500 feet straight up to the saddle from the trailhead in 3.5 miles, so be prepared for that. Nothing dangerous, and trail condition is good. There's a wide flowing creek alongside the trail for the first mile, but after that, I'm not aware of any water source until Baldy Notch. From the saddle, you can go left to Three T's, or right up to Cucamonga, or right down to Ontario, and all are very well marked. You need to display either an Adventure Pass or a National Parks pass in your vehicle. There's a warning at the trailhead that says you'll be fined 130$ otherwise. Also need to carry a permit into Cucamonga Wilderness which starts pretty much a mile in from the trailhead. This permit can be obtained online in advance or by filling out a slip at the trailhead itself.