The Bridge to Nowhere

Earlier this year our hiking group decided to tackle the Bridge to nowhere hike. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

We started our hike early in the morning seeing as this is 10 mile hike we wanted to get as much sunlight in as possible. The drive in was amazing. After leaving the city behind you find yourself driving along the San Gabriel Dam/Reservoir and soon after that you’ll be driving along the San Gabriel River. Beautiful views the whole way in!

Once you reach the parking lot, place your forest adventure pass on your dash and gear up for an amazing,challenging and one of a kind hike.

Not even 10 minutes into the hike and we were already faced with a river crossing. This was our first hike that involved river crossings. Prior to this we had only had to cross small creeks and streams, so this was definitely a shocker to see the raging river. Due to the heavy rains in the earlier months the river was still roaring in May.  We cautiously crossed the river in groups of 2 and 3 and walked against the current in knee-high water. Success! Everyone in our group of 16 made it across the first crossing. Just 5 more to go! Yes, that’s right, this 10 mile hike has a total of 6 river crossings, so be prepared!

The easiest way for us was to stay to the right of the river as much as possible and crossing the river when we ran out of land. The scenery is nice and the sounds of the water make for a great hike. After a few river crossings you get to point where you have gained some elevation and soon after that the trail comes to an end.. Not to fear, this is where you will get a self taught lesson on rappelling. That is right, there is a rope anchored into the rock-face that assists you as you guide yourself down the cliff-side. It sounds difficult but was pretty easy.

Now that the hard part is out of the way from here its a relativity easy hike to the Bridge. One of the first things you will notice is  people bungee jumping from the bridge. I believe reservations are required and can be made at Bungee America. Once here you can find a spot near the bridge to have a snack or lunch or you can follow the trail down to river to cool down or do some further exploring.

Return the way you came and always use caution, especially when crossing the river.

This was definitely one of my favorite hikes and I can’t wait to do it again!

Happy Trails,

Alex G.

FOR DIRECTIONS Google Maps Link to Trailhead 

• 10 miles 5 in/5 out
• hiking time- 5 hours
• elevation gain- 1000ft.
• difficulty- moderate/difficult(river crossings)
• adventure pass
• sunblock-
• start early to beat the heat

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