This Santa

Hike at Santa Susana Pass State Park in Los Angeles County

11.01.2023

In 1861 the Old Santa Susana Stagecoach Road was used by Wells Fargo & Company as a stagecoach route. These days the stagecoaches are long gone, leaving behind a historic hiking trail. Santa Susana Pass State Park is a fairly small park and most of the trails intersect, offering up lots of opportunities for exploration.

Almost every trail in the park is completely exposed, dry, and dusty in the summer with temps frequently climbing over 100 degrees. But the rest of the year is usually quite pleasant, with winter rains bringing seasonal waterfalls and cooler temperatures, followed by wildflowers in the spring.

The 3-mile (round-trip) out-and-back historic trail climbs 708 feet in elevation as it weaves through the park’s distinct sandstone crags of the Santa Susana Pass. The trail is so steep in sections that it’s tough to picture stagecoaches passing this way; it’s tempting to just chalk it up to years of erosion and assume it must’ve looked much different back in its heyday. But according to the park brochure, this pass was nicknamed “the Devil’s Slide” due to its treacherous grade, so it might not have looked so different after all. The route was used to deliver mail between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles—a segment of the famous Butterfield Overland Stage Route. Though the city views in the distance have changed quite a bit over the years, it’s easy to imagine the park’s flora has stayed much the same, with buckwheat and sagebrush lining the trail and California walnut and sycamore trees down in the canyons.

Grab a map at the trailhead so you can plan your route. We recommend starting at the park entrance on Larwin Avenue and following Powerhouse Road fire road into the park. From there hop onto the Bannon Quarry Trail (a singletrack spur on the left) until you see the turnoff for the Old Santa Susana Stagecoach Road. Follow that until it ends at the park entrance on the other side of the park and then go back the way you came.

Park entrance is on the 10200 block of Larwin Ave in Chatsworth. Street parking only; be sure to obey all posted parking signage as it’s in a residential neighborhood. Dog-friendly!

Story and photos by Natalie Bates, @wanderwithnatalie

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Napa Valley Paddle kayaker and paddle boarder on the Napa Valley river

    Napa's Wild Side

    It’s wine country’s Amazon. The gentle Napa River is an ecological—and recreational—delight. And Napa Valley Paddle sets you up for maximum enjoyment of this experience.

    View

  2. Been There, Dome That

    Surrounded by granite domes, craggy peaks, and miles of hiking trails, the High Sierra landscape of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is famous for good reason. For a truly grand view, take a short hike to bold—and bald (except for snow at times)—Lembert Dome.

    View

  3. Wapama Wows

    Hetch Hetchy can be overlooked in Yosemite National Park because of its more remote location and limited facilities. But this is where you’ll also find one of the best day hikes in the park: Wapama Falls.

    View
  4. Hike Mount Tamalpais into Muir Woods

    Muir Woods Through the Backdoor

    A backdoor entrance into Muir Woods? Hike a tranquil trail that starts in Mount Tamalpais State Park and quietly leads into Muir Woods, letting you avoid the busyness of the main parking area.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories

  1. Inn-spiration Point!

    For more than a century, people have been hiking or mountain biking to West Point Inn for good reason. Perched at 1,785 feet on the southern slope of Mount Tamalpais, the historic inn has sweeping views from the Marin Headlands to the San Francisco skyline.

    View

  2. A Thousand Steps to Paradise

    A picture is worth a thousand words, but is a gorgeous beach in Laguna worth a thousand steps? The answer is yes, though the question is moot, because it’s only 223 steep steps down to the 400-yard stretch of sand known as 1000 Steps Beach.

    View
  3. Sponsored

    Take the Exit to the Best of the San Francisco Peninsula

    The San Francisco Peninsula is proof that some of Northern California’s greatest surprises are hiding just off Highway 101. All you have to do is take the exit.

    View
  4. Hike to the Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout in the Lakes Basin

    Lookout for This View!

    Sierra Buttes Lookout, at a lofty 8,591 feet, is a memory maker for its pucker-worthy stairway to the tower’s balcony. It's a 5-mile (round-trip) hike to reach it. And the reward? Epic!

    View