Josephine Fire Road to Josephine Peak- Stroller Friendly Hike!

Hike Length: 6 miles round trip; 1900′ elevation gain

Classification: Moderate

San Gabriel Valley hike

This memorial day, we took our one and three-year old on a hike about 30 minutes outside of Pasadena, CA off the Angeles Crest Highway. The route was the Josephine Fire Road to Josephine Peak. We packed PBJ’s with snacks and loaded up the stroller. By the time we finally start driving my husband and I are exhausted from getting everyone and everything out the door and into the car that I wondered if it was worth it.

Oh it was worth it.

This hike was spectacular. It’s seclusion means we only saw two other people, AND we were able to take our Double Bob Revolution SE stroller the whole way. This is the kind of hike where the Bob stroller shines… where you would do great with a 4-wheel drive vehicle but wouldn’t want the smart car (or the stroller version). The snap-n-go is a no go here. The Bob handled it like a champ. I’m sure versions of strollers with similar build to the Bob would work fine.

My husband did most of the stroller pushing uphill with both kids. It wasn’t a cake walk. He said “it’s nice for me to have the work of pushing the stroller so you and I can walk at the same pace”. Haha. Well, I think I’ll stay slow so we can keep using this logic!

One confession. We didn’t “summit” the hike. We would have needed to go another 30 minutes (and I hear it gets a bit steep near the top), and bedtime was soon approaching. We have kids. Therefore, we walk as far as we can, have fun, and turn around when we need to.

Directions:

Take the 210 freeway West toward La Cañada, drive up Angeles Crest Highway about 10 miles until you intersect with the Angeles Forest Highway and the Clear Creek Ranger Station. It is about a 15 minutes from the freeway. Take a left on the Angeles Forest Highway and park near the Fire Station, which is immediately on your left. The hike is right across the street, though the typical fire road gate. It is a little narrow to get your double Bob stroller around the initial gates, but it did fit. You will need a National Forrest Adventure Pass which you could buy at REI.

We hiked for roughly two and a half hours and took several stops to play in the dirt and look through the “Noculars”. There isn’t much shade on this hike, so keep that in mind with little ones. We started the hike around 5 pm, so the sun was not a problem, although we had to make sure we got out before dark.

So, if you’re feeling the need to “get away” without going far, this hike is wonderful. Vibrant yellow flowers lined the trail and there were breathtaking views around every corner!

Here are some of our pictures from the hike.