Best backpacking trips near Ontario, CA

Ranked by straight-line distance from Ontario (population ~175,265) to each trip's trailhead. Drive times are rough estimates — mountain roads are slower than they look.

Ontario backpacking at a glance

La Jolla Trail is the closest documented backpacking trip to Ontario — the La Jolla Trail Trailhead trailhead sits roughly 35 miles away, about 38 minutes by car. Of the 12 closest routes, 12 are within a two-hour drive of town, spanning Los Padres backcountry, San Gorgonio Wilderness, San Jacinto Mountains, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree National Park and Anza-Borrego Desert State ParkTrailheads for these trips sit between 26 and 11,499 feet, so you can pick a low, warm-season start or a high alpine route depending on the month.

3 of these 12 routes need no wilderness permit — useful for spontaneous weekends. Across the twelve closest trips, the months hikers rate best are October, June, September.If you want the gentlest introduction, Borrego Palm Canyon climbs only 700 feet over 3 miles; the biggest single-trip climb nearby is Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio at 10,800 feet of total gain over 15.6 miles.

#	Trip	Miles away	Est. drive	Distance	Gain	Difficulty	Permit
1	La Jolla Trail Los Padres backcountry	35 mi	~38 min	9 mi	—	10	None
2	San Bernardino Peak Trail San Gorgonio Wilderness	38 mi	~42 min	17.8 mi	9,300 ft	55	Required
3	Forsee Creek to Johns Meadow San Gorgonio Wilderness	40 mi	~45 min	7.8 mi	1,600 ft	12	Required
4	Momyer Creek to Dollar Lake Saddle San Gorgonio Wilderness	41 mi	~45 min	18.4 mi	4,560 ft	44	Required
5	Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio San Gorgonio Wilderness	42 mi	~46 min	15.6 mi	10,800 ft	61	Required
6	South Fork Trail to Dry Lake San Gorgonio Wilderness	45 mi	~49 min	11.4 mi	4,400 ft	31	Required
7	Devil's Slide to Wellman Divide San Jacinto Mountains	58 mi	~64 min	10.6 mi	3,300 ft	38	Required
8	Devil's Slide to San Jacinto Peak San Jacinto Mountains	58 mi	~64 min	16 mi	4,500 ft	65	Required
9	Trans-Catalina Trail Channel Islands	63 mi	~71 min	38.5 mi	7,638 ft	49	Required
10	Buck Creek Trail Los Padres backcountry	82 mi	~91 min	22.4 mi	—	45	None
11	Boy Scout Trail Joshua Tree National Park	83 mi	~92 min	15.6 mi	1,600 ft	14	Required
12	Borrego Palm Canyon Anza-Borrego Desert State Park	87 mi	~97 min	3 mi	700 ft	4	None

Three ways to start backpacking from Ontario

Closest trailhead: La Jolla Trail — about 35 miles / 38 minutes from town.
Gentlest outing: Borrego Palm Canyon — difficulty 4/100 (Easy), 1–2 days.
Biggest adventure: Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio — 15.6 miles and 10,800 ft of climbing.

Distances are great-circle miles from Ontario to trailhead coordinates; actual road distances will be longer. Town data: Wikidata SPARQL (CC0), population values derived from U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Backpacking near Ontario: common questions

What is the closest backpacking trip to Ontario?

La Jolla Trail is the closest documented trip to Ontario at roughly 35 miles (about 38 minutes of driving) from the La Jolla Trail Trailhead trailhead.

Do I need a permit to backpack near Ontario?

The closest documented trip, La Jolla Trail, does not require a wilderness permit — but many other California routes do, so always check.

When is the best season to backpack near Ontario?

For La Jolla Trail — the closest trip to Ontario — the best months are March, April, May, October, November.