Best backpacking trips near Santa Clarita, CA

Ranked by straight-line distance from Santa Clarita (population ~228,673) to each trip's trailhead. Drive times are rough estimates — mountain roads are slower than they look.

Santa Clarita backpacking at a glance

La Jolla Trail is the closest documented backpacking trip to Santa Clarita — the La Jolla Trail Trailhead trailhead sits roughly 23 miles away, about 25 minutes by car. Of the 12 closest routes, 11 are within a two-hour drive of town, spanning Los Padres backcountry, Sespe Wilderness, Channel Islands, Sequoia NF backcountry and San Gorgonio WildernessTrailheads 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.

4 of these 12 routes need no wilderness permit — useful for spontaneous weekends. Across the twelve closest trips, the months hikers rate best are October, May, June.If you want the gentlest introduction, Forsee Creek to Johns Meadow climbs only 1,600 feet over 7.8 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	23 mi	~25 min	9 mi	—	10	None
2	Buck Creek Trail Los Padres backcountry	27 mi	~30 min	22.4 mi	—	45	None
3	Gene Marshall–Piedra Blanca Trail Sespe Wilderness	48 mi	~53 min	18.6 mi	4,000 ft	36	None
4	Matias Potrero Trail Los Padres backcountry	68 mi	~75 min	9.5 mi	—	25	None
5	Trans-Catalina Trail Channel Islands	74 mi	~82 min	38.5 mi	7,638 ft	49	Required
6	Liebel Peak Trail Sequoia NF backcountry	78 mi	~87 min	16.2 mi	—	40	Required
7	San Bernardino Peak Trail San Gorgonio Wilderness	91 mi	~101 min	17.8 mi	9,300 ft	55	Required
8	Forsee Creek to Johns Meadow San Gorgonio Wilderness	94 mi	~104 min	7.8 mi	1,600 ft	12	Required
9	Momyer Creek to Dollar Lake Saddle San Gorgonio Wilderness	95 mi	~106 min	18.4 mi	4,560 ft	44	Required
10	Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio San Gorgonio Wilderness	96 mi	~107 min	15.6 mi	10,800 ft	61	Required
11	South Fork Trail to Dry Lake San Gorgonio Wilderness	97 mi	~108 min	11.4 mi	4,400 ft	31	Required
12	Domeland Trail Sequoia NF backcountry	108 mi	~120 min	17.6 mi	—	40	Required

Three ways to start backpacking from Santa Clarita

Closest trailhead: La Jolla Trail — about 23 miles / 25 minutes from town.
Gentlest outing: La Jolla Trail — difficulty 10/100 (Easy), 2–2 days.
Biggest adventure: Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio — 15.6 miles and 10,800 ft of climbing.

Distances are great-circle miles from Santa Clarita 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 Santa Clarita: common questions

What is the closest backpacking trip to Santa Clarita?

La Jolla Trail is the closest documented trip to Santa Clarita at roughly 23 miles (about 25 minutes of driving) from the La Jolla Trail Trailhead trailhead.

Do I need a permit to backpack near Santa Clarita?

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 Santa Clarita?

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