Chantry Flats is a popular hiking destination during the weekends. I
prefer to ride there during the week as you will see few people then. There
is a daily group of pack animals that brings supplies to the cabins. You
will need to stop for the animals as they have the right away. I have found
the people who run the pack animals to be very friendly and won't give
you trouble if you obey proper protocol for stopping.
Upper Winter Creek Trail - This trail starts along the San Onofro
fireroad. It is a nice 2.2 mile climb up to Hoegee's campground. There is
some exposure along the way, but the trail is well maintained. Once the first
leg of Upper Winter Creek is reached, you have the option of continuing up
Upper Winter Creek to Mount Wilson. This is a very steep ride, best left for
hiking in my estimation. You can take the Mount Zion trail to Sturtevant
Camp's. Or you can take the Lower Winter Creek trail back down to Chantry
Flats.
Lower Winter Creek trail - This trail comes down from Hoegee's camp.
This trail isn't as well maintained as Upper Winter Creek, but makes for a
fun descent, but there are quite a few stream crossings, which will interrupt
one's flow.
Mount Zion Trail - This first part of this trail from Upper Winter
Creek is rather steep. I find I have to walk about half of this trail for
the first 1.5 miles. After you reach the Mount Zion intersection where
you can go up to Mount Zion, the trail down to Sturtevant's camp is very nice
and flows wells. This trail is well maintained.
Gabrielino Trail - This is the east end of the Gabrielino trail. The
trail ends at JPL. This part of the Gabrielino trail is a lot of fun coming down from Sturtevant's camp. It flows well and is well maintained. You go
through a nicely shaded area with lots of privately owned cabins.
San Onofro fireroad - This is a fireroad that seems to just go to some
equipment located along the front side of the San Gabriel mountains. Other
than the Upper Winter Creek trail which begins about 0.5 miles up the trail,
there are no other singletrack options.