OAT MTN & THE OLD NIKE MISSILE SITE

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Tue Feb 21, 2017 7:31 am

I had attempted this peak last year from Mission Pk and tried to discretely scramble my way cross country but was quickly stopped by the local authorities. Every road had a truck standing by to stop hikers passing by the Gas company's work site due to the gas leak, not to mention camera's that were placed in various places. Anywyays, this past Sunday I went with a group and attempted to bag this peak that was maybe still off limits.

We drove up towards Browns Canyon Rd and parked our cars where the road ends. There was a truck parked there and an official city worker that said we could "hike in the area" with no clue of our destination.

We then continued to hike up the road

The fog was pretty thick that day and we couldn't see what was ahead of us but on the side of the road there was beautiful green grass on both sides.

We soon aproached the Oat Mtn Motorway where the road divides. No authorities in sight.

After a more semi-strenuous ascent, a mile from the towers, I quickly came to a brief halt as I approached this shadow of a beast in the thick fog.

and then there were more... as I approached the corner of the road there were more hidden in the thick fog. They were quiet and startled me. It wasn't until we passed them by that they started making noises as if they were warning the others that humans were on their turf lol

We soon approached a gate that was had a Private property warning sign. However, the gate was open and we were free and clear to continue hiking up this road.

We knew the peak towers were above us to the left but again the thick fog prevented us from seing them. We passed a functioning oil rig on the way up, not knowing if the road would lead us to our destination.

Eventually the road led us to Oat Mtn. The highest peak in the Suzanna Mountains 3750'. At last, we could see the towers through the dense fog.

Of course I searched for a benchmark which was nowhere to be found so I just tagged the summit.

As we wandered around I found some more smaller buildings closeby with towers. One of the fences had various signs for many popular radio stations. This was one of my favorite.

As we descended the road, we spotted the old Nike Missile Site and looked around.

After finding nothing there we detoured towards something colorful that caught my eye in the distance and stumbled across some remnants of the old Missile site.

\

two busses

A silo

Target practice I am assuming

and I found my portrait j/k

Of course the fog started to lift as we approached our cars.

Overall, it was a really cool hike not only up to Oat Mtn but to find these small treasures from the Nike Missile Site. We found some things inside the buildings but I didnt want to post any more pics.
the Hike was about 8 miles with 1800ft of elevation.

David R · Post by **David R** » Tue Feb 21, 2017 4:35 pm

You can drive to where the road ends which has a dirt parking lot and is called Antonovich Open Space or something like that but you have to pay there. I instead park at the turn out right before the homes that has a brown Parks Recreational area sign and a gate with a road to the left. This leads to a marshy area which it looks like they want to use as a viewing area not sure if there has been any improvements over the last year. From there I found a steep trail leaving the canyon up to the ridge on the right. You then turn left at the top and follow that ridge all the way to the entrance of the park with a last turn right on a fire road where it ends. Most of the cows hang out here.

They have gotten more strict about getting close to the towers at the top but you can slip through the fence and get right up to the high point. At the Nike site you can also drop down into the tunnels where the missiles actually were. The Nike site is really a great family hike in the winter or spring looks totally like a scene from an apocalyptical movie. It has been know for teenage parties late at night and become a nuisance for the neighbors and cops.

Tom Kenney · Post by **Tom Kenney** » Tue Feb 21, 2017 5:29 pm

Nice pics!

My great uncle was stationed at the Nike base as a gate guard back in the early '70s. I remember my mom driving us up there one VERY rainy night to bring him some dinner. That's the only time I've been up via that road, and I don't remember one bit of it!

Also, didn't know KROQ had a tower up there. Wei koo!

oldcoot · Post by **oldcoot** » Tue Feb 21, 2017 6:15 pm

Cool report and pix!

I tried Oat Mountain via that route in March 2015, and got as far as the gate…it was closed, and I chickened out as I always do when encountering such an obstacle…at that time it would have been simple to bypass it on the right (see attached photo)…I see from your photo that they've added a fence up the hill there to discourage that. Despite not making the summit, that was one of the prettiest all-road hikes I've done…

Saw the old Nike base but didn't bother exploring it…looks like I should have! Glad you did! I did visit the cows...

Thanks for the report and pix!

oldcoot

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:01 pm

Tom Kenney wrote: ↑Nice pics!

My great uncle was stationed at the Nike base as a gate guard back in the early '70s. I remember my mom driving us up there one VERY rainy night to bring him some dinner. That's the only time I've been up via that road, and I don't remember one bit of it!

Also, didn't know KROQ had a tower up there. Wei koo!

thanks, I hope I brought back a nice memory. You should hike up there some time. Its really a cool hike!

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:06 pm

oldcoot wrote: ↑Cool report and pix!

I tried Oat Mountain via that route in March 2015, and got as far as the gate…it was closed, and I chickened out as I always do when encountering such an obstacle…at that time it would have been simple to bypass it on the right (see attached photo)…I see from your photo that they've added a fence up the hill there to discourage that. Despite not making the summit, that was one of the prettiest all-road hikes I've done…

Saw the old Nike base but didn't bother exploring it…looks like I should have! Glad you did! I did visit the cows...

Thanks for the report and pix!

oldcoot

Hi and thanks
It is a really nice road to hike especially after the rains, it was so beautiful and green once the fog lifted.

Girl Hiker · Post by **Girl Hiker** » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:09 pm

David R wrote: ↑You can drive to where the road ends which has a dirt parking lot and is called Antonovich Open Space or something like that but you have to pay there. I instead park at the turn out right before the homes that has a brown Parks Recreational area sign and a gate with a road to the left. This leads to a marshy area which it looks like they want to use as a viewing area not sure if there has been any improvements over the last year. From there I found a steep trail leaving the canyon up to the ridge on the right. You then turn left at the top and follow that ridge all the way to the entrance of the park with a last turn right on a fire road where it ends. Most of the cows hang out here.

They have gotten more strict about getting close to the towers at the top but you can slip through the fence and get right up to the high point. At the Nike site you can also drop down into the tunnels where the missiles actually were. The Nike site is really a great family hike in the winter or spring looks totally like a scene from an apocalyptical movie. It has been know for teenage parties late at night and become a nuisance for the neighbors and cops.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunatel,y we didn't get to go through any tunnels but we did go inside all the buildings to look around..