Selecting from my to-do list, I wanted to make a day of it tackling “greater Lyons ridge” - the older brother to “Lesser Lyons Ridge” that I did back in October of 2025 viewtopic.php?t=9551
Despite being a bigger, taller and older than its little lesser brother, GLR has the advantage of having a gentler slope on the north side and even a trail looping along it. And it literally is older, too - Lesser Lyons ridge follows the contact between the 2.8-0.86 Saugus and 3.3-2.8 Pico formations, and then Greater Lyons ridge the contact between the Pico and older 8.3-3.3 Towsley formations. What beautifully illustrated sedimentary chronology of a textbook Anticline! It warms the heart.
I thought this one would be family friendly, but then reading Alltrails reviews (which are spectacularly hit-or-miss for useful info) everyone was saying the trail was heinous and destroyed, and the last review was of some dude getting helicopter rescued from it in April. Huh. Helicopter rescues are not quite the speed I’m looking for in a family hike, but to be fair, we aren’t really a normal hiking family, and we know how to roll with the punches trails that are lacking in maintenance can throw. Furthermore, I know Alltrails reviews are rife with the scourge of alarmist casuals. So leaving out in my briefing to Justina anything about helicopter rescues, I brought the family out there to discover if the horror stories were true, while keeping a few plan Bs and Cs in my back pocket as I always do.
Have I ever mentioned I love the north side of the Santa Susanna mountains? I certainly have, and expect to continue to. The convenience and topographic dynamism is always on point. The ripped and buckled million year old maze of anticlines and synclines is a playground of little adventures always waiting to happen 20 minutes from my door.
Our launching point was Taylor Trailhead, and we wove our ways around the oaks into Lyons Canyon. I want to take this opportunity to introduce our readers to the latest member of our expedition team: “Izzorest” - an Axial SZCX 24th-scale RC crawling truck I have made a few upgrades to for use as a family trail truck. It seems particularly fond of Forest, following him around on the dusty trail like an eager little pink cross-country pet. .
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We wound around lesser Lyons ridge to enter Lyons Canyon itself - a flat-bottomed expanse of sycamores and live oaks rimmed by the white siltstone of the Pico formation on either side. The smoke from the Boyle Heights solar panel fire made the horizons a bit hazy in the solstice sun. .
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The Lyons brothers were born in Maine just like me, and sailed around Cape Horn to follow the gold rush but ended up in Los Angeles starting the first oil drilling business in SoCal in the 1860s, before going out of business a few years later because they Kerosene they produced smoked when it burned. A terrifically over-engineered iron bridge spanning what could barely be considered a ditch in their canyon remains however, featuring its own lookout perch: .
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Miner bees hard at work in the Pico formation silt deposits. .
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Any idea what these fuzzy lupine-looking flowers are? We couldn't figure it out. .
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Forest made an honest mistake at picnic time when we told him the dead summer grasses lining our old ranch road was straw. .
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After the picnic Forest was feeling a little sluggish battling a cold, so we split up - Tina and him would backtrack, I would brave the full loop to enjoy the non-trail that apparently people get helicopter rescued from. I bounded up solo to the summit of the ridge, pushing through the some grasses and wildflowers growing (and now dying) around the trail, but the tread was fine beneath it all. By my standards this was easy, delightful travel, no helicoptering required.
The summit offered a little excitement to keep things interesting, with some exposure as you work your way along the ridge. Fun! .
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Here is the view north across Lyons canyon to Lesser Lyons Ridge and the 5 freeway and Santa Clarita valley beyond: .
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The view west of Sand Rock peak and neighboring bits of interest. I'm currently obsessing over the route I want to do for this stuff you see here: .
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I cruised back around to meet up with the fam who were already waiting just as hoped at the meeting spot, and once back at the car we did lunch 2 minutes down the road at a Sushi spot in Santa Clarita. Forest's first sushi experience - he ordered Salmon Roe, his choice! .
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Siltstone anticlines, ancient oaks, obscure Maine to California history, razor-thin ridge traverses, sushi, and all with my favorite little crew of explorers? Just my kind of Father's Day.
5.2 miles, 1353 of gain.