EISPIRATEN

I still do the San Gabs.....just not Mt. Lowe/Wilson/San Gabriel/Straw as much as I once did, which used to be every week. Now my "go to" for exercise and to get away from it is Schabarum (sp?) and Powder Canyon....maybe Chino Hills (haven't been yet). Anyone familiar with this area? Mountains they are not. Hill at best; but, it's still nice to get out. Plus, they are only 2-3 miles away. I'll still do my San Gabs, including Baldy, Iron, Pine, etc....this is just for easy access recreation. Anyone familiar?

Yes, I've hiked those hills. My brother lives in Yorba Linda, so I'm out near Chino Hills often. I actually did the Chino Hills 10k race several years ago. It's been awhile though. Last time I was out there, the Bane Canyon entrance was closed for road repair.

I've been to San Juan Hill and Gilman Peak in Chino Hills. I've also been in Water Canyon and met a herd of feral cows there. They are still out there and wander the park, watch out for the bulls. Both times I've been there, it was brown, but I've seen pictures of very green hills when we had a wet winter.

I grew up near Chino Hills and I typically live near La Puente so I’m pretty familiar.

When we lived in the state, we were about 5 miles from the western entrance to Chino Hills. The terrain is rolling hills. You can get a surprising amount of elevation gain as hill after hill adds up. For example, from the western end to Gilman Peak (the high point in the park) gains over 1400 feet. The main trails are old, one lane dirt roads from when the park was somebody's cattle ranch. frankosmaps.com sells a nice map of the park.

Here is an article from 5 years ago on the feral cows. They are still on the loose...

Cows gone wild: Feral cattle scaring hikers in Chino Hills State Park