Yesterday, I headed over to Glendale to get in some serious hills at the Verdugo Mountains.
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| Snow capped San Gabriel Mountains from Verdugo Mtwy. |
In A Nutshell
The Verdugo Mountains are a rugged island of chaparral
covered slopes, reaching over 3,000 feet. The mountains are bounded to the
south by Burbank and Los Angeles, to the southeast by Glendale and to the north
by La Crescenta. Not a single paved road crosses the mountain range; dirt fire
roads rule.
- Trail surface: packed dirt/loose gravel, short paved section up top
- Bathrooms/water: At Brand Park, none at Beaudry Fire Road trailhead
- Dogs: Must be leashed.
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| Typical width and surface of the fire roads in the Verdugos. |
My Route
I did a loop that came in just under 7 miles, starting and ending at the
Beaudry Fire Road off of Beaudry Boulevard in Glendale.
After going past the yellow
gate and the signs warning of wildfire, I continued on Beaudry Fire Road aka
Beaudry North Mtwy. After about a quarter mile, I took a right at the junction
of Beaudry North and Beaudry South, staying on Beaudry North (you can do the
loop either way). From there, it was just up, up, up. I was looking for a 7ish
mile day, so I went past the next junction (with Verdugo Mtwy) and continued to
the saddle and trail junction with Brand Park Mtwy (3 miles from the start).
Here, I turned back, retracing my steps until I once again reached the junction
with Verdugo Mtwy. Here, I stayed right, going uphill, turning left onto
Beaudry South to descend past the radio towers, winding my way down, ending
back up at Beaudry North and back to the trailhead.
If You Go
Several city and state parks lie within the mountain range
and trail access can be found in numerous places. From Glendale, you can park
at Brand Park to get to the trails via a paved access road, or you can head
over to north side, and access the trail network at the cross streets of Beaudry
Boulevard and Beaudry Terrance. The Beaudry Fire Road starts from right here.