Bridge To Nowhere Hike

One of the San Gabriels’ most iconic hikes, Bridge to Nowhere packs an extraordinary amount of adventure into a route without a huge amount of climbing. You’ll follow the East Fork through a beautiful shaded canyon, wade through repeated river crossings, navigate a broad mountain floodplain, scramble through a few rougher sections and eventually climb onto the remains of an abandoned road leading to a massive concrete bridge stranded deep in the mountains. Add swimming holes, small waterfalls and lunch beside the river beneath the bridge, and this is simply one of the most fun and varied hiking days in Southern California. The physical effort is manageable for hikers comfortable with a ten-mile day, but hiking it independently requires more than fitness. River levels and current vary dramatically with the season, and navigation through the floodplain can be surprisingly difficult. Those elements elevate Bridge to Nowhere to Level 3 — Challenging, even though its distance and elevation profile alone would put it closer to Level 2.