Snow and Sunshine on Mount Baldy

We’re only 15 days into the new year and already Southern California’s received a record amount of rainfall. Personally, I love it. It really brings about a winter feeling and after years of drought it’s transformed our brown environs to a beautiful green. Plus, record rainfall in the basin means record snowfall in the mountains. This year my family and I decided to pay a visit to the powdery white stuff and headed up to Mount Baldy.

Although I’ve lived in SoCal most of my life this trip was my first visit to Mt. Baldy and up until recently, I didn’t know there was anything to see. Turns out it’s the perfect place to grab a bit of nature without straying too far from the city. Especially if you’re not fond of driving mountain roads and have no intention of using snow chains. With it’s close proximity to Claremont and Upland it’s a short uphill drive and after a day of sunshine the roads were clear of any precipitation.

A couple of miles from the summit is the quaint town of Mt. Baldy. Home to historic properties like the Buckhorn and Mt. Baldy Lodges it’s a cute glimpse into the past.

Located in the former town schoolhouse is the Angeles National Forest Mt. Baldy Visitor Center it’s a charming place that showcases a few exhibits about the history of the area.

As quaint as the town was, there wasn’t any snow! We had to drive further up the mountain to get a glimpse of the white stuff. We headed out of town and promptly ran into a traffic jam. Turns out, many other people had the same idea as us and with only one road up  we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.

After inching along we finally decided to pull over to the side of the road and enjoy a little spot of snowy ground.

This turned out to be the perfect decision. Upon discovering a set of stairs our little spot of snow turned out to be pretty large.

We even came across a trail that brought us to a most picturesque vista.

The air was crisp and cool, there was fresh snow around and we could hear a rushing creek in the valley below. It was absolutely beautiful and the perfect way to spend a winter’s day.

I’m glad I finally made it up to Mount Baldy and know I’ll be back before I know it.