Location: 23801 The Old Road, Newhall, Ca 91321
Distance: ~1.25 miles or 2.5 miles to end and back.
Difficulty: 1st part – Easy. 2nd part – Medium to Hard.
Here’s a slide show video that shows some of the things I saw the last time I went to the Rice Canyon Trail. Each time you’ll see something new and don’t forget to go on the Saugus to the Sea Rd Trail as well. They are both great trails to travel on.
I like to go to Rice Canyon for a nice hike. It is an area that has plenty of shade most of the time and some of the trails are nice and wide. It’s nice to go for a walk, hike, or jog on this trail.
Be careful when jogging on Rice Canyon Trail. It is a bumpy trail and there are several parts that could cause your ankle to twist if you’re not careful.
You’ll start on the main trail (Saugus to the sea Rd) and then in about a 1/3 mile, you’ll turn right to go onto the Rice Canyon Trail.
Once you turn on Rice Canyon Trail it goes for almost 1 mile.
For a nice shaded hike or jog, you can enjoy this well-tread trail.
Once you see a trail going off to the right, this is where the Rice Canyon Trail begins. Go to the right and continue. On google maps, the trail stops after about a mile but I noticed the trail seemed to continue. At this point, I turned back.
The second part of the trail.
Make sure to turn right after about 3/4 of a mile if you want to continue on the Rice Canyon Trail.
It’s a fairly worn trail, but when you get to the second part of the trail the vegetation may be grown over, so it might not be so easy to see and travel on.
Near the top of the Rice Canyon Trail
I always have a nice time on this trail. It’s not very steep and the climb is fairly consistent throughout the trail. Having on your hiking shoes can be handy in some areas, but some walking shoes with a bit of a knobby grip should be fine.
When I went in the morning, I was able to see some beautiful views from the top of the trails. You can capture some nice pictures as the sun is rising over the hills or as the sun is setting in the evening.
I have seen rabbits, lizards, and insects along the trail. I know that deer sometimes venture around this area as well at times.
There are a couple of streams that cross the trail as you go up. They were very small and shouldn’t be a problem when you need to cross them. If it’s dry for a while you may not see any water.
The best part of going on this trail is there is so much vegetation and plenty of trees. It’s nice to be surrounded by foliage because it feels more like your hiking in a forest area.
I did see some poison oak. You see some alongside the trail but anywhere on the trail that I could see.
I enjoy trying to capturing photos on my phone of wildlife, so I often will carry my phone in my hand as I hike to get those shots that only last a few seconds, and then they’re gone.
Thanks to the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy for helping preserve and maintain this area so we can enjoy it and have a nice time out in nature. https://smmc.ca.gov/