Friday Hike Day: Hacienda Heights Hiking Trail

This was a nice looking trail. Nice green, rolling hills, a mix of shade trees and sunshine. An amazing view of the surrounding city is offered at one of the peaks.

The trail was up and down and offered steep 'short cuts' in between the winding turns.

It was nestled in a residential area, next to a school and lovely park. The area is home to rattle snakes. We didn't run into any but we did come across this gopher snake, right in the middle of the trail, on our way back.

The youngers were leading the way and 2/3 of them walked right past it with out even noticing. One jumped over it, last minute and hollered, "A snake!"

At one of the peaks, we came across an interesting abandoned building, perhaps an old underground water tower? We don't know but there was a hole in the chain link fence around the structure, so naturally we went through to get a better look. The roof was caved in at spots. Inside, all the walls were covered in graffiti and the floor littered with spray paint cans. I think the kids felt a little adventurous for being allowed to get a closer look. haha.

I look forward to these hikes every week. I feel like nature is my therapy. This one didn't have any water feature but it was still nice. We relaxed at the park afterward to eat our lunches. It was semi-local so that made it a nice drive home in about 20-30 minutes.