By TIM WILCOX
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
Where: Lake Arrowhead
Length: 3 miles (round trip)
Elevation gain: 165 feet
Challenge: easy to moderate
We’re back at MacKay Park, overlooking Lake Arrowhead. As we’ve reported before, it’s a great launch point for a handful of hikes. This time our destination is Old Sawmill Road, immediately above the North Shore Campground. The official name of this U.S. Forest Service route is just Sawmill Road. For whatever reasons, though, hikers-in-the-know add the adjective “Old.” Does that make it sound more interesting? You be the judge.
Anyway, claim a parking spot in MacKay’s large lot. Now walk back along the level paved stretch for three-tenths of a mile, turning left at the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District’s corporate yard onto what soon becomes a dirt road. When you see an open swing-out gate to the right, go left between two boulders, then right up a narrow path that connects with the North Shore Trail. Turn left at that junction and ascend into the campground. As soon as you level off next to the trailhead sign, proceed right. Then, by a restroom station, go right again. Hike uphill past the highest campsite through a long-neglected gate. Here a deeply rutted dirt road rises more steeply and leads to Old Sawmill.
At the 1.5-mile mark of this outing, one sees Old Sawmill meandering downhill (left), which it does for quite some distance. At upper right is a peek of San Bernardino Peak, whose summit still has a substantial snow cover.
On the road/trail
This is a road. Still, off-highway vehicles are rare, so it feels more like a wide trail. Anyway, make a sharp left turn at a large log and head north on the beaten-earth route. A tenth of mile or so along the way, you’ll catch a glimpse of Lake Arrowhead to the west. Wander in that direction for 30 or 40 paces, and you’ll capture exceptional views. From this vantage, too, you can see the San Gabriel Mountains, with Mt. Baldy wearing a shrinking crown of snow.
As the trail descends, you’ll notice signs of heavy water flows caused by many years of rainstorms, most recently in March. This isn’t a wilderness hike, in the sense of being “way out there,” removed from civilization. The impressive homes on a high hill ahead put that notion to rest. Still, you’re hiking through the forest, far removed from traffic.
The trail continues its downward arc until you come to a level open space. There, to the right, is a narrow pathway that leads down into the forest. But let’s stay on Old Sawmill, which continues to the left, then winds uphill to the right. Because it’s steeper here and not as wide, water erosion is even more dramatic. Sections are quite rocky as well. Oaks and chaparral are the primary vegetation.
Old Sawmill is a road that feels more like a trail because dirt bikes and other off-highway vehicles are rare. It’s wide and easy to traverse with the exception of some deeply rutted stretches.
As you continue hiking uphill, savor the views of Green Peak to the east. Then, at about the 1.4-mile mark (from MacKay Park), you’ll come to another open space with a T-intersection. To the left are Banff and Mammoth Drives, graced with the stately hillside homes noted earlier. To the right, Old Sawmill Road extends through a weathered open gate. Walk just beyond that point to enjoy great views of the High Desert. You’ll see, too, that the pathway narrows and heads steeply downhill for some distance. Eventually, it will intersect with Rouse Ranch Road. That’s an especially ambitious destination.
This sweeping vantage is a good place to turn around and retrace your steps – down and then up Old Sawmill, back to the short access road into the campground, on to the North Shore Trail, then down to the upper end of Rouse Ranch. Veer right there and right again onto Hospital Road. At that point MacKay Park is less than five minutes away.
NOTES: This is an easy-to-moderate foray that passes through the North Shore Campground, which opened for the season on April 18. The hike follows a road/trail with lake and mountain views along the way. The second leg of Old Sawmill Road is moderately steep but not overly demanding. Depending on your pace, expect a round trip of 60 to 75 minutes.
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