PasadenaCalifornia

Outdoors & Nature

From mountain trails to botanical gardens.

The San Gabriel Mountains rise straight out of the city's back porches. The gardens are world-class. The waterfalls are a 15-minute drive. This is the California you came for.

Outside

Eaton Canyon

A 40-foot waterfall and a forgiving 3.5-mile loop through native chaparral, ten minutes from downtown.

Outside

Arroyo Seco

The wild green seam beneath the Colorado Street Bridge — trails, the Rose Bowl loop, and golden-hour light most evenings.

Outside

The Huntington Gardens

120 acres divided into themed worlds: Japanese, Chinese, Desert, Rose, Children's, Australian. A full-day pilgrimage.

Outside

Descanso Gardens

Just over the hill in La Cañada, 150 acres of camellias, ancient oaks, and one of the country's great rose collections.

Outside

Mount Wilson Trail

Steep, historic, and worth it. The trail to the observatory has been climbed since the 1860s.

Outside

Lower Arroyo & Casting Pond

Fly fishers practicing on a still pond beneath the bridge. Quintessentially, gloriously Pasadena.

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