The 2.26 mile Coyote-Ahwingna Trail loop at the Hacienda Hills trailhead is a nice place for a misty morning walk. This is a less travelled pocket of the Puente Hills.
Enter the nature preserve at the south end of Seventh Ave, in beautiful Hacienda Heights. The gates open at 9am, after the coyotes have (hopefully) gone to sleep. Still, keep an eye out for rattlesnakes and poison oak.
The 1.35 mile Coyote Trail is full of shady switchbacks, and climbs 570 feet. It’s fairly steep, but nothing here is too scrabbly. The enclosed tree cover and dewy path here really adds to the velvety feeling of the morning fog. The path is on the skinnier side, and is meant for walking only.
The Ahwingna Trail is much less green and shady, but it’s open to dogs, horses, and cyclists. It’s steeper too, climbing 660 feet in 1.3 miles. But it also connects to more multimodal trails – the Native Oak Trail, and the Schabarum-Skyline Trail (near Turnbull Canyon and Rose Hills Cemetery). After the fog burnt off, there were great views all the way down.
The wheelchair accessible trail is short but gorgeous, running basically up the main entry stem of the trails. Unfortunately, without a ride here, it may not be worth the trip.
Foothill Transit’s lines 281 and 282 get you within a 20 minute walk of the trailhead. Gates shut at 5 p.m. in the winter, and remain closed for two days after rainfall.
Hacienda Hills Trailhead, 14600 Orange Grove Ave, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
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