Don Mullally Loop

Parking at the free lot off of The Old Road, the Mullally loop is generally begun with Wiley Canyon Trail. The comfortably wide dirt doubletrack makes for the perfect warmup for what lies ahead, gradually increasing from flat to a moderate grade over the course of a mile as the canyon walls close in. Watch for a small creek on the right, switching to the left, and enjoy the shady trees fed by its water.The first tar pit is encountered to the right of the trail just before the mile point, and hikers will be able to smell a few more before the trail makes an abrupt turn to the west at the beginning of Don Mullally Trail. Here is where most of Don Mullally's difficulty lies, making a challenging but manageable climb over the next three quarters of a mile, with a short respite in the middle. Narrowed to singletrack, the trail takes a number of turns to follow the contour of the mountain, with a great view of I-5 and the canyon below spreading before you halfway up. Eventually reaching all the way to the Sierra Palonas to the north and the San Gabriels to the east, there are a number of places to take in the amazing vistas, including a nice diversion to a hilltop tree right around the two mile point. Stay right at the fork just afterwards to keep on course.The loop tops out around the two and one quarter mile point at a bald hilltop, with a short detour going around the side. Both paths come together after a few hundred feet, and the trail then begins a mile long descent, steep in several places. Skip the shortcuts that careless visitors have cut across the switchbacks, which promote damage and erosion. Another tar pit is encountered at the bottom that the trail crosses over;thankfully, strategically placed bricks keeps hikers' shoes dry.From here, it's a slow, easy descent to the Towsley Lodge. The highlight of this winding stretch is the transition through The Narrows, a tight pass through canyon walls featuring a creek crossing and a number of interesting rock formations. The Don Mullally Trail connects to the upper parking lot, and hikers wanting to cut their trip short can either take the narrow connector leading from northern end of the lot or hike on the dirt road itself.Continuing on, Mullally crosses a concrete footbridge just east of the Lodge and starts up another hill as part of the Canyon View Loop. This final foothill is about half the size of the one climbed earlier, but the ascent can still be intense at times, with little shade and few flat segments. One last viewpoint awaits at the top in an area often filled with wildflowers during the warmer months.A fun corkscrew descent leads down the other side. About half a mile from the top, the trail merges back into Wiley Canyon Trail. Turn left and cool down on the easy finishing segment back to the parking lot. The trail clocks in almost exactly at ten kilometers, making this a great option for hikers needing to track a precise distance.

One of the most difficult parts in describing this six mile loop to the southwest of Santa Clarita is determining what to call it. There are no less than ten official names used for this trail and area, with a few more local nicknames, depending on who one asks.Located in the Santa Susana Mountains, the area is encompassed by Ed Davis Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and formerly known as Rivendale. The three trails making up the loop are named by their accompanying canyons, Towsley and Wiley, with the former being the most commonly used name for the area. Santa Clarita Woodlands was once a proposed name. Then, in 2014, the entire trail was renamed after local naturalist Don Mullally. Confused yet?Whatever the name, the protected wildlands, once slated to be a landfill but saved by the hard work of politicians and environmentalists, is one of the most scenic and fun trails in the Los Angeles area. It is well deserving of the attention it receives.