Mount Baldy Snow Play

We love a good Snow day, and after seeing so many of our friends having fun with Mount Baldy snow play, we had to go 🙂  Mount Baldy is an easy drive from almost anywhere in the greater Los Angeles area.  Its central location makes it an ideal place for the family to enjoy the snow.  We stopped up top near the Mt Baldy Zen Center. There was plenty of parking and enough open space for all the families to play in the snow and have fun.

See Our Video Montage Below

Mount Baldy Snow Play Visiting Information

• Address:
  • Mt. Baldy Zen Center (7901 Mt Baldy Rd, Mt Baldy, CA 91759)
  • Be sure to download the map to use offline before heading out since there isn’t any cell phone reception in the area. 
• Price:
  • Free
• Parking:
  • An Adventure Pass is required on national forest lands: $5/day or $30/year. We purchased ours at Big 5. 
  • There was no one there to check the pass, but we didn’t want to risk our car being towed while sledding. 
• Activities:
  • Sledding.
  • Make snowballs and snow angels.
  • Build a snowman.
  • Hike to the San Antonio Falls Trail (1.2 miles out and back)
• Time spent:
  • 3 hours
• Where we ate:
  • We packed our own food and also went to In-N-Out (Upland) on our way out to the 210 fwy. 
• Restrooms:
  • Yes, vaulted toilets. They were dirty, had no toilet paper, and no sink to wash your hands. We had brought our own portable toilet and @Suds2go portable hand wash. 

Extra info

• What we observed:
  • For fresh snow depth or last significant snowfall, click on this link: https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Mt-Baldy/snow-report
  • We prefer to check on Instagram to find recent photos/reels/stories using “San Antonio Falls” or “Mount Baldy” hashtags and/or location tags for weather conditions. If we see any snow post, we comment or message a few people to ask if their visit was recent and more details of their location and snow condition of their post.
  • We went the day after it snowed and it was a quick and easy drive without snow chains. 
  • We prefer to visit snow play areas at least a day or two after it has snowed. That way the roads have been cleared and we can still enjoy some powdered snow.
  • For us, it was best to go super early on the weekends.
  • San Antonio Park (2393 N Mountain Ave, Upland, CA 91784) is a great place to meet up with friends/family before losing cell phone reception and a good place to have a bathroom break before heading up to Mt Baldy. 
  • Parking may look full but a lot of people were going in and out so finding a spot wasn’t hard. 
  • There were a lot of people but the area was so large that it didn’t feel crowded. 
  • There is also a family friendly hike at San Antonio Falls Trail (1.2 miles out and back). 
  • No cell phone reception in the area. 
  • Always have a set of snow chains in your car during winter travel in the mountains.
  • We don’t recommend parking on the side of the road with kids. Best to park in a designated parking lot area or a legal pull off. 
  • Make sure to pack extra food, water, blankets, cash, portable toilet, and Suds2go hand wash, and fill up your gas tank just in case you run into traffic or road closure. 
  • On our most recent visit (1/19/23), we went on a weekday and had the whole snow area to ourselves. We also found a great sledding area. The GPS coordinates for that spot is 34.263362, -117.632572
  • We recommending finding a wide and open area to sled. Make sure it doesn’t end near a drop, creek or road and always stay away from rocks, trees, and poles.

things to bring

• Clothing:
  • Check the weather before you go. The weather can be changeable; layered clothing would be best. 
• What we packed:
  • Snow chains for the car, sunscreen, sunglasses, sled, snowball maker tool (https://amzn.to/3D2LjFT), external phone charger, Adventure pass, snow gear (beanie, jacket, pants, gloves, shoes), bag to put the wet clothes, extra clothes to change afterwards, carrot to make snowman, meal, fruits, veggies, and water.
• Ways to save money:
  • Pack your own food. Borrow snow gear from friends/family or you can buy affordable snow gear from Target and Costco.
  • Target’s Cat & Jack 3-in-1 jacket and snow bib.
• Recommended itinerary:
  • Snow play at Mount Baldy.
  • Hike to San Antonio Falls.
  • Eat at In-N-Out. 
• Pls pack in, pack out and leave no trace.

Similar Options That Might Interest You

Here are some similar options you might enjoy:

Snowdrift Snow Tubing Park

Wrightwood Snow Play

Big Falls Trail Snow Play

See you again with more around California with kids.