There are a variety of trail runs that can be done from Three Points in the San Gabriel Mountains. The Pacific Crest Trail and Silver Moccasin Trail pass through Three Points, and the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail starts near Three Points. Additionally, several Forest Service roads in the area can be used to connect trails, extend routes, or explore the surrounding area.

The previous weekend. I’d done a loop from Three Points that started on the Silver Moccasin Trail, ascended the Mt. Hillyer Trail, and then descended forest roads to the PCT. The PCT was followed back to Three Points.
It can get hot in the middle elevations of the San Gabriels, but on this run a thick layer of high clouds kept the temperature in the 60s and 70s. There was a steady stream of through-hikers on the PCT, and as usual, they were enthusiastic about being on the trail. Flannel bush was in full bloom, and paintbrush and lupine added patches of energizing color to the trails.

This weekend, I returned to Three Points to do one of my favorite trails in the San Gabriels — the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail (10W04). It is an out-of-the-way trail with a capricious character. On one run, I counted more than 40 trees and limbs across the trail, but on another, none. The trail is defined by use, and depending on the amount of use, some sections may be challenging to follow. All of that is part of the fun.
I usually do the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail as part of the Three Points Loop. Today, I opted to do the run as an out and back to the top of Mt. Waterman (8038′).

It was a good day to do that because the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders had been hard at work, and the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail was in the best shape I’ve seen since May 2018. Several large trees had been cleared from the trail. I didn’t have to climb over or go around a single tree. Painful mountain whitethorn and other prickly bushes had also been trimmed. The trail was well-defined and generally easy to follow.
Waterman Meadow was bright green with newly unfurled fronds of bracken fern. Among the Spring wildflowers along the trail were golden yarrow, mountain phlox, southern mountain lupine, beardtongue penstemon, wallflower, and snow plant. Along lower elevations of the trail, deer brush was covered in flowers. There was still a little Poodle-dog bush here and there.

Several granite crags are scattered across Mt. Waterman’s summit. Since I wasn’t doing the loop around Waterman, I had time to do a little bouldering. I didn’t recall exactly where the summit benchmark was, but eventually found it on one of the smaller crags.
It’s rare to encounter anyone on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail, but the trail that ascends Mt. Waterman from Buckhorn is very popular. As I ran down from the summit, I began to wonder if I would see anyone when I encountered a small group of hikers coming up from Buckhorn. Those were the last hikers I saw until I was nearly back to Three Points.

The hike to Twin Peaks from Buckhorn used to be another popular option. In 2020, the Bobcat Fire decimated the north face of Twin Peaks. Curious to see the impacts, I did Twin Peaks in 2022. Some stretches of the use trail escaped the fire and most of east summit was not burned. In 2022, there weren’t many fallen trees on the trail, but there are likely more now.
Except in wet years, there are no dependable water sources on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail. There’s a spring partway down the Twin Peaks Trail, but I haven’t visited it enough times to know if it is reliable. It can be hot on this trail, even when there isn’t a heat wave. Although temperatures were relatively moderate today, I drank nearly all the water I had carried.
This high-resolution, interactive, 3D terrain view shows the Three Points Loop (yellow) along with the spur trail to the summit of Mt. Waterman (red). The out and back to the summit of Mt. Waterman is about 15 miles RT with about 3100′ of gain/loss. The Three Points Loop ranges from 20 to 25 miles, depending on the variation.
Some related posts:
– Twin Peaks East, Plus Mt. Waterman
– Feeling a Little Like Fall on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop
– Hot Weather on the Three Points Loop
– Three Points Loop Adventure – July 2020
– After the Bobcat and Station Fires: Three Points Loop Around Mt. Waterman