South Mount Hawkins is located in the San Gabriel Mountains, and contained within the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mounta ...

. The mountain was named after Nellie Hawkins, a popular waitress of the Squirrel Inn located on the North Fork of the San Gabriel River. Although the Squirrel Inn is long gone, Nellie has her name on Mount Hawkins and South Mount Hawkins. There are two ridge bumps between the two named summits and they are unofficially known as "Middle Hawkins" and "Sadie Hawkins".

South Mount Hawkins fire lookout tower

For 67 years the

South Mount Hawkins Lookout South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

stood on the summit of South Mount Hawkins It was built in 1935. It was one of the only all-wooden towers in Southern California. The tower was destroyed in the Curve Fire on September 1, 2002.

Road to tower platform

The Forest Service has abandoned the long dirt road which goes from the Deer Flats Group Campground located within the

Crystal Lake Recreation Area The Crystal Lake Recreation Area is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California, administered by the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (formally the San Gabriel River Ranger District) of the United States Forest Service. Th ...

all the way to the concrete platform upon which the fire watch tower used to stand. The road is only maintained on an as needed basis such as a fire or access to the forest service repeater. Hikers and bicycle riders still find the road passable to the top of South Mount Hawkins however there are washouts along the way and it is strewn with rocks and boulders, making the Deer Flat route up to the mountain difficult. The other access route for hikers but not bicycle riders to reach South Mount Hawkins is the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

segment which leads from Windy Gap Trail then down the Hawkins Ridge Trail to the peak.

References

Landmarks in Los Angeles San Gabriel Mountains Mountains of Los Angeles County, California Mountains of Southern California {{LosAngeles-geo-stub