Eaton Canyon

Miles of trails start at a mild incline and become steeper. You can use Eaton Canyon for a casual social or family hike, as many do, or up the challenge on some of the steeper trails.

The best-known route is the roughly 1.1-mile hike to Eaton Canyon Falls. The trail is easy to access, but that accessibility also makes it one of the area's busiest hiking destinations.

Eaton Canyon is such a popular spot that it has two large parking lots, with cars that spill out onto the main roads. They ask that you avoid parking on the roads out of respect for the neighbors, but it happens anyway.

Its popularity is probably due to its accessibility. You can stay on the easier trails for a casual outing or take one of the steeper routes for more of a challenge.

I was impressed by the lack of invasive plants, aside from the tobacco trees, which were pervasive. We saw a few others, such as a castor bean plant and horehound, but most plants were true natives, implying a very active restoration team at work here.

Before what I would consider the trailhead, there was a restoration area that was definitely being managed and made for a nice display of various native plants, such as purple nightshade.

Native plants observed included red willow, sunflower, California buckwheat, California sagebrush, prickly pear, sticky monkeyflower, black sage, laurel sumac, poison oak, coast live oak, brittlebush, and purple nightshade.

The paved parking lots run parallel to a dirt walking path, with a barrier made up mostly of brittlebush (Encelia farinosa).

Eaton Canyon works well as a family hike because the lower trails begin gently and the route can be adjusted to the group. The crowds and parking are likely to be a bigger issue than the trail itself on busy weekends.