Canyon View Loop

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · River/Creek · Spring · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

With easy access from Highway 5, this trail offers a combination of flat, moderate and steep patches for a great workout. There are views of the Wiley Canyon and the Hwy 5 with lots of wildflowers during the spring season.

Parking at the entrance of the Ed Davis park for free. If you decide to park in the parking lots beyond the second gate, you'll need to pay the appropriate parking fee.

This is a very popular loop at the Ed Davis Park in the Towsley Canyon. It offers a good workout and nice views in a short period of time. The hike is partially shaded and passes by the Towsley Lodge where there are few picnic tables, restrooms and water fountains for humans and animals.

The trail starts on the left side of the paved road about 0.2 of a mile after the entrance. The sign post identifies it as the Canyon View Loop with a 1.9 mile length. This beginning part of the trail is wide and kid friendly. The trail splits at around 0.4 miles, where you want to go to the right side of the fork (sharp right). Here at the fork, the trail post says "trail 1.1 mile".

Follow the trail up the hill, and you'll reach the ridge where you can see I-5 on one side and the Wiley Canyon and the Towsley Lodge on the other side. The trail now winds down the hill to the Towsley Lodge. When you reach the lodge, hike over a little wooden bridge to the paved road and follow the road back to the starting point.

The trail is partially shaded, and most of the year it offers views of dry shrubs and grasses along the way. However, in the spring season, it turns green and blossoms with wildflowers of a variety of colors.

Along the way you’ll see California Poppy, Humboldt Lily, Chocolate Lily, Plummer’s Mariposa Lily, Sticky Monkey Flower, Yellow Mariposa Lily, Wild Peony, Wild Hyacinth, Grape Soda Lupine, Elegant Clarkia, Scarlet Bugler, Hairy-leaf Ceanothus, Purple Sae, California Wild Rose, Indian Paintbrush, Yerba Santa, Mulefat (female) and Mexican Elderberry.

You may spot Ground Squirrel, Western Fence Lizard, California King Snake, Californial Quail, Brush Rabbit, Long-tailed Weasel, Coast Horned Lizard, Red-Tailed Hawk, Turkey Vultures, Mule Deers, etc.