Exploring Wildwood Canyon State Park
Wildwood Canyon State Park is located in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains near Yucaipa, California. It has miles of nice trails through areas which have chaparral, sage scrub, oak trees, and historic ranch structures. I visited the park a number of times during 2025 which gave me the opportunity to explore different areas as well as observe changes during the seasons.
There are eight interlocking trails in Wildwood Canyon State Park and I went on most of them during my visits to the park. The first time I hiked in the park was in February when I went on parts of the Oak Tree Loop and McCullough Loop trails which went up a canyon to points where there were views of the valley.
Going further this panorama shows two ridges on either side one of which is covered in vegetation and the other not so much.
A closer view of the center shows one of the abandoned buildings in the park which is called Hi Up House. In the distance is part of Yucaipa.
There was a view of the top of the San Bernardino Mountains with a little bit of snow on them.
My next visit was in May where there was a little bit of spring color with blue and white flowering shrubs. Hi Up House is partly hidden.
Continuing on there is a better view of Hi Up House. Charles McCullough purchased 88 acres here in the 1930’s.
The McCullough family built the Hi Up House lived off the land.
Along the way there were fields with yellow flowering plants.
There was a large oak tree casting a shadow on a picnic table and on the left a water trough. Besides hiking the trails are also used for horseback riding and biking.
The next visit was in July when there were profusely white blooming shrubs There were also interesting clouds in the sky.
Once again passing by Hi Up House.
A view of the front of the house.
The fields which were green on my last visit are now brown
This perennial with striking white trumpet flowers is the Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii). Historically the plant was used by native indigenous peoples because of its hallucinogen properties. However all parts of the plant are poisonous and can be deadly so this is not advised.
The next visit to the park was in November where we hiked through some of the groves of oak trees.
In the late 1980s the the ranch owner was going to sell the land to developers who were planning to build subdivisions. However torrential rains in 1997 raised flooding concerns and thwarted the deal. California State Parks with the support of local conservationists acquired Wildwood Canyon’s 855 acres and a dedication ceremony was held on May 9, 2003. Then on December 17, 2025 the formal classification and naming of the park was announced to be Wildwood Canyon State Park.
A couple slightly different views of Hi Up House.
My last visit was in December where I hiked on the Water Canyon Trail where I saw late fall color of this willow tree.
The grayish tops of the San Bernardino Mountains in the background with no snow yet this winter.
The hills to the east with a distant Hi Up House though you might need to zoom in to see it.
Another view to the east of the San Jacinto Mountains rising above the hills..
Along the way there were two deer crossing the road. Both ends of this road are gated near the park boundaries. While closed to vehicles other then those servicing the park the road is now part of the park’s trail network.
Back in the 1920’s investors planned to build a 500 lot country club development in the Wildwood Canyon area. The Wildwood Lodge resort was built but few lots were sold and it foreclosed in 1928. Vernon Hunt bought the lodge and area ranches in 1940 and built Hunt Ranch. This was the Hunt Ranch house. I wondered what happened to the lodge and found out it burned down on New Yearās Day 1966.
Some of the nine buildings and other structures of the Hunt Ranch. There were deer grazing which occasionally checked to see what I was doing. The house on the hill mostly hidden by yellow leafed trees is outside the park and has people living in it.
More of the now abandoned ranch buildings.
The ranch barn.
This was the hired hands quarters. I have not found any details on when the ranch was last used but based on the Direct TV dish it was used at least in the 1990s.
A closer view of the front of the ranch house.
The horse corrals were used relatively recently but were closed during my visits..
Vernon and Marian Hunt donated some land to the Grayback Council of the Boy Scouts. Camp Hunt was created and located on a 7 acre parcel north of Wildwood Canyon Road. It was used by scouts starting in 1958. After a property trade in 1968 the camp relocated to a site about one mile east (which is outside of Wildwood Canyon State Park) which the scouts used until 1996. Though too warm during the summer to serve as a summer camp it was used year-round for other activities. After the camp closed it was sold to the Calvary Hill Retreat Center.
I enjoyed the hikes in the park’s three basic habitat types: oak woodland, chaparral, and grassland during the different seasons. There were nice views of the distant valleys and mountains. Deer were seen seen in most of my visits. I plan to return for more visits to Wildwood Canyon State Park in the future.
For these and more pictures visit the Wildwood Canyon Gallery
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