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Just minutes from the San Fernando Valley on Little Tujunga Canyon Road, past horse ranches and mountain pinnacles, is the top of Dillon Divide and Pacoima Canyon. A tunnel that used to divert water from a placer gold prospect sits at the bottom along the river. The tunnel is open and still has a stream running through it. It’s a quick and easy adventure with just enough elevation for a nice sunset hike.
UPDATED 8/23/12: Added video of Dutch Louie Tunnel.
Basic Info:
- 4.5 miles roundtrip to the tunnel
- A quick hike to escape and a better alternative (in my opinion) to Eaton and Runyon Canyons
- Great views of Little Tujunga Canyon and Dillon Divide
- Several stream crossings, and a stream running through the tunnel requires shoes getting wet
Streetview of trail head:
Video of the Dutch Louie Tunnel:
There is parking available alongside the road and a white gate. A water tower is a short jaunt uphill from there (you’ll see it pulling up but not from the actual parking area), which offers a perfect vantage of either side of the divide. This area has several fire roads that traverse ridges of chaparral, including the Kagel Truck Trail, but the one we’re interested in is Forest Route 4N35, or Pacoima road.
Display your Adventure Pass and follow the dirt road until it bisects with a smaller trail on the left, marked by a steal pole. The trail becomes much more intimate than the dirt road, but is well graded and maintained. You’ll notice scat piles in the middle of the trail-big cats are known to be in the area. The skeleton of a mountain lion confirms this in the canyon below, but I have not personally seen one and I have hiked this trail many times (morning, noon, and night), since I live nearby. The key to facing a big cat is to act big yourself and make lots of noise, unless there are cubs. That’s what the experts will tell you.
I’ve met a man named Garren on the trail several times; he voluntarily maintains the trail on weekends. If you see him, say hi. He has told me that this trail was where he learned to drive, as it used to be a road that went to Mt. Gleason. If you look closely, it appears that some of the rocks bare the evidence of this road. On one crop of rocks, blue sign paint remains fragmented from the nearby fault. There are reports that a car’s axle is in the riverbed, but I have not personally seen it.
The climate is comfortable and shaded at the canyon floor. A clear trail is blazed with cairns. The tunnel is another 15-20 minutes upstream on the left canyon wall. It is partially hidden by a tree, but you should hear the small waterfall at the entrance when you’re close. There is also a large boulder next to the trail that has a long white-painted line on it. Follow the line to the left canyon wall.
In September, when the water is low, I’ve noticed that spiders like to hang out in this tunnel. It seems to be the time of year when they are mating and are found in large clusters. I don’t recommend going into the tunnel at this time of year, unless you want to get friendly with them. After the rains come in winter, the rest of the year is fine.
It’s about 200 feet deep, but forks halfway in. Both channels are blocked. On a topo map, you’ll notice that this tunnel originally cut off a bend in the river. The gold was not extracted from the tunnel itself, but it was used to divert the stream. This area is called Dutch Louie Flat, named after the prospector who discovered placers in the stream bed and recovered several thousand dollars worth of gold. The Denver Mining Company worked the material just above bedrock in the dry riverbed. Today, you’ll see plenty of black sand where gold is usually found. I’ve panned with a sluice and haven’t found anything, but it might still be worth a shot. Just call me when you strike it rich. Fair’s fair?
Return the way you came. I love doing this hike in late afternoon light. If you’re looking out for it, you may notice bullet casings and other manmade items on the trail from careless visitors. If you find your pockets empty or room in your pack, please pick up some of this debris. It isn’t an epidemic (like Eaton Canyon), yet, but let’s make an effort to take care of the trail. I know Garren, myself, and many others would appreciate your help.
So, I like to conclude with a little piece of information at the bottom, to thank those who have paid attention and read the whole thing in this age of popcorn brains. There is poison oak in a couple of patches on the edge of the trail, both on the way down to the canyon and in the canyon itself. You might want to spare yourself the agony by keeping your eyes peeled to keep your skin from peeling later.
Take care of the place. It’s my backyard and yours too. A bit farther beyond Dagger Flat, the Station Fire has consumed the area and is unstable, at best. I recommend limiting your stay to the unburned areas.
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Hello,
Went out to find the Dutch Louie Mine. I was taking directions from the old 101 Trails of the Angeles. Went online and found your site. Good site. Pictures say 1,000 words. Drove up Osborne to what we thought was the required mileage. Saw two dirt roads going off left and right, both blocked by a white metal piped fence. There was a brown trail marker sign just saying “walking trail”. Nothing about Dutch Louie or anything else. Didn’t know if we were in the right place or not. We did not go all the way to the canyon bottom to try to find the mine and see if we were in the right place. Carefully reading over your site when we got back makes me think that we were. Like your description the trail that led to the bottom of the canyon was nicely graded. My question – is this the place. We were never sure because we didn’t venture down any further. We saw another trail going up higher on the side of the mountain – do you know where that leads. Thank you.
Hi! Thanks for reading
I believe you must have found the correct trail. I have added a Google Streetview of the trail head. The “Enter Your Location” box will give you directions to the exact place, which is at the four-way junction of Kagel Truck Trail (dirt, white gate on the left from Osborne) and Forest Route 4N35 (aka Pacoima Rd on maps, on the right coming from Osborne, dirt, white gate) and Little Tujunga Canyon Rd. You want to travel on 4N35, the right gate from Osborne, down into the canyon. You will reach a fork, to the left there is a smaller trail that leads down into the canyon where the mine is. The higher road goes around Mendenhall Ridge and to a network of other forest roads. From the bottom of the canyon, the mine is another 15-20 minutes upstream. Listen for the waterfall, and watch for the boulder with a painted white line. Hope that helps!
note: the road is labeled on the gate as 4N32 rather than 4N35
err, make that 3N32
There appears to be a discrepancy between Google Maps and the listing on the gate. It is indeed 3N32, as this picture indicates. http://redtailtrails.com/wp-content/gallery/pacoima-canyon/img_5693.jpg
I’ve added more pictures for the beginning of the trail, including the fork where you go left and down into the canyon.
Thanks!
I actually DROVE by the Dutch Louie tunnel in the late ’80s. There was a shooting area, and it was the Wild West- people with jeeps, beer, and guns everywhere! The road went through to the Santa Clarita Divide Truck Trail, joining at the Ranger Station. There was a campground along that road called Pappy Keef.
Sometime around 1990, the shooting area was closed, and the road had a huge dirt berm blocking it from Little Tujunga for years to discourage shooters.
I remember driving that way a couple of times. I remember the tunnel but never attached the name Dutch Louie to it. Might have gone shooting there once. But that was decades ago.
On the other side of Little Tujunga Canyon Road a dirt road goes in the opposite direction. Something like 25 years ago my wife and I were hiking this other road when we heard all kinds of horrific roaring and growling. Turns out it was feeding time at Wildlife Waystation and you could hear the big cats and bears for miles.
Art and Fred, there is still evidence in the canyon of the shooting range. Lots of shells, broken glass and other debris is down there. I’ve long thought of a clean-up effort. Glad to hear your testimony of a road gone-by. Thanks for reading.
Wow, this really brings back memories. I lived in La Crescenta during the early 1960s and used to drive up the canyon in my jeep occasionally. Very little human traffic in the canyon at that time, the road could be navigated with a conventional car but a high clearance 4WD vehicle really helped. I’m not sure but I seem to remember driving all the way out to Mount Gleason and on down to the Angeles Forest Highway.
Feb 16, 2013 – 6 of us made it to the tunnel. On the way out in the parking lot we met Garrin! He said there is a second mine beyond the tunnel. Anyone know where it is?
Also, Garrin was a delightful person. Maybe I will see him again.
What follows is something good that just resently took place. About month ago ran into 20 to 30 people coming back from Dagger Flats. They were part of a local hiking club. Never seen so many people on my trail. Fantastic!!! That next week a big oak tree fell down on the trail. I didn’t know how I was going to remove it. One of the club members had returned and brought several of his friends. I told him how down I was. The next day I returned with an ax and after a couple of hours of chopping, I had removed a little of the tree. The following Saturday, I returned. It was going to be a big, big job, but I had resign myself to remove it. Somebody had come during the week and cut it up with a chain saw. Wow, was I happy. They had left a sign saying, “Garin, Thank you for all you do to make this trail & overall world a better place!! Blessings, Your Friends” I was very touched. I don’t know who did it yet. I want to thank them and also you for your nice write up about the Pacoima Canyon trail.
Garin,
Thank you for the trail maintenance. We went yesterday and met you as we were leaving. You say you are extending the trail and one day if you would like help with this, just post something and if the timing works, we will show up.
Your trail has turned out to be one of my favorites – it is a whimsical, historic place to be.
D
I would love help. There are always weeds to be chopped and trash to be removed. Since the Pacoima Canyon trail was a road in the past when beer bottles and shooting was the thing, it is covered in several places with glass and shell casings that need to be picked up. Weeds are always exploding from the ground to take back what is theirs. It’s a battle. I try to work every Saturday and am now trying to extend the trail to Dagger Flats. A parked Honda CRV indicates I’m there.
I believe that when one gets old and can’t hike far, one should claim a trail as yours and then work to make it beautiful.
What makes the Pacoima Canyon trail special not too many people. The trail is down into the valley with a stream as oppose to a hike up the hill to a view of the valley. Most people seem to want to go up. They miss out.