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July 10, 2024 5:16pm update: The county has temporarily reopened Walnut Canyon with an advisory that the trail is in bad condition. Hikers are free to proceed with caution. The Los Angeles County Trails Division is expected to begin work repairing the trail on Monday, July 15th.

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On Monday, July 1, 2024, the County of Los Angeles made the decision to temporarily close the Walnut Canyon Trail within the Eaton Canyon Natural Area. The Walnut Canyon trail rises 600′ up the San Gabriel Mountains to connect the Eaton Canyon Trail to the Mount Wilson Toll Road. It is a switchback trail that is one of the least popular in the area due to its steep incline, lack of shade, and alternative route options. The county cited severe trail degradation from recent storms as the purpose of the closure.

On the morning December 14, 2021, an intense thunderstorm struck Eaton Canyon and dumped rain rates in excess of 4.00″ per hour. The Walnut Canyon Trail was severely damaged when water began flowing through a side canyon below the trail. At the time, this water flow did not damage the main Eaton Canyon trail below. However, the new watercourse was responsible for completely wiping out a section of the main trail in a subsequent storm on January 10, 2023. Recent storms have made the situation on the Walnut Canyon Trail worse.

There is no word on when the trail will reopen. Hikers are asked to use the Mount Wilson Toll Road as an alternative route to Henninger Flats for the time being.

On Saturday, June 22, the Eaton Canyon Nature Center hosted its 2024 ‘A Day In Nature’ event. Over 20 booths from various local organizations, such as Caltech, the Angeles National Forest, the Sierra Club, and the Pasadena Audubon Society, were set up to help engage locals with San Gabriel Valley area organizations. In addition to the various groups, there were several booths containing works from local artists, including pottery, painted concrete, and murals. The Michael C. Long auditorium was transformed into an art gallery to showcase works by artist Jose Ramirez who paints the Los Angeles Basin at night as viewed by those in the San Gabriel Mountains. The art gallery will remain open periodically throughout the summer.

The event also included the 4th Saturday in which the Nature Center’s “B.A.R.K. Ranger” program was active, an effort to improve dog owner responsibility within Eaton Canyon. With park temperatures ranging from 95°F to 100°F and ground temperatures exceeding 140°F, the conditions posed significant risks to canines. These ground temperatures can damage and burn the pads of dog’s feet. Dogs also do not sweat, and can only cool themselves through panting. The combination of hot air and ground temperatures means many dogs can experience heat exhaustion which can be fatal.

At about 9:45 am during the event, several people watched an owl fly through the Nature Center’s lobby and land on a perch up in the rafters. Staff were immediately notified and identified the animal to be a Western Screech Owl, a native to Eaton Canyon. For the following 5 hours, the motionless owl peacefully watched over the event as hundreds of people streamed through, buying gifts, creating arts and crafts, and observing the Nature Center’s animal ambassadors, all the while oblivious to what was above them. Owls are typically nocturnal animals who sleep during the day and hunt at night, so it’s possible this one got scared out of its normal resting spot. Due to the presence of over a dozen taxidermies within the Nature Center, the owl was not at all out of place and could have easily been missed by most patrons.

Towards 3:00 pm as the event was wrapping up, staff and volunteers were able to safely remove the owl from the Nature Center. It was last seen flying away towards a large Coast Live Oak tree just outside the patio.

The Nature Center’s next major event will be held in November 2024.

Since the debacle in 2020, even the mere thought of Memorial Day Weekend has struck fear in the minds of daily visitors to Eaton Canyon. Each year, this specific weekend sees the highest influx of Angelinos drawn by the holiday, the onset of summer, favorable weather, and high creek flows. The combination of COVID-19 and TikTok has allowed the canyon to surge in popularity across Southern California, with the main waterfall frequently being a top result when one searches “Waterfalls in Los Angeles.” On top of that, Eaton Canyon is one of the most centrally located and accessible waterfalls within Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States.

As a consequence to all of this, approximately 35,000 to 50,000 people visited Eaton Canyon between Saturday morning, May 25th and Monday evening, May 27th, 2024. Only Memorial Day weekend 2020 itself was busier.

The mass influx of people into the canyon has led to multiple issues in the area, including excessive trash, graffiti, unlicensed vendors, illegal parking, and loud music. The busy weekend has renewed conversations among locals who want to do something about the Disneyland-type visitation levels, with calls for more sheriffs, more park rangers, a fee for entry, a towing company on stand-by, and even a return to the COVID-era reservation system. The Angeles National Forest does not consider the waterfall trail a real trail, and thus no forest rangers occupy the area.

Hopes are that visitation will drop in the canyon after Big Santa Anita Canyon, which has been closed since August 2020 due to the Bobcat Fire and the 2023 floods, will reopen on June 1st.