We hiked Little Mountain on Sunday, a few days after a windstorm blew down some small trees and a lot of branches. This also meant the road to the summit was closed, but parking was still available in the lower lot at the main entrance. The blowdowns didn't have a big effect on our hike; there were a few small trees across the Bonnie & Clyde trail (below the abandoned car), but they were easy to cross. By now, they may have already cleared some of the debris, and the road may have reopened. Even if it's closed, there are many options for both short and long hikes starting from the lower parking lot.

I highly recommend downloading the Little Mountain trail map app from Hiking Project if you're unfamiliar with these trails. It's something of a labyrinth, and while some trail crossings are labeled, that's not always the case. Plus, without a map it can be hard to know which trail to pick.

We started on the Rooty trail from the parking lot, and soon turned right onto a very steep trail that's often labeled "Up Only" on maps. It gets you much closer to the summit in less than a quarter of a mile, but it is steep, steep, steep! Our five-year-old managed, but barely. Some roots in the trail help with footing, but it's often muddy. I don't recommend this route for most unless your goal is to get to the top quickly.

From Up Only, we turned right onto Service Road, which merges with Sidewinder and then the Bonnie and Clyde trail. We decided to skip the summit and instead followed Bonnie & Clyde down to the road. From there, we got back on the Rooty trail and followed it back to the parking lot. During our entire hike, we saw only a few other people on the trail. I estimate that our total hike was around three miles and it took us around two hours (with the five-year-old). All in all, Little Mountain is a wonderful park, and a fun place to explore new trails, even if you only have a few hours.

Please visit the website linked below for a full review and many more photos.

A great short hike if you live in the area or just visiting and need something quick to do.

This is my go-to mountain to hike with my four year old because of how easy it is to do. We started about midway up and did the Bonnie and Clyde Trail and connected to Fred's Trail. Please be careful, Fred's Trail is very steep if you're taking any young children with. You can bypass Fred's trail and keep on a nice flat trail FYI.

Overall this is a great trail to do, as are any of the trails on this mountain. Enjoy!

I arrived for my annual birthday hike around 9 AM and there were three other cars in the parking lot off of Little Mountain Road. I decided to connect several trails on Little Mountain today for a longer hike. My outbound route included the La-Z-Boy, Cairn, Nature, Sidekick, Over The Top, and parts of the Mossy Rock and Upper Surfer's Way. There were no issues on any of these trails other than a tree down on the Sidekick Trail that was easy to step over. 

From the Mossy Rock, I turned south and hiked down the mountain using the Up Quick and Darvill Trails. The main issue on the Darvill Trail is mud and water on the trail in spots, especially near the connection with the West Loop Trail. I hiked the Darvill Trail to the trailhead on Hickox Road and then followed it back up the mountain and turned on the West Loop, following that trail to the Bonnie and Clyde and Sidewinder Trails to the viewpoints. There weren't really any problems with these trails other than some mud and water on the trail in spots. 

From the viewpoints, my inbound route followed Ginny's Trail, the Bonnie and Clyde, Mossy Rock, the Upper Surfer's Way, and Over The Top trails. From this point, I elected to return to the parking area using the Rooty Trail. Again, there were no issues of note other than a tree down over the Upper Surfer's Way Trail and some mud and water on the trail in spots. According to the official Little Mountain Trail map, this route is about 7.5 miles and I was back at my car around 3 PM. 

This is such a great network of trails.  Looks like many upgrades since I hiked here with my son seven years ago.  We had to be in Mt. Vernon at 4:00 PM so after our appointment we decided to do a quick recon.  Too many people at the North Viewpoint so we did a short loop back to the Pickering Viewpoint.  We'll definitely be back before another seven years.

I arrived at the new parking area off of Little Mountain Road around 8:30 and there were three other cars in the lot. From the parking lot, I crafted an out and back hike to the Little Mountain viewpoint with the La-Z-Boy, Lower Surfer's Way, Down South, Taylor, Up Quick, Bonnie and Clyde, and the Sidewinder Trails. On my trip out, I also added a lollipop loop from the La-Z-Boy using the Cairn, Nature, and Sidekick Trails. 

All of the trails I hiked are in great shape. Everything was really dry and I didn't even get any mud on my boots or pants-a rarity for November hiking. The only issue I noticed was one small blowdown over the Nature Trail but there is room to hike around it. 

After lunch at the viewpoint, I returned to the parking area using the same route in reverse, skipping the loop with the Cairn Trail. Based on the map available at the Little Mountain website, this is about an 8.2 mile hike. I was back at my car at 2:30 and was the only car in the lot. Gotta love midweek hiking!