Cancel

Open app

Search

Devil's Gate Dam

4.5 (23 reviews)

Devil's Gate Dam Photos

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - Devil's Gate Dam

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Jam A.

Directions: you can route it using google maps. Park one neighborhood over. Walk down the path till you see the bridge, take a left and go through the tunnel. You'll see a gate, it's locked. Make a left and go down a steep hill. You'll see a small structure with a little dude graffiti-ed on it. To the right you'll eventually see a climbing course / jungle gym thing. Go STRAIGHT through that area and climb over some rocks and over the wooden plank to get to the devils gate. It's a great little curiosity to check out , and if you want to take a further hike there's a trail to the rose bowl. The vista over the dam is nice and if you come at dusk, plenty of bats to admire on your spooky stroll.

Trying to climb some steep rocks lol
Rachel R.

So worth the trip here. Amazing, one-of-a-kind experience. I am fascinated by anything creepy /haunted and this definitely was more than satisfying. Great if you like exploring and want a fairly easy hike. Watch for parking by rude neighbors houses close to trail. When I arrived, parked on the street in the neighborhood right at the beginning of the trail. Had to get back into the car as soon as I got out because a neighbor actually came outside and yelled: "You arent allowed to park here!¨. I parked a street over. It was as if they were looking out the window all day waiting for the next people to park close by to yell at. Ugh. There's two routes: A more direct route that isn't for anyone scared of heights or trespassing. There's also a longer, more scenic route which involves stepping on lots of rocks/greenery and (literally) walking on a single piece of wood over dirty water if you want to get as close as possible to the gate. Quick, direct route: There's a tunnel you pass through, then you'll see a fence. It was closed when I went but you can walk around it easily (if you don't mind trespassing a little). Then, you'll come to steps. At the end of the steps, there will be a ladder you can climb down (if the gate is unlocked), that leads to a small platform and another set of steps that'll lead you right down to the main attraction: The Devils Gate! Longer, more scenic route: after the tunnel, continue downhill following the path. You'll pass a huge cool tree, small chicken house looking building, jungle gym with swings 30ft in the air, all on the way. Walk through the "jungle gym" through the rocks and bushes....you'll come to a opening with rocks and graffiti right by the gate. The only problem: a dirty pond full of trash/algie you have to cross by balancing on a single wood beam leading to a large rock you crawl over if you want to be directly in front of the gate. Being the adventurer I am, I walked across it with no problems. Granted, I am only 100 pounds & 5"1 LOL. I left tired, dirty, dripping in sweat, feeling accomplished, with lots of cool photos. Highly recommended place to check out!

Animals of the Arroyo .    Going up North Arroyo Cotton trail  Found this  fellow near the entrance  off Parkview on route to Devil Gate Dam
Sherry A.

Greatest time Upper Arroyo chance to get away from it all. Work out enjoy the water flows. After the rain. In March there was a great surprise Animals of the Arroyo Artists While entering the trail from Park view St. by the golf course. There were artist with there own wood carvings along the trail! A rare event . I had a blast . So did everyone else. Photo taken of my favorite carved animal on the tree trunk.

Julie L.

This walk is not so much a hike. It's flat for the most part and easy to walk. The walk was boring even because there is nothing to look at. There are no animals, no trees and just a few bushes. There's also a bunch of cloudy smog from nearby Pasadena. Nearby the "trail" is a park hidden by trees but you can hear all the people playing disc golf. We found the devil's face on the rock during the day and it wasn't as impressive as I expected. This whole area is in a neighborhood.

Sometimes the water is high up so the only way down is the ladder.
Vlad M.

It's a very cool and interesting location, there is nothing scary about it and 2 ways to get to the gate. 1 way if the area is flooded, which would be by the ladder. The ladder is a fun way to go although it says no trespassing. The gate will sometimes be open and sometimes not, I've been to the very end of the tunnel, it's just a dead end with a creepy graffiti at the end. The devil rock formation is to the left of the gate, and it is better seen when you're across the little stream that goes by

One of the tunnels near the dam
Raffi S.

Really cool hiking area. You can cut underneath the freeway from one tunnel to another. Lots of creepy tunnels specially if your alone. Be careful to not walk on any horse turds that are inside the tunnels. I've heard stories of a lost girls spirit that appears at night down below the dam. Will be going back at night next time.

Walk through this the. Hit the stairs immediately after to go down (if open)

See all

6 months ago

Helpful 8
Thanks 3
Love this 6
Oh no 0

8 months ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 22
Thanks 0
Love this 19
Oh no 2

8 years ago

Helpful 11
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Rachel R.
181
23
21

8 years ago

Helpful 8
Thanks 0
Love this 5
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 3
Oh no 0
Photo of Alli M.
5
48
43

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Raffi S.
22
33
12

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Joe W.
29
11
6

6 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

5 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of X N.
486
35
23

9 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 6
Oh no 0
Photo of Steph H.
32
112
97

10 years ago

Helpful 9
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 1
Love this 16
Oh no 1

9 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

11 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 4
Oh no 0
Photo of Wendi F.
107
13
0

9 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Vanessa A.
272
150
56

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Ask the Community - Devil's Gate Dam

Is The Colorado Street Bridge very close to the Dam?

Not particularily.

Is there overnight parking along the road anywhere here?

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

Review Highlights - Devil's Gate Dam

Longer, more scenic route: after the tunnel, continue downhill following the path.

Mentioned in 9 reviews

Read more highlights

You might also consider

Verify this business for free

People searched for Hiking 15,202 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

Lower Arroyo Seco - Scarlet monkeyflower

Lower Arroyo Seco

(17 reviews)

This place is the jackpot if you like birding and bridges!! Bare with me bc I'm about to share a…read morebutt load of pics! I think this hike may have been the most pics I've ever taken in one sitting (well over 350 - but I'm not sharing that many ok lol)!! This is a very easy hike - it can be as long or as short as you want it to be. We did about 6 miles. And it's almost completely flat - AllTrails says 160 feet but my AllTrails recording logged 230 feet - either way it's minimal. There are some optional stairs that have neat views as well. A lot of the trail is rocky and bumpy, and there was a ton of mud bc of all the rain - but still easy. And there's a little trail construction going on but it's easy to maneuver around. It's also a very busy trail. We arrived right before 8am and there was a moderate crowd - not too bad. But by 9am it was pretty packed. Luckily the trail is very wide so it's easy to keep your distance and not feel like you have someone on your heels constantly. There are some really great features on this hike - all sorts of surprises in all sorts of nooks and crannies! There's a huge archery range - who knew?? It's well marked so it easy to stay out of the way and safe. There weren't any archers when we started but tons had assembled when we were leaving! I'll be coming back to watch them next time bc it's such a neat range! There's a "casting pond" which was so totally random and I'd never seen or heard of anything like it before!! It's a huge, shallow "pond" of sorts, with these rings scattered around - I'm guessing it's for people to practice their casting techniques for fishing. The water was super clean too! And the birding - omg don't get me started on the birding wow!! I'm an avid birder and this place was heaven for me! I even managed to catch one of my life-list birds here!! Huge day for me (my fellow birders will understand lol)!! A female Red Shafted Northern Flicker!! Not to mention the Yellow Rumped Warbler, California Scrub Jays, tons of Lesser Goldfinches, Mallards, and House Finches, and even an Oak Titmouse!! It was a smorgasbord of birdies!! Totally unexpected for such an "urban" hike. And then there's the bridges...soooo many bridges concentrated in one area - like 5-6 bridges!! And they're all beautiful - especially with the mountainous backdrops! You can even walk under most of them. The most famous is the Colorado Street Bridge - aka "Suicide Bridge" - kinda cryptic but everyone seems to call it that so you desensitize. You can also walk on this one, which I highly recommend bc it's a true beauty, from above and below. There are numerous trail options along this huge route - looks like it links up to the rose bowl loop too. It's easy to find and has a dirt parking lot - it definitely filled up fast (was full by 10am) but again, it was a Saturday morning. I'll definitely be back anytime I'm needing to do some serious birding!

I've been on a little running kick in 2021 and on a search for more interesting routes near my…read morehouse, I discovered the Lower Arroyo Seco. I've always preferred running on a trail versus cement, so I was so happy to find a soft trail to run on that's not too far from home. I've been twice now and it appears that the trail is an out and back, although there are some river crossings (I think that's what you would consider them) so perhaps you can veer off and make things a little more interesting. I love looking up at the Colorado Street Bridge and getting a change of scenery--Pasadena really is a special place. While you're definitely out in nature, you're also spending a lot of time looking at a wire link fence and the cement river bed. Still, I like that this place is flat (running in the mountain trails near Pasadena seems, well, challenging) and I actually like that there are a fair number of people around since I've grown increasingly fearful of snakes and wildlife as I've gotten older. I've only come on weekdays so it's really not too busy, but do be sure to bring and wear your mask as you will see other people there. There's a parking lot onsite but also a few entries from the street (Arroyo) if you're on foot. I've always run here from my house so I haven't tried the parking situation, but this is a pretty quiet neighborhood and it seems like you could park on the street and walk down if the parking lot was full (although, you might just want to opt for some other sort of excursion if it's that packed during COVID times).

Devil's Gate Dam - hiking - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...