Discover Walnut: Trails, History and the Night Sky

Explore Walnut through a range of interests: horseback riding and hiking trails in rolling hills, city parks, a historic ranch house, and topics related to art and astronomy. These different highlights can help guide your choice of destination. Information about trails and parks describes a different kind of outing from the individual cultural and scientific offerings.

Hiking, Horseback Riding and Parks

In Walnut, 30.5 miles of horseback riding and hiking trails run through rolling hills. The city-maintained trail network connects with seven miles of trails in Los Angeles County. Both the city trails and their connection to the county trails are part of what Walnut offers hikers and horseback riders.

Three rest areas are located along the horseback riding and hiking trails. They have picnic tables, waste bins and shade trees. This makes the rest areas useful landmarks along the trail network; however, it says nothing about the length or difficulty of any individual trail section.

The city parks are another distinct part of spending time outdoors: the park system includes eleven parks with more than 90 acres of maintained grounds. City parks are listed as open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. If a visit to a park is part of your plans, check these hours before your trip.

History and Art

One historic landmark is the William R. Rowland Adobe Redwood Ranch House in Lemon Creek Park. The house was built in 1883 and restored. Its construction date and restoration give the site a clear connection to Walnut’s history, without assuming a particular visitor program.

Another cultural highlight is the Diana Berger Art Gallery. Its exhibitions range from contemporary to traditional art. They include painting, printmaking and fine art, as well as graphic design, photography, illustration and commercial art. The range thus encompasses both classical art forms and design and visual media.

Planetarium and Telescope Viewing

The Mt. SAC-Randall Planetarium is located in Building 26C at Mt. San Antonio College, 1100 N. Grand Ave., Walnut, California 91789. New planetarium shows are offered every month. The field trip program for school and Scout groups includes a planetarium show as well as building and launching rockets. These offerings differ by audience and format: the monthly program focuses on shows, while the group program also includes hands-on activities.

Separate from this is the Mt. SAC telescope observatory: it opens to the public once a month from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. for free telescope viewing. If you plan to attend, check the date so the monthly opening hours fit your plans.

Wildlife Sanctuary: Nature by Reservation

The Mt. SAC Wildlife Sanctuary is a 26-acre outdoor classroom and protected area. Its habitats include coastal sage scrub, chaparral, oak woodland, walnut woodland, grassland and three freshwater ponds. The variety of listed habitats makes the Sanctuary a distinct nature-focused attraction on the Walnut page.

The Sanctuary is not open to the public. However, free guided tours are available by reservation; they last about one hour and are offered to groups of up to 30 people, including teachers or parents. Access differs from the monthly public telescope viewing: a reservation is required for the Sanctuary, while the observatory opens to the public during its stated monthly hours.

Walnut offers several distinct points of interest to consider when planning your trip: trails and parks, history and art, as well as a planetarium, telescope viewing and a protected area accessible only through reserved guided tours. If you are looking for a hotel in Walnut, these interests can help you assess whether the destination suits your planned activities.

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