Mt Baldy Notch

Top of the Notch is a restaurant and deck at 7,800 feet on Mt Baldy, at the top of the resort's Sugar Pine chair. The resort runs that chair year round, and in winter you don't need skis to ride it. That makes it the simple way onto this mountain. The trails above it are a different thing, and the Forest Service says so plainly.

What's Worth Seeing

Chair 1 starts at the base at 6,500 feet and tops out at 7,800. On a clear day the resort says the view runs from the Inland Empire to the Pacific. Once you're up, you can eat, walk around and ride down when you're ready.

The restaurant serves lunch with no reservation, mostly burgers, chili and nachos, and the taps pour beer from Mt Baldy Brewery in Upland. The deck has fire pits and string lights. In winter the building is a warming station for skiers and snow-play visitors.

Summer adds the zip line, which has age and medical limits, and Camp Baldy, the resort's off-grid tent cabins at the same elevation. On Moonlight Hike nights in the warmer months you hike or ride up for dinner and live music. Those hikes aren't guided, so stay on the marked routes.

Good to Know

Above the Notch, the Devils Backbone Trail follows a narrow ridge toward the 10,064-foot summit. The Forest Service warns of serious injuries and deaths on the high trails here, and it says winter on those trails calls for crampons, an ice axe, a helmet and training. Microspikes aren't enough on steep ground. LAist reported more than 230 rescues and eight deaths on Mt Baldy since 2017. The main trails were closed for ice and heavy snow from February into March 2026, while the road and the resort stayed open.

The resort doesn't allow hiking in its permitted area during alpine conditions, and it warns that the cold at the top can be dangerous, especially for young and older guests. Bring warm layers.

The chair has rules too. Riders must be at least 40 inches tall, children under 12 ride with an adult, and animals aren't allowed. Wheelchair riders should contact the resort first. Dogs can go on the trails on a leash, but they can't ride up.

Expect little or no cell service in the forest and no gas stations, so start with a full tank.

How to Get There

Take the 210 east to Baseline Road (exit 52), turn left at the light, then take the next right onto Padua Avenue. After 1.7 miles, turn right onto Mt Baldy Road and follow it up through Mt Baldy Village and past Manker Flats to the lift parking at the base of Chair 1.

Buy a parking pass at the ticket office or prepay online. The resort recommends carrying chains in winter and checking Caltrans road conditions before you drive up. Lift hours change with snow and weather, so check the Mountain Report or the plan your visit page first.

Nearby

• San Antonio Falls is a 75-foot waterfall on a walk of about 1.4 miles round trip from Falls Road, below the lift. Parking along the road there needs an Adventure Pass.
• Mt Baldy Brewery in Upland makes the beer on tap at the Notch and has its own taproom.
• California Botanic Garden in Claremont grows California native plants across 86 acres.