The Beauty and Mineralogy of Parker Mountain, Acton, California
by Alan Scalone

As a resident of the San Fernando Valley the Acton area is a wonderful area to go hiking and exploring. It is a short drive and possesses a diversity of old mines and locations to explore.

Parker Mountain and the Emma Mine is one of my personal favorites. First off, it is accessible without a 4WD vehicle, is free from No Trespassing restrictions and has some decent copper group minerals to collect and an occasional rare 150 year old mining artifact to discover.

One of my absolute favorite experiences on Parker Mountain is that rare day of the year that the snow level drops down to 1,500 feet and the Acton area is blanketed in snow. It makes for a wonderful afternoon, hiking and hounding in that brisk fresh 30 degree air with the amazing view of the snow covered San Gabriel Mountains and the Acton Valley below.

Here area few examples of one of my afternoons on a snowy Parker Mountain hike and hound. Enjoy and maybe I will see you up there some snowy winter day!