If you have your sights set on hiking and summiting some of California's well know 14er mountains, then you are probably well aware that training for these big peaks is a key part of your overall summit success. While there are tons of different ways to get in shape and train for 14ers, my favorite way is to hit the trails and bag some new peaks while I'm at it. That's why I've pulled together a list with 7 of the best hikes Southern California has to offer that will help you train for your big mountain dreams. These hikes below are beautiful, yet challenging, rewarding, yet leg-busting, and they will make training for California 14ers such as Mount Whitney or Mount Langley much more enjoyable.

There are an endless number of trails for hiking in Southern California, so how did I base my criteria for a great training hike? In my opinion, a great training hike will be at least 7+ miles long round trip and will have a minimum of 3,000+ feet of total elevation gain. Of course, if you are at the very beginning of your training regimen, you might start with lower mileage and elevation gain hikes, but if you've been training for a bit then these 7 hikes are great hikes to start throwing into your conditioning routine. It is also nice to get exposed to different elevations while on your training hike so you can start to learn how your body adapts to elevation change so you will be more prepared for your fourteener hike. All of the 7 hikes below meet this criteria and are sure to get you well conditioned for fourteener hikes and long backpacking trails. They are also just beautiful trails on their own and have easily accessible trailheads. All of these trails are also easily achievable in a day.

If you're interested in learning more about getting prepared and training for fourteeners, check out these 7 tips to hiking and summiting your first fourteener mountain, where I go into much more detail about picking the right 14er mountain, planning for your summit, training, and more.