It flows southwards from its headwaters in the south ridge of the San Gabriel Mountains, to form the beginnings of the Rio Hondo near Irwindale.

The creek begins on the east slope of Mount Wilson, inside the Angeles National Forest.

It flows in a curve southeast through Santa Anita Canyon, then drops over the 60-foot (18 m) Sturtevant Falls.

Leaving the foothills the creek continues southwards through Sierra Madre, Monrovia and Arcadia as the Santa Anita Wash, flowing in a concrete channel.

It turns southeast towards Azusa, then south again at Irwindale, where it empties into a small flood control basin.