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Find Adventure in California’s Los Padres National Forest
Majestic waterfalls, sweeping vistas, granite-clad ridges, and hot springs—the southern Los Padres National Forest stretches across Southern California’s incomparable scenery. Let local author Craig R. Carey lead you through the best of this varied terrain. Hiking & Backpacking Santa Barbara & Ventura presents nearly 100 of the finest routes between Gaviota Pass and Lake Piru.
Explore lush trails above Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Ventura, Ojai, Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Piru. Plan a day hike, a weekend backpacking trip, or a deep backcountry journey through stretches of the Chumash, San Rafael, Dick Smith, Sespe, and Matilija wildernesses. This guide provides the information you need to plan and implement your next hiking and backpacking adventure!
Inside You’ll Find
- 98 of the top routes in California’s second-largest national forest
- Day trips, weekend excursions, and deep backcountry treks
- Detailed section maps and GPS coordinates
- Waypoints, camps, trailhead directions, and permit information
- Recommendations for hiking with children
"...the definitive guide to hiking and backpacking the southern Los Padres National Forest, and the first comprehensive guide released in decades."
--Santa Barbara Independent
"All in all, Carey's book is an 'instant classic.' Wilderness Press has been setting the gold standard for hiking guidebooks since 1967, and Hiking & Backpacking Santa Barbara & Ventura continues that tradition with extremely detailed route descriptions and copious supplemental information about the area."
--CaliforniaTrekking Website
CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Southern Los Padres
CHAPTER 2 About This Guide
PART I SANTA BARBARA AND WESTERN MT. PINOS RANGER DISTRICTS
CHAPTER 3 Western Santa Ynez Mountains
- Gaviota Peak via Gaviota Hot Springs
- Broadcast Peak via Tequepis Trail
- Lizard’s Mouth
- The Playground
CHAPTER 4 Santa Ynez Recreation Area
- Snyder Trail and Knapp’s Castle
- Aliso Nature Trail
- Upper Oso Canyon to Nineteen Oaks
- Arroyo Burro
- Camuesa Connector Trail
- Matias Trail
- Gibraltar Trail
- Mono-Alamar and Alamar Hill Trails
- Agua Caliente Trail to Upper Caliente
- Forbush-Mono
- Forbush and Blue Canyons
- Upper Franklin Trail
CHAPTER 5 Santa Barbara Frontcountry
- Jesusita Trail and Inspiration Point
- La Cumbre Peak
- Cathedral Peak
- Mission Canyon/Tunnel Trail
- Rattlesnake Canyon
- Cold Spring Canyon West
- Tangerine Falls
- East Fork Cold Spring and Montecito Peak
- Saddle Rock Loop
- McMenemy
- Girard Trail
- San Ysidro Canyon
- Buena Vista Loop
- Romero Canyon
CHAPTER 6 Santa Barbara Backcountry and Southern San Rafael Wilderness
- McKinley Spring and McKinley Mountain
- Mission Pine Trail
- Santa Cruz National Recreation Trail
- Grapevine Trail
CHAPTER 7 Sierra Madre Ridge
- McPherson Peak
- Montgomery Potrero and Rocky Ridge Trail
- Salisbury Potrero and Bull Ridge Trail
- Santa Barbara Potrero and Sierra Madre Road
CHAPTER 8 Dick Smith Wilderness
- Alamar Trail
- Indian Creek Trail
- Indian-Poplar Trail
- Madulce and Madulce Peak Trails
- Puerto Suelo
- Santa Barbara Canyon
- Don Victor Valley Fire Road and Don Victor Trail
- Upper Rancho Nuevo Canyon
- Bear, Deal, and Lower Rancho Nuevo Canyons
- Mine Camp via Deal Connector
PART II EASTERN MT. PINOS AND OJAI RANGER DISTRICTS
CHAPTER 9 Matilija Creek and Matilija Wilderness
- Murietta Trail
- Divide Peak and the Monte Arido Trail
- Upper North Fork Matilija Creek
- Ortega Trail
CHAPTER 10 Ojai Frontcountry, Nordhoff Ridge, and Rose Valley
- Kennedy Ridge
- Cozy Dell Trail
- Wheeler Gorge Nature Trail
- Stewart Canyon via Pratt Trail
- Gridley Canyon and Nordhoff Peak
- Chief Peak
- Horn Canyon
- Sisar Canyon (Southern Red Reef Trail)
- Hines Peak
- Last Chance Trail, Santa Paula Canyon, and Topatopa Bluff
- East Fork Santa Paula Canyon
- Santa Paula Peak
- Howard Creek Trail
- Rose Valley Falls
- Rose-Lion Connector
CHAPTER 11 Mt. Pinos and Chumash Wilderness
- Toad Springs
- Mt. Pinos to Mt. Abel (Vincent Tumamait Trail)
- Mesa Spring
- North Fork Lockwood Creek
- McGill Trail
CHAPTER 12 Pine Mountain
- Boulder Canyon
- Raspberry Spring
- Chorro Grande
- Reyes Peak Trail
- Gene Marshall–Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail
- Potrero John
CHAPTER 13 Grade Valley, Mutau, and the Upper Piru
- Fishbowls–Cedar Creek Loop
- Thorn Point
- Stonehouse
- Little Mutau
CHAPTER 14 The Sespe
- Tule Creek
- Middle Sespe Trail
- Dry Lakes Ridge
- Sespe River Trail
- Lion Canyon
- Red Reef Trail
- Johnston Ridge and Sespe Hot Springs
- Dough Flat to Shady Camp via Alder Creek
- Bucksnort Trail
- Agua Blanca
- Buck Creek
- Pothole Trail
- Lower Cobblestone Trail
- Slide Mountain
Appendix: Routes by Theme
List of Maps
Index
Camp Index
About the Author