LPFA Hiring & Fall Volunteer Opportunities


How cool were all those amazing clouds this past week? Photo Ron ‘always in the’ Noe.


Hello Friends, 

It sure has been hot this past week or so. Hopefully, despite the heat, you’ve been able to find some strategic trail time and ideally a visit or two to cool off in your favorite LP creek, river or swimming hole. It’s been a treat having so much plentiful water again after all those scarce drought years. Fortunately, we’ve got much cooler weather on tap in the coming days and beyond that autumn is just a few weeks away. All the ingredients are coming together for an epic fall and winter trail season here in the Los Padres. Now’s the time to start planning your next adventure. As always, HikeLosPadres.comremains an excellent source for forest information or you can always email us as well for any tips, advice or recommendations. They say that planning your adventure is half the fun, might as well get started on that right away!  

Speaking of planning, the end of summer also marks the start of the LPFA busy season. Over the next few months, before it starts to really rain, we generally aren’t living ‘weather forecast to weather forecast’ and have the somewhat rare ability to truly set and schedule trail projects. As we ramp up for a busy fall trail season we are hiring for our Trail Crew and sharing many upcoming volunteer trail projects. Be sure to check out those opportunities below and we hope to see all of you out on the trails with us for what is shaping up to be a great fall season. 




The LPFA is now in our 45th year of helping the Los Padres Forest and helping people enjoy the forest in a responsible and sustainable manner. While we’re mostly known for all the volunteer work we accomplish around the forest, we do also have employees who help grease the machine and make sure all the moving parts move. We are hiring right now for the two positions listed below. Please share with anyone who might be interested or email us with questions.  

LPFA Trail Crew 

For the past 6 years the LPFA has employed a professional Trail Crew who work year round on both trail and forest support projects. The Trail Crew works mostly within Santa Barbara & Ventura Counties and we work a schedule that includes both day projects as well as week-long car-camping and backpacking hitches. It’s very hard physical work but also very rewarding at the same time. Lots of time outdoors. For more information click the link below. 

SBRD Information Specialist 

This is a new position for us that we’re really excited about. This position will be based at the SB Ranger District office and assisting forest visitors who might have questions about the forest. At the same time this position will have flexibility to help with a variety of LPFA projects. Since this is a new role for us, there will be lots of opportunities to help steer the responsibilities and direction of this position. If this sounds like you, click below: 







The LPFA will once again be hosting a Used Camping Gear Sale on Sunday October 13th at Manning Park in Montecito. More details to come. We would be honored to receive any gear donations you might have in the hopes of finding a new owner for your old gear. Let us know. All proceeds go to our Trail Restoration Fund. Thanks…. 



Sunset Valley after a National Trails Day project in June 2022 (left) and the same Sunset Valley after the Lake Fire in September 2024 (right)


So many trails, so little time. As mentioned, the LPFA has a full schedule this fall of day projects, multi-day car-camping projects and our famous 10-day Working Vacations. Feels weird to say this but we get this question surprisingly often: all our trail projects are free, we don’t charge for food or anything else. We love all the volunteers and try our best to make the trail projects fun, rewarding, adventurous and even more fun. We hope you’ll consider joining us and please let us know if you have any questions…… 

NPLD is our favorite nationally recognized volunteer day of service. For us, it marks the start of the fall trail season, which is reason to celebrate for sure. While NPLD is technically September 28th, this year we’ll be stretching NPLD into October by hosting and participating in multiple NPLD projects. Come join the party! 

For a full list of our projects, click here…. 


Want more…? 

In addition to NPLD, here are some other LPFA trail projects in the queue: 

  • While Matilija Canyon remains closed due to storm related road damage, we are working with the FS to maintain the Matilija Trail so that it’ll be ready to hike by the time the road reopens in summer 2025. We lead regular weekly projects along Matilija.
  • We’ll be making a push this season on the Santa Cruz Trail located off Paradise Road. We’re hoping to lead at least one volunteer day per week over the coming months. Our first project will be this Friday 9/13

Alder Creek / Cow Spring Working Vacation: Nov 16-24 

Last fall the LPFA maintained approx 5 miles of the Alder Creek Trail out from Dough Flat above Fillmore in the Sespe. This year we’ll be picking up where we left off and trying to punch the trail through down from Cow Spring to Alder Creek Camp. We’ll be out there for 10 days in November just before Thanksgiving and would love some company. As usual, food and supplies will be packed in to camp thanks to mule support and we’ll be spending our days in condor country fixing the trail. Last year we saw condors every day we were out there. So cool.  To learn more or to come along, click here.




In case you missed it, many of the roads and camps impacted by the Lake Fire have been reopened. This includes Davy Brown Campground. Check it out here.

Lake Fire Closure Update


LAKE FIRE CLOSURE UPDATE


Hello Friends, 

When we last wrote, the Lake Fire was tearing up Figueroa Mountain and seemed destined to burn much of the Santa Barbara Backcountry. Fortunately, thanks to all the great work completed by fire personnel and some favorable weather, the Lake Fire was held at 38,664 acres. You can see more detailed maps here but basically the Lake Fire burned diagonally from Cachuma Saddle in the south, up to the Sisquoc River and between Manzana Creek and the edge of the Santa Ynez Valley. There were some lost structures and approximately 50 miles of trail burned but all things considered, the Lake Fire could have been much worse. Again, HUGE THANKS to everyone involved with the Lake Fire efforts – GREAT JOB! 

The Forest Service just issued a revised closure order for the Lake Fire. Somewhat surprising yet very much appreciated, the FS has reopened a lot of access into and through the fire perimeter. You can see the closure order here and the closure map here.

The LPFA was able to survey a few of the burned trails and the fire severity was extreme in some areas and very light in others. It’s turned out to be one of the splotchier fires we’ve seen, which hopefully means many of the trees are still alive. We shall see ~ keep your fingers crossed. In addition to the closed Forest Service trails, the Midland trails currently remain closed as well. Stay tuned for updates. 

Also note that while the camps along the lower Manzana did not burn, they are closed due to potential dangers associated with upstream burned areas. 

Last but not least, we all should be very happy that the Forest Service has reopened access through the Lake Fire. Please be careful, follow the rules and most importantly don’t be an idiot. We collectively want access to remain open to the campgrounds and trailheads impacted by the Lake Fire and the best way to ruin that is by driving off road or doing stupid things. No stupid things please. 

What Remains Closed

  • Closed Recreation Camps:
    • Ballard, Coldwater, Figueroa, Horseshoe Bend & Potrero Camps. 
  • Closed FS Roads
    • Figueroa Lookout Road 
  • Closed FS Trails
    • Fir Cyn / Davy Brown, Munch, Munch Conn, White Rock, White Rock Conn, Willow Spur, Willow Spring, Sunset Valley, La Jolla & Zaca Peak Trails. 

What is Open

  • Happy Canyon Road 
  • Sunset Valley Road 
  • NIRA Trailheads & Campground 
  • Davy Brown Campground 
  • Manzana Trail 
  • Figueroa Mtn Road 
  • Catway Road  


Fresh Oak Sprouts Encouraged by Zaca Peak – August 8, 2024



  • We are now midway through A-Zone general deer hunting season. A-Zone is the largest hunting season here in the Los Padres and covers all of the forest other than the D13 Zone in portions of the Mt Pinos & Ojai Ranger Districts. A-Zone will last through September 22. Until then, you should expect to see more hunter activity at many of the trailheads and trails across the forest. Good luck and stay safe! 
  • Reminder that campfires are currently only allowed within Designated Campfire Use Sites across the Los Padres Forest.  
  • The Mt Pinos RD has two other active fire closures for the Post and Apache Fires. Read more here
  • The Romero-Camuesa Road connecting Romero Saddle with Juncal will be closed for repairs September 16 – October 1. For more information contact the SBRD
  • With summer slowly coming to an end that means the beginning of Trail Work Season ~ woot woot! We’re still working on our fall schedule (including NPLD) and hope to release that information within the next week. Teaser, we’ve got projects in the works along Alder Creek, Santa Cruz, Hurricane Deck, Santa Barbara Cyn, Santa Paula Cyn, Potrero John, Matilija, Piru Creek, Rattlesnake and Piedra Blanca amongst others. Keep an eye out for updates or sign up here…. 
  • The LPFA will also be hiring for both our Trail Crew as well as an information position within the Santa Barbara Ranger District. We’ll share more next week as well but if you’d like to get a jump on the competition you can always email us for more information

As if the Hurricane Deck isn’t otherworldly enough, lets add a Fig Mtn Moonscape ~ August 8, 2024


Lake Fire History: July 11, 2024

The Lake Fire started in the late afternoon July 5 somewhere in the Zaca Lake drainage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The Lake Fire ignition point was very close to where the Zaca Fire had started 17 years and 1 day earlier on July 4, 2007. If you are reading this, then you probably have some interest in this wildfire and where / what it might burn in the days, weeks and perhaps months ahead.

While the weather will largely dictate the direction and duration of the Lake Fire, we can also look at the behavior of past wildfires and study decisions made during those fires to help understand where this current wildfire might be headed. This is known as the fire history. Fire history is a tool that can show us many things such as the strategy of how previous wildfires were fought, where historic firebreaks have held or lost the fire, how many years (or decades) of vegetation fuel might be ahead of the fire and more.

Just to be clear, we’re not professional fire predictors by any means. We aren’t meteorologists. We aren’t fire behavior specialists. We don’t have a seat at the table when fire decisions are being made. But we know the Los Padres and we have seen too many wildfires ravage our beloved forest. If you spend any time in this forest, you know how devastating these fires can be to the vegetation, the waterways, the critters, the trails and our ability to recreate in the forest we love. That being said, let’s take a closer look at the Lake Fire and the fire history in this part of the Los Padres. Perhaps we’ll see some trends to help figure out where and for how long the Lake Fire might be burning.

This first map shows the Lake Fire perimeter as of July 10, 2024. The fire started near Zaca Lake and initially headed west from there. Over the past few days, as the western winds returned to normal, the fire has been mostly pushing to the east, northeast and lightly to the north. Most of the firefighting efforts have rightfully been aimed at keeping the fire from heading south and west into ranches, vineyards and communities. The fire crews did a great job over the initial days of the Lake Fire to slow the fire down and protect the communities. Bravo.

This second map shows the perimeter of the 1993 Marre Fire. Most of the terrain that the Lake Fire has scorched as of today was last burned in the Marre Fire. The Marre Fire was started on the edge of the Los Padres, east of Los Olivos by a discarded cigarette. It burned over the course of a couple weeks in September and October 1993.

This third map is an overlay of the Lake Fire in green, the Marre Fire in orange’ish and the overlap of the two in yellow. You can see that while both fires did spread west, most of their progress was to the east. This is due to a combination of firefighting efforts focusing on protecting communities to the south as well as the predominantly western winds pushing the fire to the east. We also see that the majority of both fires were along the south facing slopes of the San Rafael Mountains. This makes sense as fires generally burn up slopes faster than down slopes. Of interest on this map is that while the Marre Fire did slop down into the upper Manzana and up to Manzana Creek, it was stopped before spreading across the majority of the backcountry. At that time, most of the Manzana had not burned in over 50 years and there was certainly plenty of fuel to keep the fire going. We’re not sure how or why the fire stopped where it did but the fact that it did stop at the Manzana even with all that fuel is promising for the future of the Lake Fire.

This fourth map shows the Lake Fire in green and the beginning of the massive 2007 Zaca Fire in purple with overlap in blue. You’ll see that as of right now there hasn’t been much overlap between the two fires and perhaps the Lake Fire is slowing as it burns into the Zaca scar. There is “only” 17 years of fuel buildup in the Zaca as compared to 31 years within the Marre scar. In its early days, the Zaca Fire burned slowly east up the Manzana before stalling in the bowl between Big Cone Spruce and McKinley Saddle. It seemed that Zaca would die out in that bowl but eventually the fire escaped the Manzana, crested McKinley Saddle and tore off into the Santa Cruz drainage and beyond.

This fifth map shows the Lake, Marre and Zaca Fires. It appears that the 31 years of regrowth within the Marre Fire has provided plenty of fuel to keep the Lake Fire going. If the Lake Fire continues east along its current path and the path of the Marre Fire, it will eventually become surrounded by the Zaca scar up near McKinley Saddle and the Big Cone Spruce bowl. Will the relatively light 17 years of Zaca regrowth be enough to slow the Lake Fire down or will the Lake Fire follow the path of Zaca and continue over into the Santa Cruz and beyond? McKinley Saddle was where the Zaca Fire was lost and could likely be the site of an important stand for the Lake Fire as well.

This sixth map shows some of the wildfire history to the north of the Lake Fire. This may become important should the Lake Fire cross the lower Manzana and perhaps ultimately the lower Sisquoc. You’ll see the 2009 La Brea Fire in brown, the 1966 Wellman Fire in purple and the overlap in red. La Brea was recent enough that the fuel load could slow things down but the 58 years or regrowth within the Wellman scar probably won’t hinder the fire at all.

And this seventh and final map shows the collection of wildfires that have impacted this part of the Los Padres. There are other wildfires not shown like the Cachuma, Sedgewick, Hurricane and others that have had smaller footprints within this area but probably won’t impact the overall path of the Lake Fire. It’s sad that there aren’t many islands of non-burned areas left and we’ll certainly lose more of them over the coming days and weeks. 

Since the onset of the Lake Fire, we’ve spoken with many Forest Service staff, fire crews, local historians and amateur fire gurus. There are serious concerns that the Lake Fire might turn into another Zaca and burn for months on end across the entire Santa Barbara backcountry from the Schoolhouse to Hwy 33 and from the Sierra Madre to the Santa Ynez. If you don’t remember the Zaca Fire, it was too big, bigger than it needed to be. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Let’s pray for the safety of the fire crews, hope the winds work in our favor and have belief that 17 years of Zaca Fire regrowth isn’t enough to fuel the Lake Fire into a multi-hundred-thousand-acre backcountry chewing mega-fire.

Forest Gates Opening & Volunteer Trail Work Updates


When Los Padres eyes are smiling….. photo A. Jerlow


Hello Friends, 

It’s mid-May and we hope this email finds you well and busy planning your next forest adventure. The big news across the Los Padres at the moment is the opening of most of the seasonal gate closures. Many of the Forest Service dirt roads across the LP are closed during the winter in order to protect those roads and/or prevent vehicles from getting stuck. The gates usually close sometime in December and depending on the extent of needed repairs and when the snow melts, those gates swing open sometime in late-April to mid-May. That’s right now….. 

GOOD NEWS, the Forest Service has been busy working on road repairs over the past month and have reopened most of the seasonal gate closures across the forest ~ yay! Some of the fan favorites that have reopened include Pine Mtn, Grade Valley, Bates and all the usual OHV gates in the Pinos District. Unfortunately, not all the gates have reopened and we’ve listed some of the gates that remain closed within this email. Sometimes information spreads slowly across the forest and we always encourage folks to contact your local District Office or check in with us to confirm if the gates are open or if you have any questions.

It’s starting to warm up but there’s still tons of water and it’s about as good as it gets in the forest right now! As always, if you are looking for trail conditions or more information from the forest, check out HikeLosPadres.com or the LPFA social media feeds. Hope to see you out there!  




Fresh off two Working Vacations in the San Rafael and Sespe Wildernesses, up next is a three-day trail project in the Dick Smith as part of National Trails Day. We’ll be car-camping at Rancho Nuevo Campground and working up-canyon from there restoring the trail as we go. If you’ve not been to this corner of the forest, it’s spectacular and should be epic this time of year after all the rains. Come one, come all, camp both nights or come for the day! We’d love the help if you feel like giving back to the trails – #NationalTrailsDay. To sign up click the link below….. 



Did you know that the Gene Marshall – Piedra Blanca Trail is one of only two federally desigated National Recreation Trails within the Los Padres NF? We’re doing our best to keep it open for people to enjoy. photo J. Nelson.



• As mentioned above, the LPFA just wrapped up a two-week Working Vacation in the San Rafael Wilderness along the Manzana Trail. We were able to complete 4 miles of trail restoration over that time thanks to a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the HUGE efforts of the 31 volunteers who helped along the way. We made a short IG reel showing some of the work and vacation from our time in the SB Backcountry. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out which is more fun! Thanks everyone….. 

• Meanwhile, the LPFA Trail Crew has continued our work on the nearby Sweetwater Trail, which is also in the San Rafael. We were able to knock out another 1.25 miles of trail over the past 10 days and will hopefully connect the dots with previous work later this season. Thanks again to NFWF for the funding support and RPL for the water huffing. 

• We also just completed a 5-day volunteer project on the Gene Marshall – Piedra Blanca Trail in the Sespe Wilderness. While it was hot, we were able to do 2.5 miles of trail restoration up towards Pine Mtn Lodge. This was 100% funded by private donations from forest users like yourself and we’re hoping to push on up to PML on an upcoming cooler weekend. Stay tuned! Thanks to the 25 volunteers who helped in the Sespe including T111, you are all welcome back anytime! 

• We also continue with our regular frontcountry volunteer trail projects in both Ojai as well as Santa Barbara, keep an eye out for those. As always, we take requests too. If there is a trail you love and would like to see given some TLC, let us know and we’ll get the ball rolling and hopefully some boots on the ground to help. Thanks everyone…. 


TRAIL VOLUNTEERS: Return to Happy Hunting Ground, Working Vacation


Happy Hunting Ground Working Vacation Continues 
April 22-28, 2024


Hello Friends, 

The LPFA and our wonderful trail volunteers just completed 3 miles of trail restoration (technically 2.9, but who’s counting?) within the San Rafael Wilderness as part of our Happy Hunting Ground Working Vacation. Woot woot! 

We had so much fun and it was so nice out there… we decided to do it again! Please consider joining us as we Return to Happy Hunting Ground ~ April 22-28 to continue our great trail work down towards South Fork Station. Here’s what you need to know: 

  • As usual, all food and tools will be provided for our volunteers. 
  • You’ll need to backpack in your own personal gear 10.7 miles from the NIRA Trailhead out to Happy Hunting Ground. It’s a beautiful hike with many creek crossings and most of our volunteers were completing the hike in 6-7 hrs. 
  • While we’d love people to come out for all 7 days, you are more than welcome to come for shorter stints too. We’ll work around your schedule. Sign up and we can work out the details from there. 
  • Our Working Vacations are really fun. A good mix of Work and Vacation. If you haven’t joined us before, check it out, you’ll have a great time! 
  • Be sure to pack your phone and a bathing suit. The views are terrific and this years water is incredible. 
  • To sign up please click the link below or email us at VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org with any questions. 

Thanks everyone, hope to see you out there…….





Manzana Trail is Where It’s At!



Hello Friends! 

It’s trail season and the LPFA will once again be hosting a Working Vacation to help maintain the backcountry trails of the Los Padres Forest. This season we are focusing on restoring the beloved Manzana Trail within the San Rafael Wilderness…..

Click Here to Help the Manzana Trail!

Starting April 6, we’ll be camping at Happy Hunting Ground Camp and spending the next week clearing the trail down towards South Fork Station. Happy Hunting Ground is a backcountry camp nestled between pines, oaks and rock outcrops along the eastern edge of the Hurricane Deck formation. If you haven’t been there before, it will be a great place to temporarily call home!

This will be a typical LPFA Working Vacation complete with pack mule support = all food and tools will be provided. Happy Hunting Ground is located 10.7 miles upstream from the NIRA Trailhead along the Manzana Trail. Each volunteer will have to only backpack in all their own personal gear while the mules will bring in the kitchen setup, food and tools for the week. 

The trail work will include crosscutting downed trees, tread repair, some rockwork and brushing. We could also use help with cooking and campground maintenance too, if that’s more to your liking. While we’d love to have you for all 10 days, there are absolutely options for shorter stays. If you’d like to join or to learn more, please email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org or click the link below. We’ll be sharing more details over the coming week or so.


Happy Hunting Ground is an amazing place! It will be fantastic working the trail, spending time at camp, helping the forest and hanging out with friends. Hope to see you there….


Backcountry Season is NOW! – Los Padres Forest

Spring has sprung or is springing across the Los Padres…

The grass is green, the big mountains are covered in snow, the creeks and rivers are flowing strong and the mountains should be calling ~ we hope you are answering….

Prime backcountry season is now! 


LPFA SPRING TRAIL WORK UPDATE

A big focus of the LPFA these past couple months has been working to clear and maintain trail access within the San Rafael Wilderness, specifically out of NIRA. The LPFA Trail Crew has been hammering on the upper reaches of the Manzana Trail while we’ve simultaneously led multiple volunteer projects on sections closer to the trailhead. While most of our work has been along the Manzana Trail, we’ve also been working the Potrero Trail and along the Hurricane Deck Trail between Potrero and the Schoolhouse.

Our goals in the San Rafael for this season are to finish restoring the Sweetwater Trail, open up the Potrero – Western Hurricane Deck – Lower Manzana lollipop and maintain the Manzana Trail from NIRA to as close to South Fork as we can. 

Lots to do, lots of fun to be had, lots of opportunities for you to answer the call and help on an upcoming volunteer project…. 

We hope to see you out there!


Manzana Trail Working Vacation

Happy Hunting Ground Camp ~ April 6-14

Join us at Happy Hunting Ground Camp within the San Rafael Wilderness as we restore the Manzana Trail. Happy Hunting Ground is a backcountry camp nestled between pines, oaks and rock outcrops along the eastern edge of the Hurricane Deck formation. This will be a typical LPFA Working Vacation complete with pack support and all food and tools will be provided. Happy Hunting Ground is located 10.7 miles upstream from the NIRA Trailhead along the Manzana Trail. Each volunteer will have to backpack in all their own personal gear while the mules will bring in the kitchen setup, food and tools for the week. We’ll be focused on restoring the Manzana Trail from Happy Hunting Ground down towards South Fork Station. The trail work will include crosscutting downed trees, tread repair, some rockwork and brushing. We could also use help with cooking and campground maintenance too, if that’s more to your liking. While we’d love to have you for all 10 days, there are absolutely options for shorter stays. If you’d like to join, please email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org or click the link below. We’ll be sharing details over the coming weeks. Happy Hunting Ground is an amazing place! It will be fantastic spending time at camp, helping the forest and hanging out with friends. Hope to see you there….



Potrero Trail: March 22-24

Join us as we continue work along the spectacular Potrero Trail within the San Rafael Wilderness. We’ll be camping three days at Potrero Camp and working up from there. Feel free to help all three days or come for a day! It’s all good. To sign up or with questions please email or click here.

St. Patty’s on the Manzana: SUNDAY

We’ll be out on the Manzana this Sunday on St. Patricks Day working to make the first mile of the trail stock passable. Should be a fantastic day! We’ll be meeting at NIRA at 0900 and should be off the trail by mid-afternoon. Please RSVP via email. Oh, and don’t forget to wear green! 

And while we have you… a few more volunteer events!


Frontcountry Volunteer Days

We have regular volunteer days scheduled across both the SB and Ojai frontcountry trails. We’ve been working every Thursday and Saturday in Ojai and have a Trailwork Tuesday project on Rattlesnake Canyon in SB scheduled for Tuesday March 19. To signup or learn more please email or click here.



Forest 411

• Highway 33 has reopened providing access into the heart of the Ventura Backcountry, the Sespe Wilderness and most importantly the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center. Quick heads up that we’ll be hosting our annual Wheeler Gorge Open House on Saturday May 11. Get it on your calendar! 

• Due to a significant landslide near Barlow Camp, the Pine Ridge Trail may be impassable to Sykes dependent on water levels. Please contact the Monterey Ranger District or the Big Sur Station with questions. 

• The Forest Service is accepting public comments through March 31 on the Piru Creek Wild & Scenic River Comprehensive River Management PlanCheck it out here

• The Santa Barbara Ranger District has extended the campfire ban across the Santa Barbara Frontcountry. To learn more click here

• The Forest Service has revised the 2023 Storm Damage Recovery closures. Some trails have reopened, some remain closed. Click here to see the order and full list of closures. 

• Earlier this month the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Forest Service’s planned Tecuya Ridge Shaded Fuelbreak Project. You can read information about the project here and about the recent ruling here

• The Forest Service is set to receive nearly $38,000,000 as part of the Thomas Fire recovery settlement. The funds should be used to “repair roads, trails, bridges and recreation sites damaged by the fire, as well as ecological recovery activities such as native plant restoration and invasive plant treatments.” For more information click here

• The Forest Service is planning a series of prescribed burns along Camino Cielo above Santa Barbara starting in March. Information can be found here and here

• Camping will be temporarily banned at San Carpoforo Beach along northern SLO County. More information – click here

• What a wonderful winter of rain we’ve had this year and two years in a row! Most of the forest has received well over normal rainfall totals and we should be looking at a nice summer with plenty of pools for cooling off. Great news! Enjoy the spring everyone and don’t forget to sign up to volunteer on some of the upcoming trail projects.

Los Padres New Years Information, LPFA

A Big Sunset Across Little Pine, no Photoshop or filters needed….


Hello Friends ~ Happy Holidays!

You’re likely getting inundated with year-end emails so we’ll keep this short but we needed to share a couple Los Padres updates before the end of the year. Let’s do this…..

Highway 33: OPEN

CalTrans reopened Hwy 33 after it had been closed for the previous 11 months. While the highway is open, there are lane closures and some campgrounds and trails remain closed. For more info click here….

Fire Restrictions

The Forest Service lifted fire restrictions; campfires are now allowed in most parts of the forest with a valid California Campfire Permit. See details and more information here….



Ventura Backcountry Updates

  • Earlier this month the LPFA was able to successfully complete a 9-day Working Vacation along the Alder Creek Trail within the eastern Sespe Wilderness. Thanks to the efforts of our volunteers and Trail Crew, we were able to maintain 5.5 miles of wilderness trail. 
  • Thank you everyone who contributed to our #GivingTuesday campaign to raise money in support of the Ventura Backcountry trails. We were able to exceed our goals and will be leading a volunteer trail project on the Sespe River Trail as soon as we get a clear weekend. Stay tuned….
  • Please join us on Saturday Jan 6 as we continue helping efforts to restore the Agua Blanca Trail within the Sespe Wilderness. Led by Alan Coles, volunteers will be meeting at Lake Piru and heading up the Agua Blanca clearing brush and downed trees. To sign up, click here
  • With the reopening of Highway 33, the LPFA was also able to reopen the beloved Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center. If you haven’t visited Wheeler Gorge, stop by next time you are in the neighborhood. We’re open weekends and holidays; just 15 minutes up from downtown Ojai. See you there….

Last but certainly not least, we need to thank all the dedicated LPFA volunteers who spend their free time in support of the forest. This includes volunteers at the Visitor Centers, our Board of Directors and of course all of you who spend time with us on the trails and within the forest. We also want to give a huge shout-out to our hard-working professional Trail Crew who spend all year helping the trails. They’re out in the forest 10 hours a day through the summer heat, the winter freeze and everything in between. Also a big thanks to all the donors, partners and grantors who support our mission in all ways imaginable. We truly could not do what we love to do without all of you!

Thank you everyone for a great 2023 with an even better 2024 on tap….

2023 Los Padres Forest Association Accomplishments


  • 9,944 volunteer hours 
  • 140 forest projects & hitches 
  • 577 individual volunteers 
  • 243 days spent on the trails 
  • 843 Trail Crew person days on the trails
  • 22,724 hours contributed to the forest 
  • 85 miles of trail maintained 
  • 495 miles of trail patrolled 
  • 731 miles of forest roads patrolled 
  • 1 one hundred and forty year old roof replaced

Thanks again everyone! Now go find some time to enjoy the forest, get a backpack in, go ride your favorite trail or take your family for a drive to a trailhead you’ve never visited. Safe travels and see you next year….


#GivingTuesday for the Ventura Backcountry Trails


Hello Friends, 

Let’s talk a little Ventura Backcountry. Highway 33, which is the primary road used to access the Ventura Backcountry, has been closed since January due to storm damage. Hwy 33 is used to visit many special places including Pine Mountain, Matilija, Rose Valley, Piedra Blanca and large portions of the Sespe Wilderness. The latest update from CalTrans is that Hwy 33 is expected to reopen sometime around the end of the year – that will be great, we can’t wait! 

Unfortunately, so many of the trails accessed from Hwy 33 remain in very bad shape. Not only are there trail-gobbling landslides, washouts and sinkholes resulting from the winter rains but the plants have also been growing like crazy, exploding with trail-guising regrowth. We’ve helped survey many of the trails off Hwy 33 and most of them need a lot of work clearing slides, brushing back the scub oak and helping to once again define where the trail should go.

We’ve started with some of the trail restoration work and have led trail projects this year on the Sespe, Piedra Blanca, Matilija, Chorro Grande, Reyes Peak, Boulder Canyon and Alder Creek Trails but we’ve just scratched the surface of what is truly needed for this amazing network of trails. 

With your support this #GivingTuesday, we’d like to make a huge push over the coming months to get as many of the gnarly sections of trail cleared and back in good shape.

Believe it or not, that is the trail, Kerr Spring Slide,
photo SoniaC

First on our trail priority list would be repairing the Kerr Spring slide along the Sespe River Trail. This section of trail just upstream from Kerr Spring has been a problem for decades but was hit exceptionally hard this past January. Over a hundred yards of trail was buried by a landslide of rock and mud. It’s a disaster and certainly hard to navigate in its current condition. We’d love to organize a combination of volunteers and hired trail professionals to camp at nearby Bear Creek and spend a couple weeks clearing this slide and reopening the Sespe. Please considering helping this #GivingTuesday

We’ll also be continuing our work on the Matilija Trail (come volunteer too!), we’d love to clear Lion Cyn again, work the GMPB up towards Pine Mtn Lodge and hack away at both Potrero John and lower Chorro. No shortage of work to be done, we can’t wait to get out there and do what we do best. 

Your support today goes a long way to helping repair the trails across the Ventura Backcountry. Thanks everyone! See you in the forest and on the trails…..




PROJECT FULL

We’ll be working the Alder Creek Trail in the Sespe Wilderness above Fillmore all of next week as part of a large scale Working Vacation. The project is full but we’re looking to clear the trail from Dough Flat out to Cow Spring and hopefully down a couple miles towards Alder Creek. Should be fun, with us luck! 

PROJECT FULL

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We’ve been chipping away at the Matilija Trail for the past few months and are now up about 2 miles from the lower trailhead. We’ll continue our regularly scheduled Thursday and Saturday volunteer days. The canyon is beautiful and we really appreciate all the hard work from the volunteers. Join the fun! 


SIGN UP HERE!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

This coming Sunday will be the second of many trail days this season pn the Agua Blanca Trail. The ABT is located above Lake Piru in the Sespe Wilderness. Super Volunteer Alan Coles will once again be leading the charge and we’ll hopefully continue pushing up towards the Devil’s Gate. Hope you can make it! 

SIGN UP HERE!


Los Padres Forest Association: For the Lines and the Green

A colored line with an epic view deep within the green, photo CHorgan


Hello Friends, 

We all love maps. Look below at the map of South Central California and you’ll notice how the Los Padres Forest is a huge green polygon surrounded by roadshields, cities and civilization. It’s so nice to have that large green polygon. Don’t you agree? It’s vital to have designated green for nature to thrive, for critters to roam and for water to flow. People seldom live in the green but having the ability to visit is also essential. The green is a space for us to reconnect and disconnect (no ports or plugs please), to recreate and educate, and the setting where we become the best version of ourselves. While seeing the green from afar is fine, it’s even better to get inside the green and soak up the forest from within. 

Leading to and within the green are colored lines which allow visitors access to explore, to watch, to witness and to be challenged. These lines are more commonly called trails and they lead to many cherished wonders within the green. The lines are used by bikers, hikers, runners and equestrians for nature viewing, backpacking, soaking and adrenaline. Most of us don’t get the chance to venture along the lines and into the green as much as we’d like. Yet we have faith that the green and the lines will be there when we need them.

If you like to visit the green polygon and use the colored lines within, then please consider donating to the LPFA this #GivingTuesday. We are out in the green along the lines just about every day (223 days and counting this year) working to ensure that the green stays green and the lines stay colored.  

We truly appreciate all the continued encouragement from our volunteers, supporters and donors and are honored to be doing what we are doing. 

See you on the lines and in the green……