Tag: Santa Barbara Frontcountry

LPFA Trail Days: Piedra Blanca Trail, Jan 17 – 20

Posted on by Addison Jerlow

Nothing quite like a Los Padres January sunset…. Piedra Blanca TH

Happy New Year Friends, 

For better or worse, the Los Padres has seen a dry, dry start to the winter season. While we’re all hoping for wet weather soon, we can’t just sit around and wait. So, we’re taking advantage of this unseasonably warm January to lead an overnight trail maintenance trip on the Piedra Blanca Trail this MLK Weekend, January 17 – 20. 

Join LPFA at Piedra Blanca Camp as we continue some much-needed maintenance on the Piedra Blanca Trail! We spent 5 days here last May and got a TON of trail worked. We only have 1.2 miles left to reach our goal of Pine Mountain Lodge Camp. Come out and help us brush this trail and enjoy some epic views of the Sespe Wilderness on an iconic National Recreation Trail. Click below for more info and to sign up for this project. And scroll down a little further for more upcoming volunteer opportunities! 

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

Piedra Blanca, SIGN ME UP!!!

How it started vs. how it’s going. Don’t you love a wilderness highway? Credits from left: Danny T. & Jeff N. on Piedra Blanca Trail, May 2024

MORE VOLUNTEER OPPORUNITIES

Agua Blanca Trail, Sunday Jan 12

Meet at 8am at the Temescal Fire Station at Lake Piru to join an Alan Coles Agua Blanca Trail Day. The focus on this trip is to repair some rough sections of the trail that were damaged by the flood in 2023. The hike will be 3 miles round-trip with several stream crossings. Email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org to RSVP or get more info! 

Can’t make Sunday but wish you could? These projects are ongoing, so sign up below to stay on the list for future dates…. 

AGUA BLANCA SIGNUP!!!

Matilija Trail, Ongoing

LPFA is continuing work on the North Fork Matilija Trail. The road to this trail has been closed since January 2023 and we’re working the trail in preparation for a Summer 2025 reopening date. Email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org to join us this Saturday, Jan 11 for our next project. 

These days are ongoing, twice a week. Sign up below to stay on the list for future projects!

We sure have a lot to do…. 

SB Frontcountry, Ongoing

LPFA will be out on the Tunnel Connector Trail at 8am TOMORROW, Jan 10 as part of our ongoing Santa Barbara Frontcountry Trail Projects. These have been a blast. Email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org to sign up and get more details for tomorrow, there are still a few spots left! 

We lead weekly projects on a variety of trails in the SB Frontcountry. Sign up below to stay in the loop for trail projects each week! We take requests too…. 

Matilija Signup!
SB Frontcountry Signup!

Summer Trail Update and Volunteering!

Posted on by Addison Jerlow

Grubbing is easy with twenty volunteers. Rancho Nuevo Trail looking epic as always on National Trails Day….

LPFA SUMMER TRAIL WORK UPDATE

LPFA had a successful final push through the end of spring with projects on the Mount Pinos and Ojai Ranger Districts. In May, volunteers braved the heat and rattlesnakes for 5 days to brush 2.3 miles of the Piedra Blanca Trail above Twin Forks Camp. For National Trails Day, LPFA spent 3 days working the Rancho Nuevo Trail and knocked out 1.5 miles of maintenance, including fixing one monster slide (see photo below) and clearing one giant downed oak. We then followed up on the Boulder Canyon Trail the next weekend and spent two days clearing 25 downed trees on the upper 1.5 miles of the trail. With temperatures warming, we’re grateful to be able to spend some time at higher elevations and in shady canyons while we continue working our awesome LP trails! 

We’ll be staying cool this summer by holding volunteer opportunities near some year-round LP watering holes, shady higher elevations, and cool coastal trails. There’s lot’s to do, but also lot’s of fun to be had. Check out these awesome opportunities to spend some time in the forest this season…. 

See you out there! 

Hurricane Hilary approaching last August from the Hurricane Deck Trail….

Hot Schoolhouse Summer

Manzana Schoolhouse Camp ~ July 12 – 15

LPFA made a big push to open up the western side of the Hurricane Deck Trail this past spring and we are SO CLOSE to punching through. Come help us knock out the last quarter mile of the Western Deck! We’ll be driving into Manzana Schoolhouse Camp for an extended weekend to complete work on the Deck and Schoolhouse Camp. We don’t get to do this very often so DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY! And there is still tons of water out there for a Sisquoc Pool Party after each day of great work. 

Last time we drove to the Schoolhouse, we put on a new roof. If you haven’t seen it in person yet, what better way than to join LPFA on this return visit! To get more info or sign up click the link below or email us at VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org. 

Sign Me Up For The Deck!!!

And a few more volunteer events!!!

Matilija Trail: Saturday, July 6th!

After pivoting to Cozy Dell Trail due to access issues this spring, we are happy to announce we’ll be heading BACK TO MATILIJA! Join LPFA on Saturday, July 6th as we kick off our twice weekly events on the Matilija Trail this summer. There is still epic water in this canyon, a place that should always make the top of the “best of summer” spots in the LP. Click here or email us to sign up or get more info! 

Graffiti Removal: SB Frontcountry

It’s been a major bummer to see increasing amounts of graffiti across the Forest in recent years. We’re hoping to remove as much as we can this summer at locations like Lizards Mouth, West and East Camino Cielo and Romero Trail. But, WE COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP! We also LOVE donations to our Graffiti Removal Fund to help purchase materials required for environmentally-friendly graffiti removal… Sign up here or email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org. 

Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center

LPFA manages the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center up Highway 33 and summer is our busy season! We are looking for volunteers interested in helping with day to day operations at the center, building maintenance, or visitor contacts. We’re open weekends 9am – 3pm, but it would be great to be open more too! Email us at VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org to ask how to get involved with Wheeler… 

SB Frontcountry: Ongoing Trail Maintenance

As the backcountry heat kicks in, LPFA will be leading more and more projects in the Santa Barbara Frontcountry. Come join us for a morning of trail maintenance on trails close to town including Rattlesnake, Cold Spring, and Tunnel. First up is Rattlesnake Trail on JULY 9th! Sign up here or email us to get on the list for updates as we schedule projects throughout the summer. 

We’d love to work as many trails as we can this summer. Donations help us do just that. Consider donating to our Trail Care Fund to keep us working all summer long…..

DONATE TO THE TRAILS!!!

Ocean? Fog? Both? Does it matter? Coastal views from high up in the Ventana

Forest 411

  • While summertime in the Los Padres can be a challenge, there’s plenty of great water across the forest this year and no shortage of trails and off-trails to explore even when the temperatures get into the red. That being said, remember that heat related illnesses are a major concern this time of year. Be prepared, know the signs and act quickly.
  • Speaking of heat, there have been a few wildfires bookending the Los Padres over the past few weeks. The Coast Fire up in Big Sur and the Post Fire down in Hungry Valley. The Post Fire (90% contained) is the bigger of the two and burned nearly 16,000 acres. Stay fire safe everyone.
  • Summertime is also deer hunting season here in the Los Padres. A-Zone South archery kicks off July 13 and general on August 10. We’ll share this information again in the coming weeks but as usual expect the forest to get very busy during the opening weekends of A-Zone.
  • “Poaching is a serious crime”. The Los Padres poachers who illegally obtained over 85 big game licenses and tags were found guilty and sentenced. More information is available here and here.
  • Patrick Lieske, who was one of our buddies with the Forest Service, tragically passed away in April due to an accidental drowning while crossing a fast flowing Santa Ynez River. Patrick was a biologist working on the Los Padres and helped us with quite a few projects over the years. Patrick had a tangible passion for the outdoors and for all the local critters who call the outdoors home. We’re going to miss Patrick, he was good for the forest and we truly appreciated all his help and shared wisdom over the years.

From left: Sawyers tackle one of many downed trees on Boulder Canyon; nothing like the walk back to camp on your freshly-brushed trail (Piedra Blanca, J. Nelson); brusher/swamper teams made quick work on Rancho Nuevo Trail

Forest Gates Opening & Volunteer Trail Work Updates

Posted on by Bryan Conant

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….. 

Rancho Nuevo Volunteer – YES!

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…. 

Donate to the Trails