Central Coast Backpacking

Sykes Hot Springs might be open, depending on the Big Sur Fire. Also Skyline to the Sea in Santa Cruz Mountains. Actually, there are a bunch in SC mountains! I’d say the same about Big Sur but idk what’s left after the fire.

Do not forget about Henry Coe State Park by Gilroy.  2nd largest park in Cal….

Thanks,

Jay Wilkerson

There’s lots of backpacking in Big Sur.  I prefer hiking within this area between Feb and May when there’s plenty of water and everything is green.  It’s completely different than the Sierra’s as there’s limited campsites due to the steepness of the hills and thick brush.  Cone Mountain is a great hike, and portion from Kirk Creek camp ground to Vicente Flat is one of the best view hikes in California.  But there’s lots of poison oak so one needs to dress accordingly.  Plus, because of the limited campsites, it may be congested on the weekends.

Another great option is Point Reyes National Seashore.  There’s designated campsites you have to camp at, so no privacy, but  the hiking on certain trails can be much more isolated as opposed to the Sierra’s.  Again, I prefer hiking this area between January and May because everything is lush green.

LOST COAST!

Normally I would say Big Sur as that is my favorite stomping grounds, but because of the Sobranes fire I believe most of the wilderness is closed.  The parts that are open are most likely more crowded than usual, and the air quality will be unpredictable. Also keep in mind that fire fighting activity is high and the less traffic in the area the better to clear the way for the fire fighters.  I too am looking for places to go, my eyes are on the sierras.  Above suggestions are good, Lost Coast is on my list as well as Henry Coe. Something tells me that Henry Coe will be hot this time of year though.

Santa Cruz Trail – can’t believe howl ong I have been backpacking around Santa Barbara and have never been to the Santa Cruz camp.  I have day hiked several times to Alexander Saddle, and would say winter or spring would be the best time to do that hike.  That area is presently burning, so next year could be an very interesting year to check it out.

Some of my favorite hikes of the area:

Indian caves out of Doe Flat – it has been over ten years since I was there, but it was fabulous.  Not sure I could find it again but PM me if you want some more info, would rather not post it publicly

Alder Creek and beyond out of Doe Flat.  Same general area as above, but a well exablished trail you caould find on the internet.  The traiil leads eventually into the sespe gorge.  If the water is low and you have good rock climbing skills, you could make this a two night loop and go out a different way.  Again PM me for details as I would have to look into it a bit for the route out.  A friend of mine has done it.

Gene Marshall trail  – end to end is a lot of fun but the logistics are time consuming.  In and out from Reyes Creek is fairly popular, don’t go during hunting season though.  When I say popular you might see others on the trail, but generally we don’t.  You will hike through several different ecosystems.  Camping at beartrap is rather nice, it is our annual December trip, elevation 5000 feet and we have camped in the snow (2015 and other years)

Montana De Oro – not so much a backpacking trip but my wife and I spent 2 nights in the environmental camps a year or two ago, and did tons of day hiking.  Certainly there will be other pople there, but head out on some of the more remote trails and you will see few people, and there are some great loops.

Here is a decent two night trip that could be done as a rather long day hike, or as a hike in late one evening, then a longer day, then out early the next morning.  Hike the Cold Springs trail either from SB (adds 4 miles and 2000′ elevation gain) up the top or just drive to the ridge along east camino cielo and begin there.  hike down to Cottom Camp, or if you want something more remote go an extra couple miles to Blue Canyon camp (worth the effort).  Next day go from Cottom camp to the Santa Ynex River bed, and continue on to Mono Camp by hiking upstream then walking along the road. From Mono camp head back the river, cross and head up to Forbush camp.  Spend the night there and hike out the next morning.

There is also some great hiking out of the Nira campground, either up to Manzana Narrows and beyond (Hurricane Deck) or down stream to Manzana School house.

Hope that helps, Matt

Thanks for all the input.  I will definitely look more into these for upcoming trips.  The Lost Coast trail looks fun as it involves beach hiking, something totally different from the Sierras.

Bri- Besides Skyline to Sea, any other great hikes in the Santa Cruz mountains?

Matt-Thanks for all the options. Montana de Oro is a spectacular place, I go on day hikes out there all the time.  Once you get on top of the ridge from Colds Springs trail, is all cross country to Cottom, Blue Canyon, and Mono Camps?

No cross country involved for the hikes I mentioned.  I am not crazy about the maps on this site, but it could give you a better feel for the area.  If you wanted to hike it I would suggest getting this:  https://bryanconant.com/2015/04/26/dick-smith-and-matilija-wilderness-map/

You can buy them from his website, but they are also available in stores like REI and Open Air Sports here in Santa Barbara.  You can learn which camp sites have what facilities on this site:  http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/hikes/caminocielo/forbushflat.  (or navigate to Blue Canyon, Cottam, etc.)

You can see a very low resolution map of the area if you go to this web page:  http://www.hikelospadres.com/forbush-campground.html

hit the “-” button 2 or 3 times until you can see Forbush, Cottam, Blue Canyon in a horizontal row, and a blue 2 north of Forbush.  The 2 is two things, one is a trail head and the other is Mono camp.  The green lines are the trail, and as you might find the trail from Cottam to Mono is half trail, half road.  The road is very lightly used and not paved.  Anyway, this will give you a visual of the trip from a map point of view.  If you start at Camino Cielo road (South of Forbush) it is about 1.5 miles to Forbush, and close to 2 miles to Cottam, and another just less than 2 miles to Blue Canyon.  That will just give you an idea of the scale of the map.

One of my favorite sections is the hike south from the river to Forbush.  There is a section here that has some travertine pools, small waterfall (depending on the present lflow) and lots of ferns.  Very different from the surrounding vegetation and terrain.

Santa Cruz mountains: Lots of trails split across many parks. Here’s a 100 mile loop that links a bunch of trails and camps together:

http://tinyurl.com/100mileloop

Other areas I’ve backpacked but others have not mentioned yet:

Point Reyes National Seashore has some nice, if relatively tame backpacking:

http://www.nps.gov/pore

PRNS is part of a 100 mile loop in Marin County:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/90733/

If you don’t mind lots of aircraft noise, variations on this Ohlone Wilderness Trail trip in might work:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/ohlone-wilderness-trail-central-california/

Areas I might try someday:

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument has some nice trails and backpacking, though big chunks have burned recently:

http://www.fs.fed.us/visit/berryessa-snow-mountain-national-monument

If you are really adventurous, you might try backpacking in Carrizo Plain National Monument:

http://www.blm.gov/publish/content/ca/en/prog/nlcs/Carrizo_Plain_NM.html

— Rex

A couple more Central California backpacking trips on my wish list:

Angel Island State Park – campsites with views in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=468

Channel Islands National Park – camping and hiking on several islands. Ferry riders often see whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals.I worked on Santa Rosa Island for two days this spring, and want to go back.

https://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm

— Rex

I’ve only done Skyline in Santa Cruz, but I used to live in the mountains (Felton and Scotts Valley) and there are endless trails out there. You can always connect trails, as Rex suggested. If you call Big Basin ranger station and Henry Cowell state park, you might get more info on permits and places that are open for overnighters. REI has a few good maps of the area. I have the one for Skyline to the Sea and, for having lived out there for 6 years, I was amazed at how much was the out there that I’d never explored. The weather in Santa Cruz area is great pretty much all year round, so there’s really no bad time to explore. If you end up in that area and don’t have a fear of heights, check out the zip line course at Mount Hermon Redwood Canopy Tours. I was a guide there and I cannot recommend it enough; 6 zips, 2 suspension bridges, 150 feet in the air, zip up to 35 mph, and zip among old and new growth redwoods. Sorry, that has nothing to do with backpacking, but it’s such a cool place, I thought I’d recommend it. :)

I want to reinforce that if you haven’t done the Lost Coast, it’s really pretty spectacular. My favorite hike on that trail involved dropping bikes at Usul Beach, driving to Matole, and then hiking back to the bikes, biking to Matole, and then driving to pick up packs for a fast 5 day trip. Note that the lost coast annoyingly follows Yosemite’s bear can requirements. You can rent Garcia cans from the ranger station.

Skyline to the sea makes a nice overnight, a mellow weekend, or an intense single day hike.

I also thing Henry Coe is worth dorking around in. You can actually do a lot of miles. It’s just not, in my opinion, particularly spectacular. Nice mountain biking (or bike packing).

Pescadero Creek park is nice for a very mellow single overnight.

Some really nice central coast hikes near Santa Barbara/Ojai:

1. From Rose Valley/Piedras Blancas trailhead go to Pine Mtn. Lodge to Mutau Flat (you can make an additional side trip to Fishbowls) to Johnston Ridge Trail to Sespe Hot Springs and then return via the Sespe trail (can visit Willets Hot Springs, too). Really nice loop. Don’t know the water situation between Pine Mtn Lodge and Sespe. There may not be any.
2. Do an up and back along the Matillija Trail. Maple Camp is your last camp with water. There should be water there.
3. From Nira trailhead, go to Manzana Narrows, Happy Hunting Ground, South Fork Station, down the Sisquoc to the Schoolhouse and back to Nira. This trail along the Sisquoc can be faint and full of foxtails at times. Probably not much water right now. Maybe wait for some rain.
4. From Nira Trailhead, go to Manzana Narrows, to South Fork Station, up the Upper Sisquoc as far as you want (Upper Bear is nice) and back. This trail can sometimes be a little faint the closer you get to Bear. Unsure the water situation right now.
5. From Nira, go to Manzana Narrows, to Big Cone Spruce, climb up to McKinley Road, go to McKinley Camp, then to Mission Pine Springs, Mission Pine Basin, using a GPS, find your way down the Fall Canyon trail to Mansfield, then down the Sisquoc to South Fork Station and back out via Manzana. This is called the Santa Barbara High Route. It’s a little indistinct in the Fall Canyon area. There’s water at Mission Pine Springs, at a spring on Fall Canyon Trail, and maybe on the Sisquoc, maybe not.

A fire has burned up the Santa Cruz Trail pretty good. It’s closed right now.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations, I got some great leads for my next trip.