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MyspaceTRAIL INFORMATION
Distance-1 mile to Middle Fork intersection; 2 miles to Gibraltar Road.
Elevation Gain-450’ to Middle Fork intersection; 1175’ to Gibraltar Road.
Difficulty-Moderately strenuous
Topo-Santa Barbara
HIGHLIGHTS
Though not a long nor well-known trail, it leads up a very pretty canyon to Gibraltar Road. A side trip along the way leads to Tangerine Falls and the upper end of the Middle Fork canyon. For those of you familiar with the old switchbacks above the turnoff to Tangerine Falls, these were wiped out by floods in 2005. The trail has been recut down into the canyon and around the slide area. As a result it now passes by the historic water tunnel that was bored into the mountainside in 1905.
DIRECTIONS
The trail is reached from Hot Springs Road in Montecito. From Santa Barbara, take the Hot Springs exit (you’ll need to be in the fast lane) and follow it about 0.75 miles until you reach the Highway 192 intersection. Turn left on Highway 192 and follow this for one mile to Cold Spring Road. Turn right and continue up past Westmont College to Mountain Drive. Turn right and go a half mile east to the trailhead. Park near the point where the creek crosses the road.
RECENT WORK
Over the past year and a half, the West Fork Trail has received a lot of attention. In winter 2005 the trail was devastated by several major storms that caused a number of massive slides. One above the turnoff to Tangerine Falls completely destroyed the trail. Thanks to efforts by MTF (Montecito Trails Foundation) immediately after the storms and over the last year by the Los Padres Forest Association trail crew, the trail has been completely rebuilt. Though there is still more work to be done to fine tune the trail, it is now much safer for all users.
Ray Ford
Maps displays the Cold Springs trail network.
THE HIKE
Unlike most of the trails, which run in a north-south direction, the West Fork follows an east-west course. The reason for this can be found in the geology of this particular area. Matilija Sandstone lies on the north side of the trail; Coldwater Sandstone is on the south side. Sandwiched in between is a layer known as Cozy Dell Shale. High along the crest the shale forms impressive saddles. As it dips across the ocean side of the Santa Ynez Mountains, it forms what are known as strike canyons, which flow at right angles to the main canyons. The West Fork Trail winds its way up the largest of these strike canyons.
To reach the West Fork trail, hike up the East Fork trail a quarter mile to a very pretty waterfall with a nearby bench. Cross the creek and look for the trail behind a series of large boulders. The trail climbs slowly, undulating up the left side of the narrow canyon. In the afternoon this section is shade covered, making the hike pleasant on hot summer days.
Ray Ford
Most of the West Fork Trail is on north-facing slopes which keeps the hiking cooler.
The path wanders through dense green canyon vegetation for three quarters of a mile before opening into the valley. Slightly to right of center is a magnificent 200-foot high waterfall. This is Tangerine Falls. The side trail leading up to it is not too far beyond the viewpoint.
Just past the turnoff for Tangerine Falls, the main West Fork trail climbs a bit then crosses to the right side of the canyon. There is often quite a bit of poison oak in this area so I carry a pair of clippers just in case I need to trim some of it back. A hundred yards above here the trail crosses the creekbed and begins a series of switchbacks which take you directly uphill for several hundred feet until you are no longer in the canyon but high up on the hillside.
Ray Ford
Historic water tunnel was a main source of water for Santa Barbara in the early 1900s.
Once you are at the end of the switchbacks, the trail climbs steeply for several hundred yards up through a very pretty tunnel of hillside chaparral and crosses two small wooden bridges which are very cute (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen them). At this point the trail opens out into the full sunlight and on a hot day it can be very tough hiking up to the road.
Just beyond the second bridge the trail turns north and climbs across a small knoll. The views back down the canyon are very pretty and in the “vee” formed by the lower hillsides you can see the Carpinteria Valley. Above, the views are equally nice. Near the top of the ridge you’ll notice a large rock formation. This is Cold Springs Dome, a popular rock climbing area.
By Ray Ford
A half mile of new trail was constructed around a major slide in the canyon by the LPFA Trail Crew.
Previous Month
Comments
It's a shame the Forest Service allows tractors like the one pictured here on these trails. They destroy large roots and grind big sandstones that the trail should leave alone.
Georgy (anonymous profile)
October 27, 2008 at 8:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Georgy, I don't see you out there with a shovel ;)
loonpt (anonymous profile)
October 29, 2008 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hi Gregory - my first comment, since I'm the one who did the work and own the tractor - is that there was no trail here. Because of the slide, we were forced to make a complete re-route around it for a half mile. The work on this section would have taken a minimum of 10x longer and the costs would have been prohibitive. Use of it also enables us to build erosion control features like dips that would not get done by hand, especially along sections of trail that have deep gullies. The alternative are trails that only get more damaged and harder to maintain. On the other hand, within the year, once the vegetation grows back a bit, it is almost impossible to see that the tractor has been used. I'm sorry if this offends you but the work that is being done is important.
riveray (Ray Ford)
October 30, 2008 at 7:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I guess people should be glad I am not doing the trails if they think a mini excavator is bad. I would of just used a small dozer. Really the damage done by heavy equipment is really minimal to the overall process and time frame. Thaks for a great job River Ray.
Thisislame (anonymous profile)
July 31, 2009 at 10:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)