Hiking & Backpacking Santa Barbara & Ventura: A Complete Guide to the Trails of the Southern Los Padres National Forest

by Craig Carey

Named for the Spanish padres who established a network of missions along California's southern and central coasts, the Los Padres National Forest is the second-largest National Forest in the state, encompassing approximately 1,950,000 acres -- nearly half of which is federally-designated wilderness.

Hiking and Backpacking Santa Barbara and Ventura fills a huge gap in coverage of this great hiking and backpacking destination, leading the reader through the varied terrain of the forest's southern districts, from the fern-clad grottoes of the Santa Barbara frontcountry to the sweeping vistas and granite-clad ridges of the Chumash Wilderness.

No other guide covers the region in such detail, and not since Dennis Gagnon's near-legendary guides in the 70s and 80s has the Santa Barbara (and Ventura) backcountry been given the guidebook treatment ... but this book goes even further. Every official trail (and many use trails) in the Santa Barbara, Ojai, and Mt. Piños districts are covered here, including those in the southern San Rafael Wilderness, Dick Smith Wilderness, Matilija Wilderness, Sespe Wilderness, Chumash Wilderness, the Santa Ynez Recreation Area, Rose Valley, the Santa Barbara and Montecito frontcountry, the Ojai frontcountry, and the Santa Paula/Fillmore frontcountry.

406 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2012

Reviews

[Zardoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide is an adequate one, but suffers from lack of maps of trails and trailheads. The descriptions are confusing without the visual guidance of area maps. The maps that are included are simple and could use more detail.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craig Carey's overview of Santa Barbara and Ventura's backcountry hiking trails and camps seems to be the only work of its kind. If you have any interest in backcountry hiking or backpacking this book is a great resource to get a description of how to find trailheads, trail recommendations, and info about campsites.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great honest detailed reviews of local trails and campsites. This book has been a good resource as we start exploring further into the Santa Barbara and Ventura backcountry.