Exploring The Los Padres National Forest
1,257 Miles of Trails on 1,762,400 Acres, with 875,000 Acres of Protected Wilderness to Explore.
Thank you for taking the time to visit the Hike Los Padres Community. This website was created with the mission of being a source of shared information on trails, camps, and locations across the entire Northern and Southern portions of the Los Padres National Forest. The more information we all share and catalog, the better we can track the conditions of the forest network and figure out what sections, trails, and locations are safe to use and which need maintenance.
A good portion of the interior of Los Padres National Forest gets very little use by the public, so any information on these areas will ensure that these places remain accessible for future generations of hikers, backpackers, trail runners, equestrians, O.H.V, hunters, cyclists, and explorers. Many of the trails listed may be unmaintained. Know your level of ability, and always remember to bring extra water.
In partnership with the Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA). The LPFA’s mission is to care for the Los Padres Forest, ensuring it thrives and remains safe and open for the people to use and enjoy. LPFA volunteers work to keep trails open, report and assess forest conditions and provide public education on how to use the forest safely. If you are interested in becoming a member or volunteering, please visit www.lpforest.org to learn more.
Over 1000+ Cataloged Locations
Location specific weather reports, recent camp and trail surveys, water data and much more.
Explore the hiking trails of the Los Padres National Forest. Combine trails to make loop trips, discover new trails for backpacking, or find new areas to explore.
205 Hiking Trails
View All 205 Trails →
This updated list on camps enables you to find a new camp to visit anytime; we have included all car campgrounds and trail camps in this section.
293 Camps
View All 293 Camps →
We got you covered on the O.H.V areas, including Google maps view of all trails, slope gains and losses, so you can be prepared for your next off road adventure.
56 OHV Trails
View All O.H.V. Trails →
Recent Water Reports
View All Water Reports
Latest Camp Reports
Please click on a report below to view the survey
- Mono Campground Survey - 1-1-1936 - by Los Padres Forest Association
Link: | Mono Campground |
Date: | 1-1-1936 |
Surveyor Name: | Los Padres Forest Association |
Camp Description: | Historic video showing the construction of the Mono Debris Dam from 1936, enjoy!
https://archive.org/details/CCCAtMono1936 |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | |
Weather Conditions: | |
- Manzana Schoolhouse Camp Survey - 04-21-2024 - by Turbo
Link: | Manzana Schoolhouse Camp |
Date: | 04-21-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Turbo |
Camp Description: | Camp is grassy and lumpy. Most fire rings have grass in them. Toilet needs some work-missing boards. |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | 1-3’ |
Weather Conditions: | |
- Manzana Schoolhouse Camp Survey - 04-20-2024 - by James Downey
Link: | Manzana Schoolhouse Camp |
Date: | 04-20-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | James Downey |
Camp Description: | Really gorgeous walk from Lower Manzana TH to the school house. Flowers in full bloom and lush grass everywhere. Hurricane deck equally as beautiful. Hot and exposed with tons of elevation gain, but lovely hike nonethe less. Took about 5 hours to hike out from Manzana School House. |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | Fast flow of river, deepest river crossing was just above knee deep (I'm 5'10") |
Weather Conditions: | 75 and sunny |
- Twin Forks Camp Survey - 04-20-2024 - by Anonymous Surveyor
Link: | Twin Forks Camp |
Date: | 04-20-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Anonymous Surveyor |
Camp Description: | Roughly 7 river crossings to camp where 4 were knee, thigh and waist deep. Annoying gnats on the trail. Poison oak and ticks around the campsite. Firepit had left over wood, but you need saw to break them down to smaller pieces. |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | An abundance flow. |
Weather Conditions: | Mid 70s and low 50s |
- Three Peaks Camp Survey - 04-19-2024 - by Anonymous Surveyor
Link: | Three Peaks Camp |
Date: | 04-19-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Anonymous Surveyor |
Camp Description: | Accessible from the Coast Ridge Road by an OHV, Three Peaks Camp is right next to a small, flowing creek. Main camp can handle 3-4 tents and there is a smaller site 75m upstream that can handle 1-2 tents. Both have fire rings. Only the lower camp has the same dilapidated bench pictured from 2022. |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | flowing well after spring rains |
Weather Conditions: | clear and 65 degrees |
- Alder Creek Camp - Silver Peak Wilderness Survey - 04-16-2024 - by Rob
Link: | Alder Creek Camp - Silver Peak Wilderness |
Date: | 04-16-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Rob |
Camp Description: | Accessible by a rutted forest road, Alder Creek camp is a large camp at the junction of two creeks in a large draw. It has shade and 4 large spots, each big enough for 3-4 tents and each with a picnic table. Main site had a tree fall in the middle of it; picnic table missing one side bench (pic). |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | both creeks flowing well after spring rains |
Weather Conditions: | Clear, 70 degrees |
- Fish Creek Camp Survey - 04-13-2024 - by Los Padres Forest Association
Link: | Fish Creek Camp |
Date: | 04-13-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Los Padres Forest Association |
Camp Description: | Recent McCaslin article about the Manzana and Fish Camp. Enjoy....
https://www.noozhawk.com/dan-mccaslin-fish-creek-canyon-lures-hikers-for-spring-backpacking |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | Mucho WATER! |
Weather Conditions: | |
- Madulce Camp Survey - 04-11-2024 - by Red
Link: | Madulce Camp |
Date: | 04-11-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Red |
Camp Description: | |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | |
Weather Conditions: | |
- Rays Camp Survey - 04-10-2024 - by Daniel O'Shea
Link: | Rays Camp |
Date: | 04-10-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Daniel O'Shea |
Camp Description: | Is a nice spot to stay if you are looking to go a little further than Fish Camp! I could only find one established spot and it is right next to river which is very nice. |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | NIce spot! |
Weather Conditions: | 70 sunny |
- Big Cone Spruce Camp Survey - 04-10-2024 - by Daniel O'Shea
Link: | Big Cone Spruce Camp |
Date: | 04-10-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Daniel O'Shea |
Camp Description: | The trek from Manzana Narrows here was a little grueling. Lots of poison oak, downed trees, erosion, bushwhacking. So this place was a great lunch spot on my way up to McKinley Peak! |
Water Source: | Flowing |
Water Source Details: | Good strong flow but a little tricky to get to |
Weather Conditions: | 70 and sunny |
View All Camp Reports
Latest Trail Reports
Please click on a report below to view the survey
- Rose Lion Trail Survey - 08-01-2024 - by Neal L
Link: | Rose Lion Trail |
Date: | 08-01-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Neal L |
Trail description: | This trail is in good shape and is easy to follow. There was some minor brush in a few sections, but otherwise just fine. |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Lost Valley Trail Ventana Wilderness Survey - 04-21-2024 - by Anonymous Surveyor
Link: | Lost Valley Trail Ventana Wilderness |
Date: | 04-21-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Anonymous Surveyor |
Trail description: | I tried to hike on this trail from Escondido Camp to Fish Camp (so that I could pass by pothole slide waterfall, near Fish Camp). After hiking 1 mile from Escondido Camp and reaching the arroyo seco river, the trail became very difficult to follow. It was overgrown with bushes, poison oak, and obstructed by downed trees. At no point was there simply soil underfoot, we were hiking over grass and shrubs. At times I was not even sure I was following the original trail. After a half mile of that we turned back around. I think it would be fun to come back with some strong hikers and machetes and clear the way, but that was an effort I was not prepared for this time around. |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Non existent |
- Manzana Trail West (Lower) Survey - 04-21-2024 - by Turbo
Link: | Manzana Trail West (Lower) |
Date: | 04-21-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Turbo |
Trail description: | Trail is in great shape. Flagging is pretty easy to follow. Trail is pretty well defined. No tick or snake sightings |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Manzana Trail West (Lower) Survey - 04-21-2024 - by Anonymous Surveyor
Link: | Manzana Trail West (Lower) |
Date: | 04-21-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Anonymous Surveyor |
Trail description: | Most crossings were thigh deep or less. Trekking poles were helpful for the deeper crossings |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Manzana Trail East (Upper) Survey - 04-21-2024 - by Erin Carroll
Link: | Manzana Trail East (Upper) |
Date: | 04-21-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Erin Carroll |
Trail description: | South Fork to White Ledge can be a bit rough in some areas with a few downed trees, brushy sections, etc, but totally passable. White Ledge to Nira it is clear how much work LPFA has put into the trail. Bravo! My favorite section is White Ledge to Manzana Narrows. That is a special piece of trail. Some of the crossings are a little sketchy right now due to the strong water current. |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Manzana Trail East (Upper) Survey - 04-20-2024 - by Daniel J. Hall
Link: | Manzana Trail East (Upper) |
Date: | 04-20-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Daniel J. Hall |
Trail description: | Went only from NIRA to Rays Camp. Trail in good shape and easy to follow. There were, however, a few minor brush and tread problems developing, primarily in the last mile before Rays Camp. Backpacked it April 16 - 18, only 3 to 5 days after the latest storm, and Manzana Creek was still running high and fast in places. However, the water was clear and there was lots of bright green grass on the mountainsides. Lost Valley, Fish and Rays Camps were all in good shape.
For more detail see the captioned photos at https://tinyurl.com/23qymttq |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Sisquoc Trail Upper Survey - 04-20-2024 - by Erin Carroll
Link: | Sisquoc Trail Upper |
Date: | 04-20-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Erin Carroll |
Trail description: | I have a lot of respect for Michael McGurk completing this entire trail earlier this year. We wanted to make it up to Alamar from South Fork, but we only made it about 1 mile upstream of South Fork before we gave up. We did see some brush trimmings after climbing up out of south fork, so someone has been trying to do a little work in that section. Then we crossed the river where we saw a pink flag, but no trail anywhere near the flag. We spent about 30 minutes in that location and then we hiked up a secondary stream bed and found the trail again. We crossed the river one more time and found the trail. Then the crossing after that also had a flag but it was just nothing but overgrown poison oak and I didn't see any sign of the trail. My legs are all red from the poison oak as I write this (and I was wearing long pants and long sleeve shirt). Even my dog got poison oak! I might have gone further up this trail if I was by myself but I had my dog with me and my friend who was hiking with me didn't want to go further and I couldn't fault him for that decision. We turned around and hiked back to Nira instead of doing the bigger loop we had planned to do. Sometimes you have to know when to cut your losses and turn around. |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Non existent |
Condition details: | Needs a massive amount of work. Tons of poison oak. |
- Sisquoc Trail Lower Survey - 04-19-2024 - by Erin Carroll
Link: | Sisquoc Trail Lower |
Date: | 04-19-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Erin Carroll |
Trail description: | I am not sure how to review this trail, so I am giving it good shape and easy to follow rating, but that's not entirely true. It can be confusing at times and you might just end up hiking along the edge of the river and walking off trail. The trail itself (when you are not crossing the river) doesn't need much work except maybe some weed wacking. This is one of the coolest trails I have ever hiked. Everyone needs to do it at least once in their lifetime. So remote, amazing views and a stunning river. Some of the crossings right now are chest to head high and potentially dangerous. We had to hike around one crossing that was head high and try and find a better crossing upstream. The lower Sisquoc is a true adventure right now with all the water flowing! This area blew my mind and is WOW WOW WOW right now! |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Manzana Trail West (Lower) Survey - 04-18-2024 - by Erin Carroll
Link: | Manzana Trail West (Lower) |
Date: | 04-18-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Erin Carroll |
Trail description: | Mostly good trail and easy to follow, but prepare to have wet feet. There was one section of trail where the trail is above the private road, right before the Schoolhouse that was really funky and needs work. Downed oak tree, etc. One crossing was a little sketchy with my dog and the water current was strong. Beautiful out there right now. The turtle and the donkeys were awesome! |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Good shape and easy to follow |
- Buckeye Trail Survey - 04-17-2024 - by Rob
Link: | Buckeye Trail |
Date: | 04-17-2024 |
Surveyor Name: | Rob |
Trail description: | Started on the buckeye trail in the north from alder creek camp heading south towards Cruickshank Camp. This single track trail has lots of shade, but is a little overgrown, and I had to spend about 15 minutes clearing a large fallen tree branch from the path. The trail is mostly clear and passable, with some encroaching poison oak and other vegetation. Mostly downhill, following the creek until after you cross it and enter the silver peak wilderness. There are some great views of the ocean after crossing the creek that make the whole hike worth it. After the ocean views, expect undergrowth and deadfall to get moderately worse and take a few short detours around various obstacles. For the Buckeye Trail, leading South out of villa Creek, I have two words: poison oak. It’s encroaching the trail for a mile at least. North Buckeye camp has a brand new picnic table and room for about three or four tents; water in nearby creek was flowing. The open grassy field nearby is beautiful. The campsite just to the south of the Buckeye flats overlooks the ocean and has the perfect place to watch the sunset. The trail from Buckeye to the salmon creek trail head is clear and well traveled, but encroached by poison oak at a few spots; needs a trim. Lots of shade leaving out of the camp. View to the south of the Hearst headlands and Piedras Blancas is gorgeous and the terrain opens up as we lose the shade for a little while. Several creeks on the way were flowing in late April, with a couple of really nice waterfalls. The last mile to the closed ranger station is mostly coastal scrub, no trees, no shade. Recommend hiking this portion of the trail in the morning or the late afternoon. |
Mode of transport: | Hike |
Trail condition: | Needs some work |
Condition details: | Poison Oak and deadfall |
View All Trail Reports