Carrizo Trail - Los Padres National Forest
Trail Distance 5.29 Miles

Submitted Trail Reports

Carrizo Trail Survey - 04-28-2018 - by Matt diCicco

Link:	Carrizo Trail
Date:	04-28-2018
Surveyor Name:	Matt diCicco
Trail description:	Carrizo Trail to Cone Peak - 4/28/18 Started off at Salsipuedes Rd / Rd 6.  Suggest not parking down near the bridge if your car has low clearance, as there is a steep section that's a little gnarley.  Poison Oak avoidable most of the hike, ticks not so much.  Saw two very well fed rattlers.   Hiking by sections:  - First 1/2 mile through meadow  - Incline begins and remains very steady throughout hike to the ridge  - Very cool waterfall about 2 miles in from trail head / 1 mile downhill from Carrizo Springs. As you climb up, you would hear it off to the left we hiked in April and it was visible and audible, but about 200 yards across a ravine to the North.  - There is no sign at the Carrizo Springs, but you really can't miss it. Very large Oak Tree which is otherwise out of place on this trail. Springs are audible and downhill from the trail to the left in willow and reeds. Considerable poison oak.   - About 1/4 - 1/2 mile after the Carrizo Springs some very cool rock gardens with hollowed out features.  - Once you hit the saddle about 1/2 - 3/4 mile after the Carrizo Springs, you head downhill for a few hundred yards. Watch out for yucca, and here the trail gets very very narrow and requires some bushwacking. This area needs a team of scouts with pruning loppers. Most of the trail is very well taken care of though.   - As you go downhill through the scrub you end up at a very welcome little stream. Plenty of water in late April, not sure about the summer months.  - Now you're going uphill for what I considered a pretty tough slog to the summit. Scrub turns to pine forest as you near the summit.   - If you're going to Cone Peak as we were, avoid going to the right to Cook Springs. Signage is minimal up here at the ridge, so I'd suggest a good map. We used the Avenza Topo app on iPhone and set pins along the way. Great help. By the way, good AT&T service nearly the entire time.  - At the ridge  you'll start to wander South, and will finally come out of the pine forest and see Cone Peak. It's still another 1,000 feet of climbing from there, which gets tough.   - You'll pass the Gamboa trail connector going south and keep walking. At a certain point the ridge road switches back downhill on the East side of the ridge. There's a decently well beaten path that takes you up the spine of the ridge all the way to the Summit of Cone Peak at this point.  This is the route we took, to avoid going back downhill on the ridge road just to turn around and go back uphill to the Summit.   - The spine of the ridge has some sketchy parts for sure. Use caution and move slowly.  Unless you're a marathon runner you're likely to be well out of gas at this point in the hike. One of the best hikes I've ever done. Seeing the ocean at the ridge was a great treat, plus the breeze up there was a bonus.  Our round trip was just about 14 miles. Did it in a day, and it was tough. Â
Mode of transport:	Hike
Trail condition:	Needs some work

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