Edhat Reader
I have tried to find out why the road is closed to the Santa Barbara back country. No one at the Forest Service is able to tell me.
I just read an article about how wonderful the Trust is for preserving nature. How about letting us taxpayers access that nature?
It might help if you mention what road or specifically are concerned about. And I’m not sure what Trust you are talking about in your post. Generally, many roads in the Los Padres National Forest are closed due to severe damage from the storms of the past couple of winters.
The roads are in poor condition, completely washed out in places, and from photos I’ve seen, a couple roads are just plain _gone_. It’s gonna take a while for those roads to be rebuilt, if in fact they are ever going to be.
You can check the status of each of the roads here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/lpnf/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5307964
And you can read the Forest Service’s closure order here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1194448.pdf
The most revealing part of the article was the use of the word “taxpayer”, which these days tends to indicate a clueless right-winger trying to incite unhappiness.
I think you meant triggering
Too true; unfortunate how “taxpayer”, “citizen”, “patriot” and even the displaying of the national flag all have additional meanings that are exclusive rather than inclusive.
I think you can drive a vehicle to the locked gate and walk or ride a bike from there
The USFS doesn’t care that we don’t have access to our Public Roads in the Los Padres Forrest. If you don’t have access to the Red Rock camping areas, they don’t have to patrol or maintain facilities… THEY DON”T CARE. Go check out the USFS Los Padres Office in Solvang, totally overstaffed, at least 20 USFS vehicles parked in the lot, including high end Ford Broncos. Anyone remember the Lake Fire this past summer that started at Zaca Lake…? There was virtually no response from Forest Sevice firefighting resources until the next day, even though Zaca Lake was an available water resource for a helicopter attack. They, USFS, let it burn up the entire front country, including Figueroa Mountain camping areas. Still no cause given today. They are mismanaged and need a serious audit. Shame on them.
The road was washed out and in pretty bad shape. If I recall correctly, it was washed out twice – was repaired a few years back, then washed out again. It’s been a bit dicey back there for quite a long time, and I can see that it might not be possible or practical to repair it. Think: Hwy 1 near Big Sur, that washed out, got repaired, washed out again. It might be a losing battle. Nature wins.
Yeah the first crossing at the Los prietos boys camp got severely damaged and hasn’t been repaired, along with several other stretches on the way to red rock. I sort of doubt the forest service will ever make the necessary repairs for car access. It’s basically a bike in deal now, or a long hike to get way back in. Good news is way less people back in there now.
Exactly. It’s better now that there is less access for cars. Just hike in as far as you want to go, thirty minutes or more and you’ll likely have the place to yourself
Confused by mention of the Trust. If he means the Land Trust for SB, they have nothing to do with the National Forest. Sounds like someone not too familiar with the back country.
You absolutely can. Step out of the vehicle and get some exercise!
It’s always much nicer when the roads are closed.
Try reading about the Steelhead protection in the Santa Ynez River.
The Steelhead is now being protected in the river.
I’ve seen how locals run there ATV’s in the river.
I get it.
The best way to see the headwaters of the Santa Ynez River is by foot, horseback, or mountain bike. You have to take East Camino Cielo as far as you can, hopefully the Romero Saddle, where you’ll probably encounter a locked gate. So that’s where you leave your car and use other means, down the road to Juncal Campground. Take Juncal Road east, up the canyon towards Jameson Reservoir. That road ascends the south side of the reservoir and continues up into the headwaters canyon, until it goes over Murrieta Divide and eventually out to highway 33. Come to think of it, it might be shorter to come in from the east past Matilija Hot Springs and up Murrieta Canyon. You’ll have to check with Forest Service to determine passage on all of these roads. They get washed out, closed for fire safety, etc.