Overview

The Gridley and Pratt Trails are the stars of this area. They both climb from the north edge of Ojai to Nordhoff Peak where you can get great views of the Ojai Valley and, on a clear day, the Channel Islands. Both trails are narrow, quite steep and somewhat technical. Even so, these trails have quite different characters. Gridley, with a few exceptions, is firm all the way up, but rocky and sometimes rutted. Pratt is more variable, but has more sections with looser, crushed rock on the surface. It's also steeper in general, so Gridley is easier to climb. The two roads at the bottom, Fuel Break Rd and Valley View Rd, run generally parallel and east-west so are used to connect the bottoms of Pratt and Gridley for the last leg of a loop.

Aerial View

Trailheads

T1 - At the north end of Gridley Road in Ojai. Take the 101 Freeway to Highway 33, just a bit west of Ventura.  Continue north on the 33 for approximately 13 miles until the road branches and take Highway 150 to the East.  Pass through the town of Ojai and make a left (north) onto Gridley.  Park at the end of the road. The trailhead is a few dozen yards before the end of the road on the uphill side.
T2 - At the north-west end of the Stewart Canyon debris basin. Go north on Signal Street and turn left into the debris basin access road a few hundred yards before the end. The trailhead is at the west end of the dirt access road.

Trails

[1] Gridley Trail (22W05) and Nordhoff Ridge Rd (5N08) to Nordhoff Peak. Nordhoff Ridge Rd is also known as Camino Cielo.

Description This is a beautiful technical ride on 99.9% singletrack that affords some spectacular views along the way. For an added challenge, at the top you can climb the very steep Nordhoff Ridge Rd to the old fire lookout tower at Nordhoff Peak.

The ride begins with a fairly technical and difficult climb up a short connector trail to get to a dirt road that skirts an avocado orchard. After the avocado trees are passed, the old road becomes more rutted, rocky and narrow, but is still fairly easy for an intermediate rider. About a third of the way to the top is the horse trough, a good spot for a rest and for your friends to catch up. After that the trail is noticibly more difficult, even though it's not really any steeper for the most part. However, it's narrower, rutted and has rocks protruding from the firm dirt of the trailbed with a few rocky switchbacks. This part of the trail is best for people with good technical riding skills, especially for the return trip. At the top is a very steep fireroad about a mile long that leads to an old lookout tower at Nordhoff Peak.  On a clear day, the views from the top make the extra climb up worth the effort. 

The trip back down can be really fun if you love narrow and rocky downhill! An alternative is to make a loop by continuing west and down on Nordhoff Ridge Road about a mile and then descending the Pratt Trail on the left. Keep in mind that Pratt is a little steeper overall than Gridley.

Download the GPS track to help you find your way.

If you think this trail is steep, see how it compares to other steep trails.

Technical Rating From the bottom to the horse trough, T3 . From there to the top, T4.5 .

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[2,3] Pratt Trail (23W09) from Nordhoff Peak

Description This trail is an alternative descent to going back down Gridley. It's somewhat steeper (1.5 miles shorter and drops 200 more feet if you ride it to the end at the Stewart Canyon debris basin. The trail starts about 0.9 miles west of Nordhoff peak off of Nordhoff Ridge Rd which is included in the ride statistics below. Besides being steeper than Gridley, it has quite a different character, and different sections have quite different types of tread (Gridley is much more uniform being almost always rocky but firm). It has more sections of decomposed granite and overall is less rocky. At the bottom of the main singletrack it becomes a fireroad for about a mile, with Cozy Dell Rd on the right and Pratt continuing on the left. About 0.6 miles further on the Fuel Break Rd comes in from the left. That can be taken to get back to the bottom of Gridley if that's where you started. Much more fun is continue down the Pratt fireroad to lower Pratt, a singletrack that winds through Stewart Canyon, deftly avoiding the protected space of the neighborhood property owners. It's quite a fun ride if you're up for a few moderate technical challenges, and equally fun to ride up. At the bottom you can return to Gridley on the Valley View Rd.

Download the GPS track to help you find your way.

Technical Rating From Nordhoff Peak to Cozy Dell Rd, T4.5 . Dirt road section, T1.5 . Lower Pratt, T3.5 .

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[4] Fuel Break Rd

Description This is a good route to connect the bottom of Gridley with the bottom of Pratt Trail. Towards the west end is a singletrack section that avoids private property and connects with a dirt road that leads to the bottom of Gridley. Fuel Break Rd may not be accessible directly from Gridley Rd, even though they connect. It's not very long, only 2.3 miles, but it's surprisingly hilly,especially after climbing Gridley and descending Pratt!

Download the GPS track to help you find your way.

Techinical Rating Fireroad section T1 . Singletrack, uncertain.

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[5] Valley View Rd (AKA Shelf Rd)

Description This dirt road very closely follows the contour of the hills and so is almost dead level and is much easier when connecting the bottom of Pratt with the bottom of Gridley. It is accessible on the west end from the north end of Signal St, and from Gridley Rd at the east end.

Technical Rating T0.5

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This page last updated on April 25, 2008

Thanks for looking at Steve's guide to trails in Ventura County, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) and other locations.