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Overview and Map Details for |
Romero Canyon in Santa Barbara
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The Romero Canyon road is about 7 miles of a fairly constant and moderate climb along an overgrown fire road. The trail has a number of low-hanging bushes that sometimes force you into an undesireable path when climbing, and the surface is littered with loose rocks about the size of golf balls to oranges. Otherwise it is generally quite firm. On the way up you will have plenty of time to take in the spectacular views as the trail alternates between overlooking the coast and Romero Canyon as in the photo above. On the way down you'll be focused to the trail about 20 feet in front of you, thankful that you saved up for that soft-tail frame (you do have full suspension, don't you?)! |
| Directions: From Thousand Oaks, take the 101 Freeway to the Sheffield exit in Summerland, just past the Big Yellow House Restaurant. At the end of the off-ramp make a right and proceed to East Valley Rd. At East Valley Rd make a left and then a quick right onto Romero Cyn Rd. Stay on Romero Cyn Rd until you come upon Bella Vista Dr. At Bella Vista make a right and continue up approximately ¼ mile. Park on the dirt on the side of this road. |
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| [1] Romero Canyon Road |
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Description The Romero Canyon Road is an old fire road that has become overgrown and is now mostly single track. It is a fairly steady climb for just over 6 miles and then there is a half mile downhill to the Romero Saddle at the junction of Camino Cielo and Murietta Juncal Road, two dirt roads. The trail up is slightly rocky but mostly firm. About 4.3 miles from the bottom the road is crossed by the Romero Trail in the shade of a huge tree. There are great views of the ocean on the way up (on the way down most people are going too fast or are being bounced around too much to pay attention to the view) and you occasionally see a paraglider sailing on the updrafts. At the top, there is a widening of the trail and an overgrown trail straight ahead. The road turns to the right and heads downhill. When you get to the top, the more adventurous can head down the much more difficult Romero Trail, although most people will only want to try this once. If you think this trail is steep, see how it compares to other steep trails.. |
This section of the trail is typical of what to exect. |
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Length (miles) |
6.8 |
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Climb (feet) |
2500 (estimated) |
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Descent (feet) |
500 (estimated) |
Trail Profile Back to the Top
| [2] Murietta Juncal Road |
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Description This is a dirt road, the sole purpose of which it to get to the north end of the Romero Trail 0.65 miles from the end of Romero Canyon Road. |
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Length (miles) |
0.65 to Romero Trail trailhead |
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Climb (feet) |
little or none (estimated) |
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Descent (feet) |
250 (estimated) |
| [3] Romero Trail |
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Description There are two ways to get to the Romero Trail from the end of Romero Canyon Road. One way is to ride 0.65 miles down the Murietta Juncal Road to the trail head. From here it's a half mile climb to the top over an overgrown trail with some healthy patches of poison oak. The smarter way is to ride up the steep but short double-track beyond the end of Romero Canyon Road and along the ridgeline to the top of the trail. From there it's down a steep and often very narrow and loose scree trail to Romero Canyon Road where they intersect under the big tree. The trail continues down the hill on the other side of the road and meets up with it again somewhere towards the bottom. At least, that's the rumor. |
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From the Romero Canyon Trail you can get quite a good view of the Romero Trail as it snakes down the mountainside. |
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Length (miles) |
1.5, 0.5 to the top |
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Climb (feet) |
290 |
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Descent (feet) |
800 (estimated) |
Trail Profile Back to the Top
This page last updated on August 29, 2007
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Thanks for looking at Steve's guide to trails in Ventura County, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) and other locations. |
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