The routes below are chosen to be easy to follow and hard to get lost on.

Cabrillo waterfront. Exit the freeway at Garden Street and turn toward the ocean. At Cabrillo, turn left toward Montecito. Continue approximately 1.5M past the Bird Refuge (lagoon). Turn left just after the cemetary - if you go under the railroad bridge you've gone too far. You'll see a parking lot on your left. From here, you can run back the direction you drove, along the grass. Cross Cabrillo near the volleyball courts, and continue through the various parks. Past the harbor, continue to Leadbetter park/beach, and then run past along Shoreline up a short hill to Shoreline Park. If you run to the top of the park, then return by the same route, you'll have run a little less than eight miles. Of course you can turn at any point to shorten the route.

Wilcox. Also called the Douglas Family Preserve. A 1-1/6 mile loop (measured with a wheel!) Off the freeway at Las Positas. Turn toward the ocean. Continue to Cliff Drive (the end of Las Positas). Go left on Cliff, then right on Mesa Lane. Just before the end of Mesa Lane, turn right on Medcliff. Continue to the end and park. The entry to the open space is directly in front of you.

More Mesa. A large open space overlooking the Pacific. Freeway north to Patterson. Exit and turn left toward the ocean. Continue on Patterson, past the bike path, and curving left. Just past the horse corral you can park on the left. The entrance is directly ahead.

Goleta Beach. Access to both the University and the bike path. Freeway north to Ward Memorial Drive (toward UCSB). Take the airport exit, and turn left at the stop sign off the freeway. A short distance and you can turn right into the Goleta Beach parking lot. The bike path begins at the entry to the parking lot. The bike path is marked every quarter-mile and every kilometer.

Mountain Drive. Gently rolling, great views, no traffic. At the Mission, head toward the mountains. The first road is Alameda Padre Serra; just past that, take Mountain Drive on the right. Continue on Mountain Drive to Sheffield Reservoir, and turn left. Park when you come to the three-way junction (Mountain, Gibraltar, Las Canoas). Mountain (the rightmost road) is marked in yellow every half-mile on the right side from Gibraltar to mile six. Mile six is approximately half mile before San Ysidro Ranch, so if you run from Gibraltar to San Ysidro Ranch sign at the staff parking lot and back, you get a 13-miler with two approx. 3/4 miles up-hills on the way back. If you don't want to do the big hills turn around at mile 4. There is a public drinking fountain on the right at approximately mile 3-1/4, across from a group of mailboxes. During warm summer afternoons most of the course is in the shade starting about two hours before sunset. Good verges, too, so you can do half of the running on dirt. Gary Milliken marked it; he writes, "I saw two bobcats up there in December. (Tarantulas are seasonal.) Hope to see you up there sometime - I do it almost every Wednesday."

Ellwood. Another large open space. Freeway north to Hollister (at Winchester Canyon). Cross over freeway toward ocean, and proceed to parking area on right. Big enough to loop on for as long as you like. People have done 20-milers out there jsut by varying their figure-8's.

Trails   Maps
Inspiration Point. Drive past the Mission up into Mission Canyon (on Mission Canyon Rd.) At Foothill, turn right; at the reprise of Mission Canyon (the first stop sign), turn left. Continue about a quarter-mile - the road forms a "Y" - take the left branch (Tunnel Road). Continue on Tunnel to the end, parking on the right-hand side. Head on up - past the gate, the road is paved for about 2/3 mile, then over the bridge and follow the signs for Jesusita. You'll be able to tell when you're at the top. Fairly steep trail. Round-trip, 3+ miles, elevation gain, roughly 900'.

Romero Canyon. Freeway to Sheffield Drive. Toward mountains, all the way out to E. Vallley. Left at the stop sign, then first right (almost immediately) onto Romero Canyon. About 3/4 mile up, curve right to stay on Romero Canyon. At junction with Bella Vista, turn right and park near the stream crossing. To do the full loop, run up the fire road to the top; drop down onto Camino Cielo going east (to your right facing the road from the trail), and almost immediately leave the road for the trail - the road curves down and to the left, you go straight (and up). Follow the trail until it splits - one branch follows the ridge line, the other drops down. Go down and follow the trail all the way back. You'll cross the utility road once, about half-way up; then emerge onto it near the bottom. When you do, turn right and head back down. Often estimated at 11 miles, approximate elevation gain 2000'.

Sulfur Mountain. A little out of the way for Santa Barbarans, but worth it. Freeway south to Ventura. Take Highway 150 to Ojai. When the freeway ends, you'll enter small town of Casitas Springs. Just past town, look for Sulfur Mountain Road. Turn right, and proceed a short half-mile to park. The fire road goes eight miles in, to Ojai. The first three miles are uphill - not steep, but consistent. Spectacular views, of Ojai, the mountains, the ocean and islands. Expect cattle, and in hot weather bring fluids.

West Camino Cielo. Rt. 154 (San Marcos Pass) to Kinevan Ranch/W. Camino Cielo, on your left going up, about a mile short of the top. Drive to the end of the asphalt, maybe four miles. When you reach the Winchester Gun Club, you're there (just past the trail to Lizard's Mouth). Don't forget your @#$% "We can fly the Vice-President around to shoot ducks but we can't afford to let you park on the side of the road Adventure pass." Usually estimated as a 17-mile round trip, though National Geographic Topo softwre has it at over 19. You run W. Camino Cielo, all dirt, down for a mile or so, then gently up for the remainder until you reach Santa Ynez Peak (past Broadcast peak, so-called for reasons that will be obvious when you get there). Run past the peak to get to the road to the top. The uphill is gentle enough that you don't realize how much of it there is until you run back down. If it's hot at all, bring lots of fluids.

Arroyo Burro. The Queen of local trails. Exit the freeway at Las Positas and turn toward the mountains. Pass State, and then pass Foothill (those both have stoplights.) The road changes names when you cross State - it's now San Roque. After Foothill, you'll drive up about a third of a mile until you see the W.B. Cater Water Treatment Plant on your left. (Big white building, looks Official, easy to spot.) The trail entry is just beyond the building. Run in a short mile, probably less, and the trail splits - you want to go left, across the stream. It's clearly marked. You'll have to run some asphalt, and this isn't the prettiest part of the trail, but keep going steeply up. Eventually you'll reach the stoner's rock (you'll know it when you see it), and after that the trail, while steep, is gorgeous. Figure around three to four hours, more if you like to move at a dignified pace, less if you're Peter Park or Mike Swan or cute li'l Martha Rockettail. It took me (jk) 2:48 and I was enjoying the scenary.
    If you're well organized, make a reservation at Rancho Oso and run across Camino Cielo when you get to the top. Go through the gun range and follow the trail down into the Santa Ynez valley, toward the river. You'll emerge at the Rancho. Shower, hang, out, have dinner, and spend the night. (What an extraordinary thing to be able to do! Life is so sweet.)

Gaviota Peak. Drive 101 north past Gaviota. Off at Lompoc/Route 1 offramp, then two rights to get you on the frontage road and a short distance to the parking area. (Or just park near the offramp and don't pay the $2.) Follow the trail - it's a utility road - and if it's your first time when you come to the junction of Trespass (to the right/west) and Gaviota Peak (straight), take the latter. Climb a long way - the sign says three miles though it took me (jk) over 50 minutes to get to the upper road junction. At the "top," the road goes to the left, but a steep trail goes right. That's what you want. A short way up and you're there. You can reverse route, or follow the trail forward and down - you'll eventually get to the Trespass trail and back home. Figure between 90 minutes and two hours (or more if you like to go pretty casually). Two warnings: the fire has made Trespass trail pretty funky (and vague) at points - if you have a poor sense of direction, you might want to do your first time with someone who's done it before. Also: don't try it in the week after the first rain of the season. Last thing: the sign about mountain lions isn't joking.

A little uncommon. This pair of routes can't be run in their entirety; you don't need to use your hands much, but there are sections that are probalby safer to walk. However, if you want a tour of the local mountains at ther best, these are nice routes; and you can run 95%. Not bad to go with a friend; these are among the least-traveled of local routes and if you get in trouble, they're a poor place to be hobbling. Both these routes are low in poison oak.
    Peace Rock. Follow parking instructions for Inspiration, as above. An eighth of a mile past the bridge, take the utility road to the right. Continue on this upward until you reach the top. Just past the top you'll be curving toward the mountains on semi-level road (rock, gravel), and your view will be toward the east. When that short section curves right and down, you go left onto the trail entrance. The only decision point is a short way on, where a newer, less-well-constructed trail turns steeply to the right - that's what you want. (Don't worry about missing it. If you follow the old trail, it clearly dead-ends in 80 meters or so.) Eventually you arrive at the top of the Peace Rock. It's nice. Following the trail down, you join Tunnel trail a quarter-mile below the junction with Rattlesnake. Turn left and ride down. Recommend stopping to admire the views - the views are among the best we have, and the trail ruggedness is such that trying to look while running may give you a sudden and intimate close-up of the stone the trail cuts through. (I know sudden intimacy sounds kind of romantic; caution advised.) This is a 90-minute to 2-hour tour, longer of course if you dwell on the Peace Rock and enjoy the view.
    Sandcastles. Follow the directions above. When you get to Tunnel trail, turn right toward Rattlesnake. Take the Rattlesnake connector, and almost immediately there will be a trail to the left. If you start going down hill, you've gone too far. Take the trail, which winds up to Sandcastles (also called Pine Ridge). Make you way through them - unhurried - and the trail out will eventually drop you onto Gibraltar just below Camino Cielo. Left on Camino Cielo about three-quarters of a mile, until you can go left onto Tunnel trail where it meets Camino Cielo. Cruise back down the full length of Tunnel. No time estimate, but long enough you should bring fluids and a snack.