Map of the hiking trails of Santa Barbara

Trail (from West to East)	Length	Start Altitude	End Alt.	Total Ascent	Total Descent	Net Change
Front Country Hikes
Arroyo Burro	5.42 miles	529 ft	3080 ft	4005 ft	1454 ft	2552 ft
Jesusita	3.47 miles	529 ft	1820 ft	1984 ft	692 ft	1292 ft
Tunnel to Inspiration	1.76 miles	1008 ft	1863 ft	1151 ft	296 ft	855 ft
Seven Falls Trail	1.69 miles	1008 ft	1804 ft	1777 ft	981 ft	796 ft
Cathedral Peak Trail	2.69 miles	1008 ft	3333 ft	3252 ft	927 ft	2324 ft
Cathedral Peak via Inspiration	3.32 miles	1008 ft	3333 ft	3356 ft	1031 ft	2324 ft
Tunnel	4.28 miles	1008 ft	3372 ft	3051 ft	688 ft	2364 ft
Rocky Pine Ridge	3.09 miles	1008 ft	3618 ft	3222 ft	612 ft	2610 ft
Powerline (Edison)	1.80 miles	1234 ft	2191 ft	1129 ft	172 ft	957 ft
Rattlesnake	2.43 miles	884 ft	2479 ft	2474 ft	878 ft	1596 ft
Rattlesnake Connector	0.74 miles	1816 ft	2479 ft	746 ft	82 ft	664 ft
Cold Springs, West Fork	2.14 miles	770 ft	1959 ft	1984 ft	795 ft	1189 ft
Cold Springs, Mid Fork	3.16 miles	770 ft	3736 ft	4054 ft	1088 ft	2966 ft
Tangerine Falls	1.18 miles	770 ft	1655 ft	1765 ft	880 ft	885 ft
Cold Springs, East Fork	4.52 miles	770 ft	3413 ft	3733 ft	1090 ft	2643 ft
Cold Springs, East Fork, Alt	1.04 miles	806 ft	1664 ft	981 ft	123 ft	858 ft
Montecito Peak	3.61 miles	770 ft	3236 ft	3381 ft	915 ft	2466 ft
Edison Catwalk, Cold Springs <-> San Ysidro	2.90 miles	828 ft	1650 ft	1815 ft	993 ft	822 ft
Hot Springs Trail	0.61 miles	628 ft	932 ft	412 ft	107 ft	304 ft
Saddle Rock Trail	0.63 miles	936 ft	1439 ft	607 ft	104 ft	503 ft
Girard Trail	0.59 miles	1112 ft	1453 ft	378 ft	38 ft	341 ft
McMenemy Trail	1.57 miles	718 ft	1109 ft	899 ft	508 ft	391 ft
San Ysidro Trail	4.31 miles	453 ft	3497 ft	3898 ft	855 ft	3044 ft
The Wall	0.56 miles	833 ft	1346 ft	568 ft	55 ft	513 ft
Buena Vista Trail	0.85 miles	713 ft	1358 ft	941 ft	296 ft	645 ft
Edison Catwalk, Romero <-> San Ysidro	2.56 miles	997 ft	833 ft	1711 ft	1875 ft	-164 ft
Romero Trail	3.44 miles	917 ft	3038 ft	3520 ft	1399 ft	2121 ft
Romero Road	6.78 miles	917 ft	3077 ft	3550 ft	1389 ft	2160 ft
Camino Cielo Hikes
Knapps Castle	0.28 miles	3003 ft	2916 ft	63 ft	150 ft	-87 ft
Arroyo Burro Trail, Back Country	2.39 miles	2990 ft	1376 ft	517 ft	2132 ft	-1615 ft
Cold Springs Trail, Back Country	1.71 miles	3421 ft	2423 ft	243 ft	1241 ft	-998 ft
Island View	2.09 miles	3038 ft	2975 ft	792 ft	855 ft	-63 ft
Island View #2	1.05 miles	3094 ft	3378 ft	462 ft	178 ft	284 ft
Upper Blue Canyon Trail	2.36 miles	2099 ft	1732 ft	967 ft	1334 ft	-367 ft
Romero Trail, Back Country	1.80 miles	3068 ft	1718 ft	462 ft	1812 ft	-1350 ft
Back Country Hikes
Snyder Trail	3.49 miles	1073 ft	3003 ft	2782 ft	852 ft	1930 ft
Freemont Trail	3.67 miles	962 ft	2694 ft	2600 ft	869 ft	1732 ft
Mattias Trail	6.46 miles	1909 ft	3271 ft	3670 ft	2307 ft	1362 ft
Forbush Trail	4.56 miles	1592 ft	2431 ft	2312 ft	1473 ft	839 ft
Blue Canyon Trail	3.24 miles	1718 ft	2423 ft	1722 ft	1017 ft	705 ft
Ocean Mesa Hikes
Wilcox Short Loop	0.90 miles	141 ft	127 ft	109 ft	123 ft	-14 ft
Wilcox Outer Loop	1.17 miles	172 ft	138 ft	382 ft	416 ft	-35 ft
More Mesa Loop	0.92 miles	109 ft	131 ft	588 ft	566 ft	22 ft
UCSB Lagoon	0.59 miles	52 ft	60 ft	599 ft	591 ft	8 ft
Elwood Mesa Loop	2.50 miles	46 ft	70 ft	541 ft	517 ft	24 ft
Local Trail Races
Nine Trails Race	35.38 miles	496 ft	529 ft	18723 ft	18690 ft	33 ft
Red Rock 40M Race	40.84 miles	1047 ft	1047 ft	16012 ft	16012 ft	0 ft
Blue Canyon 50K Race	31.94 miles	1191 ft	1191 ft	12496 ft	12496 ft	0 ft
Blue Canyon 50M Race	51.63 miles	1191 ft	1191 ft	19397 ft	19397 ft	0 ft
Romero 10M Race	10.28 miles	917 ft	917 ft	4949 ft	4949 ft	0 ft
Training Loops
Romero 6M Loop	5.90 miles	917 ft	917 ft	3331 ft	3331 ft	0 ft
Romero 11M Loop	10.67 miles	1100 ft	917 ft	5291 ft	5474 ft	-183 ft
Romero, Blue Cny, SY 16M Loop	15.99 miles	1100 ft	917 ft	9392 ft	9575 ft	-183 ft
Romero, Blue Cny, CS 18M Loop	17.84 miles	1100 ft	917 ft	9861 ft	10044 ft	-183 ft
San Ysidro, Blue Cnyn, Upper, Romero 21M Loop	21.67 miles	453 ft	453 ft	11185 ft	11185 ft	0 ft
Cold Springs/San Ysidro 12M Loop	12.47 miles	770 ft	770 ft	7021 ft	7021 ft	0 ft
Romero/Cold Springs figure 8	22.04 miles	917 ft	917 ft	11513 ft	11513 ft	0 ft
Rattlesnake Tunnel Ridge Loop	5.21 miles	884 ft	884 ft	2941 ft	2941 ft	0 ft
Tunnel Ridge Loop	5.47 miles	1008 ft	1008 ft	2454 ft	2454 ft	0 ft
Arroyo Burro/Mattias/Tunnel Loop	24.16 miles	529 ft	529 ft	11084 ft	11084 ft	0 ft
Arroyo Burro Loop	7.39 miles	3042 ft	3042 ft	2697 ft	2697 ft	0 ft

Arroyo Burro

5.42 miles
Altitude at Start: 529 ft, End: 3080 ft
Ascent: 4005 ft, Descent: 1454 ft
Net Change: 2552 ft

The Arroyo Burro trail branches from the Jesusita trail. The lower part of this trail changes from time to time depending on shifting land use easements.

Starting at the Cator Water treatment plant on San Roque Rd. the trail drops down toward the creek bed. After a few hundred yards a connector trail from Steven's Park joins on the left. Ignore it.

In another few hundred yards an alternate route forks off. It doesn't matter which way you go here, they join up again in ~a quarter mile.

This trail seems subject to flooding more than most and has been washed out and redesigned many times.

After perhaps half a mile, another alternate route crosses the creek, and recrosses it to rejoin the main trail.

The trail reaches a marked fork. The Arroyo Burro trail takes off on the left while the Jesusita trail goes to the right.

The left fork dips down to the creek (the Arroyo Burro creek, of course) and crosses it, then it climbs up to N. Ontare Rd. Turn right onto the road, and then almost immediately left onto Mibek Rd. There is a flat area on the right of the road that I presume is meant for the trail. You continue on the road for about half a mile and then the trail drops down a hill on the right side of the road. This section of trail lasts for another half mile and then you are on a dirt road again. Not long after this a road forks off on the left (and you follow it) this runs for another half mile or so and terminates in some pylons for powerlines. Trail continues beyond this. You are now, finally, free of roads.

Looming over the start of the trail is a large rock formation on which someone painted 4:20 in large friendly letters. This is a good place to climb and hang out.

But the trail continues for another 3 miles beyond this. It now climbs very steeply up a hill gaining 500 feet in half a mile, and then drops equally quickly for 300ft.

You are now in a lush valley with a stream bed running in it. It's quite lovely. You are also on (what appears to be) an old road of some nature, but it has degraded gracefully and is pleasant enough. You climb through this valley for half a mile and then begin to climb seriously toward Camino Cielo.

Across Camino Ciello you will find the start of the Arroyo Burro Rd., and if you follow that for a quarter mile you will find the back side of Arroyo Burro trail. Both the trail and the road continue down into the valley of the Santa Ynez river and eventually hit Paradise Rd.

Jesusita

3.47 miles
Altitude at Start: 529 ft, End: 1820 ft
Ascent: 1984 ft, Descent: 692 ft
Net Change: 1292 ft

Jesusita Trail goes from San Roque Rd. to Tunnel Rd. via Inspiration Peak. But most hikers seem to stop at Inspiration so it seems like two trails which join rather than one, and that is how I shall treat it.

Starting at the Cator Water treatment plant on San Roque Rd. the trail drops down toward the creek bed. After a few hundred yards a connector trail from Steven's Park joins on the left. Ignore it.

In another few hundred yards an alternate route forks off. It doesn't matter which way you go here, they join up again in ~a quarter mile.

This trail seems subject to flooding more than most and has been washed out and redesigned many times.

After perhaps half a mile, another alternate route crosses the creek, and recrosses it to rejoin the main trail.

The trail reaches a marked fork. The Arroyo Burro trail takes off on the left while the Jesusita trail continues to the right. The trail crosses a couple of open meadows and then dips back down to the creek.

You hop along the stream for about a mile, crossing from one side to the other as seems appropriate.

Eventually you come out on a paved road. You follow this up for ~100 yards and turn left up someone's driveway. At the top of the driveway is a large gate for cars with a smaller gate for humans on the right. Go through this, making sure to close it behind you. Just beyond this is a little water fountain, kindly provided by the owners.

You continue on the driveway for a little longer and then veer right when it forks. You drop into woodland, the road turns to dirt, and soon you cross a stream. After this the road is forbidden to hikers, and the trail takes off on the left.

The trail makes several more stream crossings as if follows the stream up. Eventually it crosses the dirt road for a final time and heads up in a long set of switchbacks up the side of the mountain. Finally it crests a ridge and then drops slightly before it starts switchbacking up again.

When it crests another ridge it drops slightly to a fireroad. Turn right on the road and follow this for ~.5 miles. There is a burnt stake in the ground on the right of the road. This used to be a sign announcing that the trail continued on right. It still is there, but as it hardly diverges from the road it doesn't much matter whether you take road or trail (except that there are better views on the trail).

When you reach the place where road and trail intersect again, you've reached the end of this section. The trail continues on to Tunnel.

Tunnel to Inspiration

1.76 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 1863 ft
Ascent: 1151 ft, Descent: 296 ft
Net Change: 855 ft

To get to Inspiration via Tunnel you must walk up ¾ mile of paved road. This crosses Mission Creek and then peters out into various fireroads. The road on the right leads to Powerline, or Edison Rd. which climbs up to some nice views of the city.

The dirt road that continues ahead is the one we want. After a few hundred yards Tunnel Trail takes off on the right, while the road continues a bit and then forks off a trail on the left.

Follow this. It leads down into the headwaters of Mission Creek. On the far side of the creek the trail forks again (though this may not be obvious), the clearest route goes straight ahead to Inspiration, while to the right, and up a rock face is the trail to Seven Falls and Cathedral Peak.

From here the trail continues without incident until it reaches the fireroad on the top of Inspiration. Cross this road and the view opens in front of you.

Seven Falls Trail

1.69 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 1804 ft
Ascent: 1777 ft, Descent: 981 ft
Net Change: 796 ft

To get to Seven Falls trail you must walk up ¾ mile of paved road. This crosses Mission Creek and then peters out into various fireroads. The road on the right leads to Powerline, or Edison Rd. which climbs up to some nice views of the city.

The dirt road that continues ahead is the one we want. After a few hundred yards Tunnel Trail takes off on the right, while the road continues a bit and then forks off a trail on the left.

Seven Falls trail involves a lot of scrambling. It's not well maintained, and it's not always clear where it goes. Not for the faint of heart.

Once you have surmounted the rock face (which isn't really that hard) you'll see a clear trail in front of you. Follow this. It goes up the creek bed. After 100ft or so there is a fork, take the left hand branch (the right hand goes a little way further up the creek before petering out.).

The left trail climbs steeply, very steeply up. Suddenly you realize you are walking on a ridge and down below you is the trail to Inspiration. But the two routes diverge.

Finally you reach the top. At this point the Cathedral Peak trail shoots up the mountain on your left. Go straight.

You are now hiking about 100ft above the creek. There are occasional places where you can slide down into the creek (and, equally importantly, climb back up from the creek).

The trail gets lost from time to time.

Eventually you are hiking inside the stream bed again.

After a bit the entire bed is blocked by a wall of boulders. If you look carefully you will see that someone has carved hand and footholds into one of them, and it is possible to climb up and onto the other side.

It's not exactly obvious that the trail continues, but you can hike up the stream bed.

When I hiked this in October there was essentially no water in the creek. But suddenly I heard running water, and turning a corner saw a 15ft waterfall. I don't know where the water went below the falls. Underground perhaps. The creek had been dry and now it wasn't.

It was possible to climb above the fall on the left side of the stream. A somewhat frightening climb, but doable. The trail continued for another few hundred yards and then vanished into a cactus thicket.

I believe it is possible to climb up to Tunnel trail from near here, but I have never done so.

Cathedral Peak Trail

2.69 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 3333 ft
Ascent: 3252 ft, Descent: 927 ft
Net Change: 2324 ft

To get to the Cathedral Peak trail, start at Tunnel. You must walk up ¾ mile of paved road. This crosses Mission Creek and then peters out into various fireroads. The road on the right leads to Powerline, or Edison Rd. which climbs up to some nice views of the city.

The dirt road that continues ahead is the one we want. After a few hundred yards Tunnel Trail takes off on the right, while the road continues a bit and then forks off a trail on the left.

(There used to be an alternate route up to Arlington and Cathedral which started from just below Inspiration. This trail is practically impassible now. I managed to follow it (or at least to reach the top) in Jan of 2012, but I do not recommend it).

Cathedral Peak trail involves a lot of scrambling. It's not well maintained, and it's not always clear where it goes. Not for the faint of heart. (It's not runable either).

The left trail climbs steeply, very steeply up. Suddenly you realize you are walking on a ridge and down below you is the trail to Inspiration. But the two routes diverge.

Finally you reach the top. At this point the Cathedral Peak trail shoots up the mountain on your left while the Seven Falls trail goes straight. Turn left and climb steeply.

After a tenth of a mile or so you come out on a ridge line (with nice views behind you). An alternate trail heads back down to the river on your right, while the main route continues on the left along the ridge line.

You walk along a knife-edge ridge line, climbing steadily. There are places where you must scramble over boulders. Once you must crawl through a (short) rock tunnel.

The trail gets lost from time to time. Frequently the trail will appear to split — usually either route will work. Sometimes you will make a wrong turn and in a few feet the trail will turn into an impassible rock face. If this happens simply backtrack. Eventually you will find an alternate route.

I have found that since the fire, the trail is much harder to find. There used to be a route through vegetation which was fairly clear, now with no vegetation there is often no clear route.

So try unclear routes until one works.

Eventually you will reach Arlington Peak. This is a good stopping point to rest and look around. Cathedral peak is a rocky spire a little to your left, La Cumbra peak is in front, and all of Santa Barbara lies behind you.

From Arlington Peak the trail is surprisingly good. Very obvious, comparatively level, and almost smooth. Very easy compared to what has gone before.

There is one bump between Arlington and Cathedral, and the trail ducks down to the left to avoid the bump.

Just before Cathedral itself a short (but very steep, and very poor) trail leads down to the large cave under the Peak. It's only about 1/12 of a mile and the cave is well worth seeing if you have come this far.

There used to be a trail leading from Cathedral Peak to La Cumbra Peak, but I can never find it.

Cathedral Peak via Inspiration

3.32 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 3333 ft
Ascent: 3356 ft, Descent: 1031 ft
Net Change: 2324 ft

There are two routes up to Cathedral Peak, and I really recommend the other, Cathedral Peak Trail. This route was severely degraged by the fire. In Jan of 2011 I deemed it impassable. In Jan of 2012 someone had gone to a lot of work but it was still in really bad shape.

The trail was hard to follow and we spent a lot of time bushwhacking.

But if you really want to go this way...

To get to the Cathedral Peak via Inspiration, start at Tunnel. You must walk up ¾ mile of paved road. This crosses Mission Creek and then peters out into various fireroads. The road on the right leads to Powerline, or Edison Rd. which climbs up to some nice views of the city.

The dirt road that continues ahead is the one we want. After a few hundred yards Tunnel Trail takes off on the right, while the road continues a bit and then forks off a trail on the left.

The easier route up to Cathedral is the one up the creek to Seven Falls (just trying to change your mind about this route), but this one continues up the clear trail to Inspiration.

Go up the Inspiration Peak trail until about a quarter mile from Inspiration, then, on the right of the trail, you will see a little trail that looks more like a tunnel under the chaparrel. Follow this if you can.

Cathedral Peak involves a lot of scrambling. It's not well maintained, and it's not always clear where it goes. Not for the faint of heart. (It's not runable either).

In one sense you can't really get lost, Arlington Peak is usually clearly visible, but you can easily get embedded in impenetrable chaparral.

From Arlington Peak the trail is surprisingly good. Very obvious, comparatively level, and almost smooth. Very easy compared to what has gone before.

There is one bump between Arlington and Cathedral, and the trail ducks down to the left to avoid the bump.

There used to be a trail leading from Cathedral Peak to La Cumbra Peak, but I can never find it.

Tunnel

4.28 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 3372 ft
Ascent: 3051 ft, Descent: 688 ft
Net Change: 2364 ft

To get to Tunnel trail you must walk up ¾ mile of paved road. This crosses Mission Creek and then peters out into various fireroads. The road on the right leads to Powerline, or Edison Rd. which climbs up to some nice views of the city.

The dirt road that continues ahead is the one we want. After a few hundred yards Tunnel Trail takes off on the right (while the road continues a bit and then forks off the Inspiration, Seven Falls and Cathedral Peak trails).

After perhaps half a mile Tunnel trail crosses a fireroad, this is a spur which leads down to Powerline Rd.

Then Tunnel climbs up. This area has all been burnt by the Jesusita Fire, so it is rather bare at the moment.

At about 2⅔miles from the start you reach the intersection with the Rattlesnake Connector, but Tunnel trail continues straight. In another half mile or so you reach the "Dry Falls". These are usually dry, but on a rainy winter, or within a week after a rain they can be quite showy.

The dry falls are about 50ft off the trail, you may go there by mistake since just before them the trail turns right and heads up to a place where it can ford the falls before returning to the edge of the cliff again.

The trail continues up for another mile and a bit, and eventually reaches Camino Ciello near where the back side of Gibraltar road heads down into the Santa Ynez valley.

If you go down Gibraltar Rd (which is dirt) you will be able to take Mattias Trail down to Arroyo Burro Rd.

Rocky Pine Ridge

3.09 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 3618 ft
Ascent: 3222 ft, Descent: 612 ft
Net Change: 2610 ft

After perhaps half a mile Tunnel trail crosses a fireroad, this is a spur which leads down to Powerline Rd.

Then Tunnel climbs up. This area has all been burnt by the Jesusita Fire, so it is rather bare at the moment.

At about 2⅔miles from the start you reach the intersection with the Rattlesnake Connector on the right. Turn onto the Connector and walk perhaps 10 yards; on your left is a small trail which leads up and into the chaparral. Turn left and take it.

There are no further branchings, but the trail itself can be hard to find, especially after the fire. If you find that the trail has vanished on you, or that you are face to face with an unclimbably cliff face, backtrack a bit and find an alternate route. (Or continue, bushwacking until you join up with the real trail again. If you go up, you can't really get lost here.)

Finally you reach the crest of the ridge. There are some very large boulders and some pine trees. It's a kind of neat place to explore. From the tops of the boulders there are good views of the city down below.

Powerline (Edison)

1.80 miles
Altitude at Start: 1234 ft, End: 2191 ft
Ascent: 1129 ft, Descent: 172 ft
Net Change: 957 ft

To get to Powerline (or Edison) Rd. you must walk up ¾ mile of paved road. This crosses Mission Creek and then peters out into various fireroads. The road on the right leads to Powerline, while the road straight ahead forks off Tunnel Trail, and then Inspiration, and Seven Falls.

Powerline is on the right. It used to be nicer, before it was burnt in the Jesusita Fire.

After another half mile or so there is a spur fireroad which provides an alternate route to Tunnel Trail.

There are no more obvious distractions from the main route (a couple of short powerline spurs to service pylons). There is a very steep bit near the end, much beloved of mountain bikers.

There are nice views of the city all along the road, with a nice view at the very end too.

Rattlesnake

2.43 miles
Altitude at Start: 884 ft, End: 2479 ft
Ascent: 2474 ft, Descent: 878 ft
Net Change: 1596 ft

Rattlesnake starts in the creek bed. You might start on either the left or right side of the creek, but the trail on the left quickly crosses the creek and joins the one on the left.

Then it climbs out of the creek and ends up on a dirt road which seems to lead from nowhere to nowhere. Perhaps it connected to something once upon a time. Turn left on this road. It tracks the route of the stream, which is about 100ft below. After ⅔mile from the start an alternate trail takes off to the right of the road, this rejoins the main route in another half mile or so.

The road then drops down into the creek bed (and disappears again), while a trail proceeds up the creek for a bit before crossing it, and climbing up the other side. There are a few routes leading down to the creek, but no obvious branchings until you cross the creek again and the alternate route comes in on the right.

The trail continues up the creek, and crosses it yet again. Then it climbs up into an area that was extensively burnt by the Jesusita Fire, before turning to the right and coming out into the meadow. A large grassy area.

Just on the far side of the meadow is a junction with the rattlesnake connector turning off to the left and leading up to Tunnel.

Going straight, the trail again goes into a burnt over area and becomes eroded, but eventually it climbs up to Gibraltar Rd.

If you turn right and run down about two miles you will reach the big hairpin bend in Gibraltar where the west fork of Cold Springs terminates.

Cold Springs, West Fork

2.14 miles
Altitude at Start: 770 ft, End: 1959 ft
Ascent: 1984 ft, Descent: 795 ft
Net Change: 1189 ft

Go up the main route of Cold Springs trail (the route closest to, and on the east side of, the creek.

After ~¼mile the trail branches, the left fork crosses the creek and heads off to the west fork and the mid fork. The right fork continues up as the east fork. Not only does the trail branch here, but this is where two forks of Cold Springs creek join. There is a small waterfall where the west fork of the creek falls into the east fork. There's also a bench where you can sit and watch.

So turn left, cross the creek and continue up. There are some old water pipes in the ground that you will bump into from time to time, some of them still have water in them.

After a mile there is a place where the side of the trail seems to drop into a slide. Surprisingly, this is the place where middle fork diverges from the west fork. Continue straight ahead.

You now follow the west fork of the creek up into the hills. This fork is usually dry. After a bit you reach the area where the Jesusita Fire burned. There is an old tunnel labeled "Cold Springs Water Tunnel" and a pipe leads from it and down.

Now the trail leaves the creek bed and turns left into the burnt area. It climbs up to Gibraltar Rd. and comes out at the big hairpin turn on that road.

Take the Hot Springs Exit from 101, head toward the mountains
After ~½mile, turn left on Sycamore Canyon Rd.
After ~1mile, turn right on Cold Springs Rd.
When Cold Springs dead-ends into Mountain, turn right
At the bottom of the hill, the road fords a stream, the trailheads are here.
(There are actually three, just to add confusion.

The eastmost route (east of the stream) is the newest and was only cut in the mid-90s, it runs steeply up in a set of switchbacks and after about a mile reaches the Edison Catwalk and the pylons where it joins the east fork of Cold Springs.
The middle route (also east of the stream) is the main route and branches out to all the myriad destinations of Cold Springs trail.
The westmost route (west of the stream) splits almost immediately. The right fork crosses the creek and joins the main route. The left fork continues on the left side of the creek and slowly fades into non-existance. I suspect that a brave bush-wacker would eventually reach the west fork of the trail if s/he were to push on (I haven't)

View Larger Map

Cold Springs, Mid Fork

3.16 miles
Altitude at Start: 770 ft, End: 3736 ft
Ascent: 4054 ft, Descent: 1088 ft
Net Change: 2966 ft

Go up the main route of Cold Springs trail (the route closest to, and on the east side of, the creek.

So turn left, cross the creek and continue up. There are some old water pipes in the ground that you will bump into from time to time, some of them still have water in them.

After a mile there is a place where the side of the trail seems to drop into a slide. Surprisingly, this is the place where middle fork diverges from the west fork. So drop down with it. You will cross a (usually) dry stream bed (which is the west fork of the creek), and scramble up a bank with some helpful tree routes.

There is quite a nest of pipes here that you travel beside. At ~1.3 miles there is a branch to the left where middle fork leaves the trail to Tangerine Falls. Turn left.

The trail climbs quite steeply in a series of switchback. Currently (2010) this has all been burnt over by the Jesusita Fire and is exposed to the sun and is quite hot. Eventually you reach the top of a ridge. The trail now climbs the ridge and isn't so steep. There are some good views of Tangerine Falls from here.

At the top of the falls is a large rock jutting out over the creek. You can't see the falls from here, but there is a nice view back down the canyon.

Then the trail descends. This is a rarity. Enjoy it.

The path wanders along the stream for quite a bit. It is almost level now, a lovely wooded glade.

After a mile and three quarters the trail diverges again, the path straight ahead continues for another quarter mile and dead ends at an old homestead site (A little before this is a (faint) side trail which leads to an old dump area where you can see strange bits of rusty iron).

But the mid fork trail itself turns left here and climbs a small knoll for the next half mile. Open chaparral.

At the top of the knoll you head down hill again (which seems a shame) and then up a very steep slope to Camino Cielo.

Tangerine Falls

1.18 miles
Altitude at Start: 770 ft, End: 1655 ft
Ascent: 1765 ft, Descent: 880 ft
Net Change: 885 ft

Tangerine Falls is the most spectacular (publicly approachable) set of falls in the front country. The drop is about 100ft, and the falls are impressive when they are running. But they do dry up over the course of the summer, and are at their best after a winter rain.

Go up the main route of Cold Springs trail (the route closest to, and on the east side of, the creek.

After ~¼mile the trail branches, the left fork crosses the creek and heads off to the west fork and Tangerine Falls. The right fork continues up as the east fork. Not only does the trail branch here, but this is where two forks of Cold Springs creek join. There is a small waterfall where the west fork of the creek falls into the east fork. There's also a bench where you can sit and watch.

So turn left, cross the creek and continue up. There are some old water pipes in the ground that you will bump into from time to time, some of them still have water in them.

There is quite a nest of pipes here that you travel beside. At ~1.3 miles there is a branch to the left where middle fork leaves the trail to Tangerine Falls. So go straight.

There are several stream crossings, and the route becomes very steep and involves some minimal rock climbing skills. The trail is not very long, but it is difficult. The reward is great. The falls are worth it.

You can also get good views of the falls (from a distance) on the middle fork trail.

Cold Springs, East Fork

4.52 miles
Altitude at Start: 770 ft, End: 3413 ft
Ascent: 3733 ft, Descent: 1090 ft
Net Change: 2643 ft

Go up the main route of Cold Springs trail (the route closest to, and on the east side of, the creek. This follows the stream for about ¾ mile and presents numerous small waterfalls in shady woodlands.

After ~¼mile the trail branches, the left fork crosses the creek and heads off to the west fork and Tangerine Falls. The right fork, continues up. Not only does the trail branch here, but this is where two forks of Cold Springs creek join. There is a small waterfall where the west fork of the creek falls into the east fork. There's also a bench where you can sit and watch.

Continuing up, the east fork itself crosses the stream briefly, then climbs steeply, and recrosses the stream again at about ¾ mile. Here the route leaves the stream and starts to climb into drier areas, eventually coming out into true chaparral when it hits the fireroad and the pylons.

This is a good place to stop (or pause) and look at the ocean. It is the first time the view has opened up and on one side are the mountains and the other the city with the ocean beyond it.

Continuing on, you turn to the right and walk along the fireroad for a bit until the trail continues, again on the right. It climbs steeply now, through mostly open chaparral.

The next landmark at about 2.5 miles is "the trees". Two Eucalyptus trees stand alone in the middle of small bushes. They are quite noticeable from a long way off. They provide some welcome shade and another good spot to look at the views.

The trail becomes rocky for a bit, you need to be careful of your footing.

At ~3.5 miles the trail to Montecito peak takes off on the right. This trail is extremely steep and is difficult to climb, especially to climb down.

The East fork trail continues to wind up through the hills until it reaches Camino Cielo.

On the other side of the road the trail continues down to Forbush campsite. Or you can turn right on Camino Cielo and after a quarter mile find the top of San Ysidro trail.

Montecito Peak

3.61 miles
Altitude at Start: 770 ft, End: 3236 ft
Ascent: 3381 ft, Descent: 915 ft
Net Change: 2466 ft

This is a good place to stop (or pause) and look at the ocean. It is the first time the view has opened up and on one side are the mountains and the other the city with the ocean beyond it.

Continuing on, you turn to the right and walk along the fireroad for a bit until the trail continues, again on the right. It climbs steeply now, through mostly open chaparral.

The trail becomes rocky for a bit, you need to be careful of your footing.

At ~3.5 miles the trail to Montecito peak takes off on the right. This trail is extremely steep and is difficult to climb, especially to climb down. However it is quite short.

Edison Catwalk, Cold Springs <-> San Ysidro

2.90 miles
Altitude at Start: 828 ft, End: 1650 ft
Ascent: 1815 ft, Descent: 993 ft
Net Change: 822 ft

There are fireroads running unbroken between Cold Springs east fork and San Ysidro trails. The road forks in the middle with one branch leading down to Hot Springs trail and .

Between Hot Springs and San Ysidro there are two fireroad spurs, each of which has a trail leading off it. The closest spur to Hot Springs is Saddle Rock trail which leads to a neat climbing rock and then on to McMenemy and eventually Hot Springs again. The spur closes to San Ysidro turns into Girard trail and also leads to McMenemy.

Between Hot Springs trail and Saddle Rock (on the north side of the road) is a short trail which leads to the real hot springs. This trail is on private property and has "No trespassing" signs at the ends.

San Ysidro Trail

4.31 miles
Altitude at Start: 453 ft, End: 3497 ft
Ascent: 3898 ft, Descent: 855 ft
Net Change: 3044 ft

San Ysidro trail spends some time running through people's back yards, and beside a road, for half a mile, but eventually it passes through a gate and into the forest. Immediately after the gate the Old Pueblo trail takes off to the right. This is totally a back-yard, driveway trail and ends near the Buena Vista trailhead.

There is fireroad at first.

Not far up the fireroad, on the left, is the sign for McMcMenemy trail.

A little beyond that (.8miles from the start), on the right, is a spur of fireroad, called 'The Wall' which rises steeply and is often used for miserable hill repeats. At the top of the wall is a connector to Buena Vista trail and eventually to the fireroads which lead to Romero trail.

A little further up (.9 miles from the start) and the fireroad itself veers right (across a stream and on a path which leads to Hot Springs trail and, eventually, the east fork of Cold Springs.

But San Ysidro trail itself forks off to the right and starts to climb.

In the rainy season there is a nice waterfall on this trail, the rest of the year there is a rock face with a lot of greenery on it.

Finally the trail reaches Camino Cielo. If you turn left, and go about .2 miles along Camino Cielo you will reach the top of Cold Springs (east) so if you have time you can do a big loop and come down Cold Springs and across on the fireroads.

Edison Catwalk, Romero <-> San Ysidro

2.56 miles
Altitude at Start: 997 ft, End: 833 ft
Ascent: 1711 ft, Descent: 1875 ft
Net Change: -164 ft

At this point you are faced with your first choice, there are two routes toward Buena Vista; the most direct will go left on fireroad.

A somewhat more scenic route goes right. After a third of a mile the stream crosses the road, and on the far side of the stream Romero trail takes off to the left.

The trail heads into the bushes, roughly parallel to the stream. A small tributary crosses the trail. Further up the trail runs along the bank of the stream. A small, often invisible, side-trail heads down into the stream and crosses it. Follow this.

It leads through a thicket (which can be very dense if the trail hasn't been maintained recently) and then up a steep hill and, after about .4 miles, onto a spur of the fireroad.

Follow the spur downward until it joins the main fireroad and turn right (another half mile or so). You are now back on the original route toward Buena Vista.

After about 1.3 miles on the direct route or 2.3 on the scenic version the fireroad dead-ends in a pylon. But off to the right a small trail heads down the mountain. Follow this for ⅓mile when it reaches a trail junction.

Buena Vista trail is on the left, it leads down to Park Lane in about half a mile. From Park Lane you can walk west and up a small unlabeled road to the trailhead for Old Pueblo Trail which will take you back to San Ysidro.

The Buena Vista connector is on the right. It leads across a (usually dry) stream bed and then up for .4 miles to another fireroad, affectionately termed “The Wall”. This drops steeply (very steeply) down to San Ysidro over .5 miles or so.

Romero Trail

3.44 miles
Altitude at Start: 917 ft, End: 3038 ft
Ascent: 3520 ft, Descent: 1399 ft
Net Change: 2121 ft

From the trailhead you head steeply up, the creek is on your left, and there is often a swampy spring on your right. After a bit you cross a concrete bridge over the creek (which looks very out of place on what is now a degraded dirt road). Just beyond the bridge the road forks, go to the right (the left fork heads toward Buena Vista trail). After perhaps a third of a mile from the start the road fords the stream (there are usualy stepping stones somewhere in the water), and just on the other side the trail takes off to the left from the road.

There are several stream crossings and nice views of oaks along this stretch.

After 1¾ miles the trail crosses the road again and continues up the far side. The stream is far behind now, the landscape much drier and the vegitation turning into open chaparral.

About 3 miles from the trailhead the trail reaches the ridgeline, open grass, and a decision point. Here Island View Trail crosses the route. Going straight ahead (and down into the valley on the other side) will be the back country part of Romero trail (it goes down to Blue Canyon trail). Veering left the trail climbs up and down along the ridge line for another half mile (Google Maps claims this is still Camino Cielo, but you'd be hard pressed to tell that there was any road here at all) until it reaches Camino Cielo, and shortly beyond that the top of Romero Rd. again. If you turn right here you can follow Island View trail for about a mile and a half until it reaches a dirt road (which USGS maps call Camino Cielo). Following this road downhill (right) will lead to the back side of Romero Rd.

One of my favorite hikes is to go up the trail and down the road. Since the trail and road intersect in three places there are several variants on how to do this.

Romero Road

6.78 miles
Altitude at Start: 917 ft, End: 3077 ft
Ascent: 3550 ft, Descent: 1389 ft
Net Change: 2160 ft

But today we are on the road, so go straight. The road winds up into the hills giving good views of Montecito (and if you turn round views with Santa Barbara in the distance).

After about two miles a fire road (behind a locked gate) takes off to the right. Ignore it.

At 3¾ miles the trail crosses the road again in a shady spot.

At 6½ miles, or thereabouts, the road levels out and opens out. A small trail takes off to the left (this leads for about a mile along the front of the mountains, a fairly level route, and eventually hits Camino Cielo). But don't take it, because the road will hit Camino Cielo in only about .2 miles itself.

There is a large water tower on Camino Cielo and a locked gate. In another 100ft or so Camino Cielo becomes dirt and veers to the left. Going straight is a trail which eventually bumps into Romero Trail.

Arroyo Burro Trail, Back Country

2.39 miles
Altitude at Start: 2990 ft, End: 1376 ft
Ascent: 517 ft, Descent: 2132 ft
Net Change: -1615 ft

The back side of Arroyo Burro trail may be reached by climbing to the top of the front side of Arroyo Burro, or by driving up to Arroyo Burro Rd. on Camino Cielo.

From Camino Cielo head down Arroyo Burro Rd. (on the north of Camino Cielo). There is nothing to indicate that it is Arroyo Burro Rd. There is a sign for a gun club, which is a few hundred feet down the road.

Go past the gun club, and you will come to a gate across the road. Go around this. In another hundred feet or so a small trail heads down to the left. It runs through chaparral for a bit, and then follows a nice little stream.

There is one junction that I'm aware of. It is near the bottom, and the trail forks with the left fork leading to Rancho Oso, and the right being Arroyo Burro.

Finally it comes out at Arroyo Burro Rd. again, about halfway down to Paradise Rd.

So you can do a loop, down the trail, and up the road... 34.5050636,+W119.7530606

This trailhead is at the intersection for Camino Cielo and Arroy Burro Rd. Less obvious this is also where Arroyo Burro Trail crosses Camino Cielo.

Drive up Hwy 154 and exit on E. Camino Cielo. Drive past Painted Cave Rd. and then for about 4.1 miles and you will see a non-descript road entering from the left. There is a sign up for a gun club, and about 200ft down the road there is a turn-off for a shooting area. The road itself is usually blocked to vehicles shortly after this, but you can hike down it. There is some parking on Camino Cielo, and more at the shooting area (but I have no idea what the conventions are for using that parking).

On the right side (south side) of Camino Cielo is a little stub of a road (which goes nowhere) and about 50ft down this a small trail takes off to the left. This is Arroyo Burro trail and it continues down to bump into Jesusita trail and eventually debouches on San Roque Rd. above the Water treatment plant.

On the left side (north side) of Camino Cielo, follow the road past the gun club, past the gate and perhaps another 200 yds. There is a small trail that takes off on the left. This is the back country side of Arroyo Burro trail and it winds down beside a creek and eventually reconnects with Arroyo Burro road about half-way down to Paradise Rd.

You can also reach the trail head by going up Gibraltar, turning left on Camino Cielo and driving for ~4.9miles until you reach the gun club.

Remember, when you start a hike going downhill you will have to climb back up when you are tired and want to go home.

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Island View

2.09 miles
Altitude at Start: 3038 ft, End: 2975 ft
Ascent: 792 ft, Descent: 855 ft
Net Change: -63 ft

Island View trail runs along the top of the ridge line of the mountains. It appears to be a continuation of Camino Cielo (Google Maps claims that it is Camino Cielo, but USGS maps disagree).

The trail starts where Camino Cielo dead ends near Romero Rd. Basically you just continue walking in the same direction once Camino Cielo ends. You must cross several fences that have been put up to keep ATVs off the route (usually the fences are half torn down anyway so this isn't really a problem, but it might appear to be one).

After half a mile or so you will come to the place where Romero trail crosses this route. The route for Island View isn't as clear as the one for Romero, but just stay on the ridge line and you'll find it again.

After three quarters of a mile, or a bit more, you'll come to another fence that has been torn down. On the far side of this there is a "road" to an ATV playground off on the right of the trail. Ignore that, go straight ahead.

After another three quarters of a mile the trail ends on a dirt road that USGS maps call "Camino Cielo". Follow this downhill for 1.2 miles and it debouches onto yet another dirt road (which might be called "Romero Rd."); turn left and follow this for a mile and a bit and you'll be back at the end of Camino Cielo (the paved road anyway).

There is another trail up here which might be part of this same route complex. To get to it walk down the Romero Rd. (the front side of it) for about half a mile and as you go through a pass with mountains on either side there's a trail which takes off on the right. This lasts only about another mile or so and joins Camino Cielo.

Romero Trail, Back Country

1.80 miles
Altitude at Start: 3068 ft, End: 1718 ft
Ascent: 462 ft, Descent: 1812 ft
Net Change: -1350 ft

From the ridge line, the back country version of Romero trail goes downhill to the north. It runs beside and inside a small stream bed (which, thankfully, is usually dry). After half a mile or so you will be able to see the back part of Romero Rd. But the road is 100ft below down a sheer drop. The trail turns west and runs parallel, but above, the road. Slowly the trail and road approach and after ~¼mile meet.

You need to follow the road east (opposite the direction you've just been moving) for perhaps 30ft before the trail takes off again on the left. It's easy to miss. I've done so several times. The trail looks more like an erosian gully than a trail, but trail it is.

It goes down very, very steeply at first, but eventually levels out.

After 1¾miles from the ridge line it reaches the junction with Blue Canyon trail. Upper Blue Canyon leads to the right and east, Lower Blue Canyon to the left and west.

Snyder Trail

3.49 miles
Altitude at Start: 1073 ft, End: 3003 ft
Ascent: 2782 ft, Descent: 852 ft
Net Change: 1930 ft

Starting from Paradise road, at the odd tree, go through the gap in the fence and up the dirt road. After about .4 miles you will reach a water tank and the road becomes narrow. Another quarter of a mile and there is another water tank and the road becomes single track which switchbacks up the hillside (people have cut the switchbacks, but please don't take that route). There is a old iron sign here which says "Trail".

The trail continues up for a mile and a quarter until it comes out onto another narrow road. Again there is a sign that reads "Trail". As you follow this road it gets wider and more road-like. Another mile and a quarter takes you to the garage for Knapps Castle, and a little beyond that is the junction that leads to the castle itself (turn left for the castle, keep going straight for Camino Cielo). The gate at Camino Cielo is another quarter mile.

You can now turn around and go back down, or you could turn right and walk about 1.3 miles on Camino Cielo (past Painted Cave Rd.) to the entrance for Freemont Trail. Turn right again, and walk down to Paradise Campground and thence to Paradise Rd. turn right yet again to walk back to the Snyder trailhead (about a mile).

Snyder Trail may be approached either from the top (Camino Cielo) or the bottom (Paradise Rd.). The top approach is described at Knapp's Castle.

Take the 154 up and over the mountains to the Paradise Rd. exit, and turn right onto Paradise.

Drive beyond the Paradise Store, the Freemont Campground, the Paradise Campground, and the Los Pietos Campground. About a half mile after Los Pietos you will see a place to park by the side of the road with a strange looking oak with an enormous bump on the side. It's unmistakable when you see it. Stop here.

You will need an Adventure Pass to park on Paradise Rd. You can buy one at the ranger station at Paradise Campground (about a mile back).

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Freemont Trail

3.67 miles
Altitude at Start: 962 ft, End: 2694 ft
Ascent: 2600 ft, Descent: 869 ft
Net Change: 1732 ft

From Freemont, go to the left top of the campground, and there, beyond a picnic table, with no signage, is a small trail which heads towards Paradise. Follow this for about half a mile and another trail takes off on the right.

A little further up is an old water tank. Continue going up.

After about a mile you come out into a meadow (with buttercups in it in the spring) and an odd structure which might be a yurt. The trail fades into the grass a bit, but you can still follow it with care.

Some distance beyond the yurt, the trail debouches into a grassy road. Turn right on the road and keep going up.

Another three quarters of a mile and the road ends in another, more traveled road. On your left is a sign saying "Private, No Trespassing". So go right.

This goes uphill for several miles. On the way you get good views of the Cold Spring bridge on the 154 (which is spectacular).

Eventually you come out on Camino Cielo.

You can now turn around and go back down, or you could turn left and walk about 1.3 miles on Camino Cielo (past Painted Cave Rd.) to the entrance for Knapp's Castle. Turn left again, and walk down Snyder Trail to Paradise Rd. and then left yet again to walk back to Paradise (or Freemont) Campground.

There are a number of approaches to Freemont trail. You can start from Camino Cielo or from Paradise Rd. From Paradise you may start from Freemont Campground (as seems reasonable) or from Paradise Campground.

Unfortunately Freemont Campground does not allow day-use parking (just overnight camping) so it is probably easier to start from Paradise Campground.

You will need an Adventure Pass to park on Paradise Rd. You can buy one at the ranger station at Paradise Campground.

Take the 154 up and over the mountains to the Paradise Rd. exit, and turn right onto Paradise.

Drive beyond the Paradise Store, and the Freemont Campground is another mile or so. Paradise Campground is another mile beyond that.

From Freemont, go to the left top of the campground, and there, beyond a picnic table, with no signage, is a small trail which heads towards Paradise.

From Camino Cielo... Drive up Painted Cave Rd. and turn left onto Camino Cielo. Drive for about .4 miles until you see a dirt road on the right behind a metal gate. It's the first road you will see (and the first gate too).

You can park here, and hike down. Note that you do NOT need an Adventure Pass to park on Camino Cielo.

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This trailhead is at the intersection of the back side of Gibraltar Rd. and Camino Cielo. It is also where Tunnel trail hits Camino Cielo, and if you go down Gibraltar a bit you will come to a small trail on the left, possibly Mattias trail which goes down into the valley and eventually connects with Arroyo Burro Rd.

Drive up Gibraltar Rd. until you reach Camino Cielo. Continue straight onto Camino Cielo and drive for ~¾ miles. On the right a dirt road continues down into the valley (this is the back side of Gibraltar Rd.) and on the left is a maze of Off-Road-Vehicle trails. If you wander though the maze long enough heading roughly south and west you will find the top of Tunnel Trail.

Remember, when you start a hike going downhill you will have to climb back up when you are tired and want to go home.

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Forbush Trail

4.56 miles
Altitude at Start: 1592 ft, End: 2431 ft
Ascent: 2312 ft, Descent: 1473 ft
Net Change: 839 ft

Forbush Trail runs from Forbush camp (at the end of Cold Springs trail) through the Grotto and on to the Mercury Mine. The back side of Gibraltar Rd. sort of peters out at the mine, but there are vestiges of it for several miles toward the Grotto (so I'm not sure what is officially road and what officially trail, but the mine makes a reasonable end point to the trail).

From Forbush the trail climbs steeply for a half mile or so and then descends steeply until it finds a little stream, which it runs beside for another mile. There are several stream crossings and some rather interesting pools.

At the Grotto the trail leaves the stream, turns left and up into the hills. Here it bumps up and down above the valley floor for quite some distance, with the trail slowly looking more and more like a road as it continues.

Blue Canyon Trail

3.24 miles
Altitude at Start: 1718 ft, End: 2423 ft
Ascent: 1722 ft, Descent: 1017 ft
Net Change: 705 ft

Blue Canyon trail starts at Forbush Camp (at the end of Cold Springs trail and runs (steeply) downhill for a while. It runs beside a stream, though this isn't always obvious as the stream can be 100ft below the trail. Eventually the trail reaches the stream and runs along in the bed (usually wet) for a while. It continues to bobble up and down beside the stream.

Then it runs through oak woodland and out into the occasional meadow.

After a bit more than a mile it reaches a large meadow on one side of which is Cottam camp. From Cotta there is supposed to be a trail that leads across the creek, but I've never been able to follow it.

But the Blue Canyon trail continues to the right and climbs steeply up to a pass. I've seen mountain lion tracks in this pass. And then back down into oak woodland with the occasional stream crossing.

Eventually it reaches the end of Romero trail. Thence, upper Blue Canyon trail continues, but I haven't explored it yet.

I highly recommend this trail.

Nine Trails Race

35.38 miles
Altitude at Start: 496 ft, End: 529 ft
Ascent: 18723 ft, Descent: 18690 ft
Net Change: 33 ft

The Nine Trails Ultra was run for many years starting at the Cator Water treatment plant, and going by various trails to Romero, where it turned around and came back to Cator.

But in 2008 the Tea fire burned part of the course two weeks before the event, so it had to be moved at the last minute. Then in 2009 the Jesusita fire destroyed a large chunk of the trail system and the forest service closed the trails all summer, so again the race had to be moved, this time to Paradise Rd in the back country. After this the race director got fed up with SB and decided that the 2009 course would what he would put on in the future, the Red Rock 40M.

This route is the traditional one.

From the flagpole of the Cator water treatment plan run to the trailhead
Then run to Inspiration
From Inspiration run down toward Tunnel until you get to the place where the trail takes off from the fireroad.
Run up Tunnel trail to the Rattlesnake Connector
Run down the connector to the intersection just before the meadow
Run up Rattlesnake to Gibraltar
Run down Gibraltar to the big hairpin turn
Run down the West Fork of Cold Springs until you cross the stream and hit East Fork
Run up the East Fork, past the pylons, until you come to the Hot Springs Connector (marked with a "No Trespassing" sign)
Run down the Hot Springs connector till you hit fireroad
Turn left on the fireroad and follow to San Ysidro trail
Run down San Ysidro (very briefly) until The Wall (a fireroad) climbs steeply on the left
Run (or more likely walk) up the wall until you reach the top
Run down the Buena Vista Connector trail until you reach Buena Vista itself
Turn left on Buena Vista and run uphill until you reach fireroad
Turn left (only way) on the fireroad and run.
After a bit you will pass a large corregated metal pipe on the left of the road, shortly after this is a fireroad spur on the left which leads up to the Romero Connector
Turn left (away from the main road) and run up the spur to the top
Run down the Romero Connector until it crosses the stream and you hit Romero Trail
Run down the trail to the road
Run down the road to the trailhead.
Run back up the road to the trail
Run up the road to the connector
Run up the connector and down the fireroad spur
Turn right and run along the fireroad until it dead-ends
Down Buena Vista to the Connector
Up the Connector to the Wall
Down the wall to San Ysidro
Right on San Ysidro, and continue on fireroad (don't take the trail) until you reach the Hot Springs Connector
Up the Connector to Cold Springs
Down Cold Springs to the West Fork
Cross the stream and up the west fork to Gibraltar
Up Gibraltar to Rattlesnake
Down Rattlesnake to the Rattlesnake connector (just before the meadow)
Up the connector to Tunnel
Down (left) Tunnel to the fireroad
Up the fireroad to the trail to Inspiration
Down from Inspiration to Cator.

Red Rock 40M Race

40.84 miles
Altitude at Start: 1047 ft, End: 1047 ft
Ascent: 16012 ft, Descent: 16012 ft
Net Change: 0 ft

The Red Rock 40M trail race is the replacement for the Nine Trails Race.

Starting at the day use area, follow the old road across the river
And then back across the river
Then a short cut on a little trail that rejoins the road
Then follow the road until it intersects Gibraltar Rd.
Turn left onto Gibraltar Rd and follow it to the old Mercury Mine
At the mine the road starts to disintegrate, turning into single trail
Follow the single track to the Grotto and thence to Forbush
At Forbush turn left and go up the back country bit of Cold Springs trail to Camino Cielo.
Cross Camino Cielo and follow Cold Springs down to the "No Trespassing" sign where the Hot Springs connector takes off.
Turn left onto the connector and follow it to the fireroad
Turn left on the fireroad and follow it to San Ysidro
Turn right on San Ysidro and follow it to The Wall, a fireroad
Turn left up the wall (there are a couple of short fireroad stubs on the right, but if you stay on the left you'll be fine), and follow it to the top.
At the top is the Buena Vista Connector, follow this down to the intersection with Buena Vista itself.
Turn left and go up the trail to the fireroad
Turn left (only way) on the fireroad and run.
After a bit you will pass a large corregated metal pipe on the left of the road, shortly after this is a fireroad spur on the left which leads up to the Romero Connector
Turn left (away from the main road) and run up the spur to the top
Run down the Romero Connector until it crosses the stream and you hit Romero Trail
Run down the trail to the road

Then you turn around, and run the whole thing in reverse.

Blue Canyon 50K Race

31.94 miles
Altitude at Start: 1191 ft, End: 1191 ft
Ascent: 12496 ft, Descent: 12496 ft
Net Change: 0 ft

The race starts inside the compound of the privately owned Rancho Oso.

Head south until you reach a little trail which winds around the southern edge of the rancho.
This eventually hits the (back side of) Arroyo Burro trail
Turn right (south) and go up the trail until you reach the road
Turn left (north) and go down the road until you reach Mattias trail
Follow Mattias trail until it reaches Gibraltar Rd (back side)
Turn left (north-west) and run for ~6 miles to the 50K turnaround
Turn around and run for ~6 miles to the trail
Turn right and follow the trail until you reach Arroyo Burro Rd again
Turn right and follow the road until you reach Arroyo Burro Trail (~1 mile)
Turn left and follow the trail until you reach the Rancho Oso trail (~.1 mile)
Follow this back to the starting area.

Blue Canyon 50M Race

51.63 miles
Altitude at Start: 1191 ft, End: 1191 ft
Ascent: 19397 ft, Descent: 19397 ft
Net Change: 0 ft

The race starts inside the compound of the privately owned Rancho Oso.

Head south until you reach a little trail which winds around the southern edge of the rancho.
This eventually hits the (back side of) Arroyo Burro trail
Turn right (south) and go up the trail until you reach the road
Turn left (north) and go down the road until you reach Mattias trail
Follow Mattias trail until it reaches Gibraltar Rd (back side)
Turn left (north-west) and run for ~6 miles past the 50K turnaround and down to a side road with a gate on the right
Turn right, run around the gate, and run along the edge of Gibraltar Reservoir
The road degrades and when you get the the old mercury mine it becomes single track
Continue on single track, past the Grotto, beside the creek, over the hill and down to Forbush
At the intersection before Forbush, turn left onto Blue Canyon trail and continue on to Cottam Camp. The turnaround is just beyond Cottam
Turn around and head back to Forbush
Turn right and climb over the hill, down beside the creek and to the Grotto
The trail makes a sharp left here and climbs away from the creek, through the hills and on to the mercury mine
Where it becomes a road. Follow the road around the reservoir and up to the gate
Go through the gate, turn left, pass the 50K turnaround and up the road for ~6 miles to Mattias trail
Turn right and follow the trail until you reach Arroyo Burro Rd again
Turn right and follow the road until you reach Arroyo Burro Trail (~1 mile)
Turn left and follow the trail until you reach the Rancho Oso trail (~.1 mile)
Follow this back to the starting area.

Romero, Blue Cny, SY 16M Loop

15.99 miles
Altitude at Start: 1100 ft, End: 917 ft
Ascent: 9392 ft, Descent: 9575 ft
Net Change: -183 ft

Starting at Romero trailhead, go up the road.
After the stream crossing turn left onto the trail and follow that until it hits the road again (~1.8 miles)
When you come to the road, continue across and go up
When you reach the ridge line trail, continue across and go down
When you read the road again, turn right down it
Follow the road for about 15ft, the trail starts off on the left side of the road and drops percipitously.
Follow the trail down (for a mile and a bit) past the pylons until you get to the intersection with Blue Canyon trail
turn left
After a mile and a bit you will pass Cottam Camp, continue across the meadow
When you reach the intersection near Forbush turn left (toward Forbush)
Proceed up the back side of Cold Springs until you reach Camino Cielo
Turn left and jog for about 1/4 mile until you reach the San Ysidro trail head
Follow San Ysidro down to The Wall (almost to the bottom)
Go up The Wall
Go down Buena Vista Connector to the intersection with Buena Vista trail
Turn left and go up to the fireroad
Turn left (only way) and continue on the fireroad until you reach Romero Rd
Follow that down to the start.

Obviously many variations are possible. You could start at San Ysidro instead of Romero.

Romero, Blue Cny, CS 18M Loop

17.84 miles
Altitude at Start: 1100 ft, End: 917 ft
Ascent: 9861 ft, Descent: 10044 ft
Net Change: -183 ft

Starting at Romero trailhead, go up the road.
After the stream crossing turn left onto the trail and follow that until it hits the road again (~1.8 miles)
When you come to the road, continue across and go up
When you reach the ridge line trail, continue across and go down
When you read the road again, turn right down it
Follow the road for about 15ft, the trail starts off on the left side of the road and drops percipitously.
Follow the trail down (for a mile and a bit) past the pylons until you get to the intersection with Blue Canyon trail
turn left
After a mile and a bit you will pass Cottam Camp, continue across the meadow
When you reach the intersection near Forbush turn left (toward Forbush)
Proceed up the back side of Cold Springs until you reach Camino Cielo
Cross the road and run down Cold Springs trail to the pylons
Turn left and run down the fireroad toward Hot Springs
When the road forks at Hot Springs make a sharp left
Run up the road past Saddle Rock and Girard trails to San Ysidro
Follow San Ysidro down to The Wall (almost to the bottom)
Go up The Wall
Go down Buena Vista Connector to the intersection with Buena Vista trail
Turn left and go up to the fireroad
Turn left (only way) and continue on the fireroad until you reach Romero Rd
Follow that down to the start.

San Ysidro, Blue Cnyn, Upper, Romero 21M Loop

21.67 miles
Altitude at Start: 453 ft, End: 453 ft
Ascent: 11185 ft, Descent: 11185 ft
Net Change: 0 ft

Starting at the San Ysidro trailhead
Run up the trail, beside the road, beyond the gate
Continue on the fireroad, ignore the sign for McMcMenemy trail, and then run past 'The Wall'.
After about .9 miles from the start San Ysidro trail branches off to the right (if you cross the stream, you've gone too far).
Continue up the trail until you hit Camino Cielo (~4 and a quarter miles from the start).
Turn left on Camino Cielo and run ~a quarter mile on it until you reach the Cold Springs trail heads (there's one on each side of the road).
Turn right and run down to Forbush. Just beyond Forbush is the intersection with Forbush and Blue Canyon trails (about 1 three quarters miles from CC)
Turn right onto Blue Canyon trail
At Cottam camp (1.75 miles from Forbush) the trail makes a sharp right turn into the meadow. It's easy to miss the turn, and a trail appears to continue in a straight line, but it peters out.
A mile and a quarter from Cottam is the intersection with Romero trail and upper blue canyon.
Go straight (on upper blue canyon trail).
After about 2.5 miles the trail ends in a dirt road (which becomes Romero Rd.)
Turn right, cross a small bridge and run up hill for about 3.2 miles until you reach the intersections with Romero trail.
Turn left on the trail and climb up to the ridge line (where there is an intersection with the ridge line trail that follows what used to be Camino Ciello).
Continue down Romero Trail, cross the road (again), and down to the Romero Connector.
Make a sharp right turn on the connector, and climb up to the fireroad
Turn right and follow the fireroad down to the main fireroad.
Turn right and follow the fireroad until it dead-ends.
A small trail continues steeply downhill.
This intersects with Buena Vista trail and the Buena Vista connector.
Turn right onto the connector and follow it up to the Wall.
Turn left on the Wall and follow it down to San Ysidro again.
Turn left onto San Ysidro and go back to the trailhead.

Rattlesnake Tunnel Ridge Loop

5.21 miles
Altitude at Start: 884 ft, End: 884 ft
Ascent: 2941 ft, Descent: 2941 ft
Net Change: 0 ft

Rattlesnake starts in the creek bed. You might start on either the left or right side of the creek, but the trail on the left quickly crosses the creek and joins the one on the left.

Almost exactly 1 mile from the start there is a very discrete trail leading to the left and up.

Follow this and in half a mile you will hit Powerline Road.

Turn right on Powerline and go up the (very steep) hill to a bunch of pylons. The road eventually levels out and starts to go down again about where the fourth side road takes off on the right to a pair of pylons.

Follow this road (it's not long, about 10 yards) and on the left of the second pylon (at the end of the road) a trail takes off.

Follow the trail, which will climb very steeply for a while, then level off and run along a knife-edge ridge line for three quarters of a mile.

The ridge line eventually dips down and ends on Tunnel trail.

Turn right and very soon you will hit the turn off for the Rattlesnake Connector on the right.

Turn right and you will drop down into Rattlesnake Canyon. After three quarters of a mile you will reach the main Rattlesnake trail. Turn right. Go past the meadow, and all the way back down to the start.

Tunnel Ridge Loop

5.47 miles
Altitude at Start: 1008 ft, End: 1008 ft
Ascent: 2454 ft, Descent: 2454 ft
Net Change: 0 ft

Follow the dirt road on your right. After another mile an a quarter or so the road will climb very steeply up to a bunch of pylons. The road eventually levels out and starts to go down again about where the fourth side road takes off on the right to a pair of pylons.

Follow this road (it's not long, about 10 yards) and on the left of the second pylon (at the end of the road) a trail takes off.

Follow the trail, which will climb very steeply for a while, then level off and run along a knife-edge ridge line for three quarters of a mile.

The ridge line eventually dips down and ends on Tunnel trail again.

Turn left and head back down.

Arroyo Burro/Mattias/Tunnel Loop

24.16 miles
Altitude at Start: 529 ft, End: 529 ft
Ascent: 11084 ft, Descent: 11084 ft
Net Change: 0 ft