Tag archives: Los Padres
A call to clean the and restore the Montecito Hot Springs Canyon Trail with Los Padres National Forest Team is now open. Work starts on September 26, National Public Lands Day. This is a great project for both the seasoned trail veteran and the first timer interested in learning more about trail work. The Los […]
Scoutmaster Nathan Camp – Scoutmaster of Troop 33 Montecito, under the Los Padres Council of Scouts of America Pacific Coast District – proudly announces promotion of four Troop 33 scouts to Eagle Scout. They are Dylan Seawards, senior at SB High School; Leo Brownstein, senior at SB High School; Noah Slotnick-Lastrico, senior at San Marcos […]
It might only happen once every several years. A steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus leaves its ocean realm, forges an aquatic path up a river mouth, navigates a flood plain, and eventually swims up a boulder-choked creek to lay its eggs in a pool of loose, sandy soil – the gentle ebb and flow of […]
All it took was a crumbly shard of shale cascading down a steep cliff face forcing me to look upward into the blue skies above the rugged Sespe Wilderness, part of the Los Padres National Forest. It was a majestic desert bighorn ram nimbly traversing toward me. Suddenly, I forgot how exposed I was on […]
Usher in 2025 at San Ysidro Ranch’s Stonehouse Restaurant with a six-course pre-fixe NYE dinner, live music, and an enchanting ambiance that will form the final, lasting impression of the year and begin the next one in unforgettable style. Revel around mesmerizing ice sculptures and balloon displays before heading to dine on Executive Chef Matt […]
The Los Padres Forest Association’s annual wall calendar is in production, and you can pre-order yours now to support its Trail Care Program. Calendars are made with quality, community-submitted photos of the Los Padres Forest and are printed on high quality stock (17″x11″) with special date information. Calendars will print and ship in December 2024. […]
Yes! Outdoor gear geeks unite – it is time to donate, volunteer, and definitely shop for your outdoor hiking, camping, exploring gear at the popular Los Padres Forest Association Annual Gear Sale, on Sunday, October 13 at Manning Park, Montecito! All proceeds go toward the LPFA Trail Restoration Fund. The Used Gear Sale features a […]
Family Fall Festival and Fundraiser: The Los Padres ForestWatch is celebrating two decades of conservation success this year and is inviting the public to a family-centric Fall Festival Fundraiser event on September 15, from 11am – 2pm at the Stow House, Goleta. The event features culinary delights, engaging in fun games, an educational, immersive experience, […]
The American Hiking Society has announced June 1 as National Trails Day. This is an annual event on the first Saturday of June. The mission is to “Leave it Better than you found it,” by volunteering to maintain, clean up, and advocate for public lands and trails. Everyone is invited to discover events and organizations […]
The Los Padres ForestWatch is excited to celebrate Earth Day during all of April in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with info sessions and clean ups. The organization is calling for volunteers to work shifts in Santa Barbara, Ojai, and Ventura. Duties include signing up new volunteers, selling merchandise and meeting like-minded individuals who are […]
The Los Padres ForestWatch (LPFW) nonprofit organization announced their 2024 Women Leaders of the Central Coast Public Lands. The LPFW selection focuses specifically on each woman’s groundbreaking work protecting public lands and waters. The women are Gloria Brown, Marlene Braun, Lois Capps, Jan Hamber, Kathleen Goddard Jones, Linda Krop, Mary Looby, Janine McFarland, Anne McMahon, […]
After bushwhacking and rambling across three mountain ranges and crossing two rivers between Nira Camp in the Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plain National Monument, amazingly I didn’t find a single tick on me. It was December 2023, and fortunately, the same went for my five comrades as we spent seven days and […]
Let’s head outdoors this second week of January for a healthy start, and to reconnect with the nature in our backyard – balancing the indoor parties and holiday festivities that just ensued. One way to do that (and be of service) is to volunteer with the Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA) on any of the […]
Director of Conservation and Research for The Los Padres ForestWatch Bryant Baker has announced their new phone app for the public to find real time information on forest and trail closures and conditions. Baker says: “Due to damage caused by severe winter storms earlier this month, many trails and roads have been closed to public […]
Zach Mendez, Opera Santa Barbara’s Director of Operations and member of the organization’s team since 2018, and a member of the chorus before that, is leaving to dedicate his talents full time to his photography business. “Zach has been my closest partner, deputy, confidant, and friend for over four years, and every area of our […]
I chose a broad sandstone stage, dropped my camera pack, and kicked back on the gritty slab in the Sierra Madre Mountains of the Los Padres National Forest. It was the spring of 1997, and the sun was shining overhead with intermittent puffy clouds drifting north to south. My hands were behind my head and […]
About four miles and 3,500 vertical feet uphill from the San Ysidro Trailhead, a Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA) work crew wearing hardhats printed in block letters with their names, are wielding hand hoes. They’re fixing a somewhat crumbling ridge dotted with small bushes and the scorched skeletons of small trees that burned in the […]



