Tag archives: Montecito Trails Foundation

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 […]

MOVE Santa Barbara County will bring its E-Bike Safety Presentation Series to Montecito Union School on January 30, educating students on safe riding practices, traffic laws, and shared responsibility on local roads. The presentations, part of MOVE’s education and encouragement program, will reach fourth- and sixth-grade classes throughout the day. Designed to build awareness as […]

Join the Dog Days of Summer Photo Contest!  This year’s theme is all about the beach. Dress your pampered pup in their best seaside style and dive into our end-of-summer pup party. Every photo snapped will be entered for a chance to win! Winners to be announced in the Montecito Journal! The #1 Top Dog’s […]

The Montecito Trails Foundation is collaborating with the Summerland Citizens Association, along with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, to restore the Greenwell Preserve to its natural habitat. The Greenwell Preserve is located at Greenwell Road and Asegra Road, Summerland.  The property is owned and managed by the State Coastal Conservancy who is responsible for the […]

Social gridlock reigned at the Carriage and Western Museum for the 60th anniversary barbecue bash for the Montecito Trails Foundation – the first one in six years – having previously been held at the Coffin estate at the Montecito Valley Ranch.  More than $100,000 was raised by the 175 guests, including the Montecito Community Foundation […]

Society Invites says, put your fashion sneakers on and jaunt over to the 60th Anniversary BBQ celebration for the Montecito Trails Foundation (MTF), Sunday, September 22, 5-9 pm, at the Carriage & Western Art Museum Santa Barbara. The all-out celebration is the first fundraiser back on the trails since 2019. Proving to be a time […]

“So I promise that I’m not going to build a trail that has landslides.” – Montecito Trails Foundation representative to CRAHTAC, 11/14/22 How soon promises are broken… We can’t predict when weather will cause damage to trails, but thanks to highly trained agency staff such as geologists, we are given insight to the types of […]

On April 26th, 1965, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Resolution #24671, accepting a trail easement from Logan and Elizabeth McMenemy. This easement solidified a new trail route for a historic trail that crossed the McMenemy lands, and a few years later a second easement was deeded by the San Ysidro Ranch, […]

Last week, Santa Barbara County’s Riding and Hiking Trails Advisory Committee (aka CRAHTAC) approved a plan to realign .6 miles of Montecito’s McMenemy Trail. According to Montecito Trails Foundation (MTF) Board President Ashlee Mayfield, the section of trail in question has significant issues and has been on the docket for improvement since at least 2008, […]

How would you describe the Santa Barbara Nine Trails Endurance Run? Challenging, grueling, fun? In early 2020, a few Montecito locals – retirees, moms, and full-time professionals – found their joy in this mega-trail. The small group, comprised of about five women, met through the Montecito Trails Foundation (MTF). They banded together and set out […]

Summerland is blessed with the beautiful green thumb of Sonya Harris, who single-handedly created a garden scape with over 250 plants and stonework along Lillie Avenue’s sidewalk through the northbound 101 onramp.  Caltrans was ready to bulldoze through that garden were it not for a good deed message from Kirsten Ayars, PR for the Caltrans […]

Last week was an exciting moment for the Montecito Trails Foundation as well as the community at large: the last of the bridges to be damaged or destroyed in the 1/9 Debris Flow was replaced, a project nearly four years in the making. “In order to create the best access for the public, we needed […]

Last Thursday, February 11, several community leaders and nearby residents came out to a small ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new bridge across San Ysidro Creek at East Mountain Drive. Public Works Director Scott McGolpin, First District Supervisor Das Williams, Public Works Deputy Directors Julie Hagen and Chris Sneddon, Bucket Brigade […]

On December 31, the Montecito Trails Foundation (MTF) held its inaugural New Year’s Eve trash pickup event on local trails, with dozens of members fanning out along some 90 miles of trails in the front country above town as well as community trails within Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria. Because of COVID-19 concerns, the group encouraged […]

If you’ve ever trekked up the walking path on the west side of San Ysidro Road between the 101 Freeway and East Valley Road, or along the north side of North Jameson Lane between San Ysidro and Olive Mill Road, then you are already familiar with Montecito’s recently established community trail network. While sidewalks were […]

After an almost monthlong closure aimed at preventing new fires in what is already one of the busiest fire seasons in California history, the National Forest Service reopened the Los Padres National Forest on October 9. At just after 9 am that morning, 13 mules and a horse led by a trio of wranglers hired […]

After nearly 16 years living in Montecito, not a day goes by when I don’t think how lucky we are to live in such a special place. Since quarantine and now as my kids have started three different schools online from their bedrooms, never have I been more appreciative of our precious beaches where I […]

In July, we received and published the following letter, from a concerned Montecito hiker: Recently, I believe Tuesday June 18th, my friends are I took a hike up San Ysidro Trail. About a half a mile up the trail, we saw workers in the middle of the creekbed spraying. The spraying wasn’t being done directly […]