Tag archives: trails
“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 […]
With hot temperatures continuing over the next week, Los Padres National Forest officials reminded visitors last week that an open fire ban remains in effect for the Santa Barbara front country while trail closures have been extended for the Old Romero Road (26W25), Romero Canyon Trail (26W14), and San Ysidro Trail (26W15 Singletrack) through August […]
As a neighborhood association, we receive lots of questions, and some can be difficult to sort, particularly if they cross multiple jurisdictional lines. We encounter this often with Hands Across Montecito, when we work the area around the Hot Springs exit. In just a few steps on the tracks, you’re moving back and forth between […]
After receiving a report of five cameras being placed around the Montecito Hot Springs areas and several agencies unaware of their presence, Montecito Journal reached out to local authorities for answers regarding the cameras. The response received was concerned with the current mandatory closure of the local forests, trails, and recreation areas to the public, […]
A month after a significant rain event damaged Montecito homes, roads, and trails, Walk Montecito – a project by the Bucket Brigade – is still digging out from the catastrophic damage to the neighborhood trail network. “We need the community’s support to get through this,” said Bucket Brigade founder Abe Powell. The Olive Mill neighborhood […]
‘Twas the trail blazing campaign, called Walk Montecito! Seeking funds from donors, to make the project complet-o, With leadership from Geoff and our good friend Abe, We are grateful to the team at Bucket Brigade! In April of 2022, the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade launched a campaign to address one of the ongoing health and […]
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, […]
The Community Services Department is currently accepting applications to fill two Hot Springs Trail Assistant vacancies in Montecito at the Hot Springs Trail. “This position is important in promoting better relations between trail users and residents near the trail, and a part of the County’s responsibility protecting the public safety of both groups,” said First […]
In the July 14 issue of the Montecito Journal, Joe Armendariz’s letter to the editor titled “Radical Status,” contained multiple inaccurate assertions related to the application for the Radis/Roots Cannabis retail store proposed location on Santa Claus Lane, as well as misinformation concerning existing businesses there. Mr. Armendariz fails to mention that he is a […]
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 […]
John Muir once wrote, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you… and cares will drop away like the leaves of Autumn.” The Santa Barbara Historical Museum’s latest exhibition celebrates the region’s increasingly popular hiking trails and public lands. Isolated by COVID, locked out of their gyms, and finally […]
A new exhibit at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum celebrates the region’s hiking trails and public lands through historic photographs, paintings, and historic items from the museum’s collections. Take a Hike, Save the World is a visual journey through our Eden by the Beach’s most scenic areas, as seen by artists and photographers beginning in […]
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 […]
In mid-September, my husband Michael and I hit the road and traveled to Kellogg, Idaho, to ride the rails. Our locomotion, however, was pedal-powered and the iron rails had long been torn out, leaving behind two rail corridors: one of the Union Pacific Railroad and the other of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific […]
Congratulations and a big thank you to all of those (whose many names are too numerous to list here) who worked so hard to get the Hot Springs Neighborhood Trail completed. We have lots of wonderful hiking trails in our local hills and mountains, but safe paths through our community are sorely lacking. Let’s hope […]
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held this week on the newly completed Hot Springs Neighborhood Trail, which connects Olive Mill Road from Casa Dorinda to East Valley Road. Since the debris flow in January 2018, the Bucket Brigade, led by Abe Powell and a committed team, has worked to restore many areas of the community, and […]
The process for removing parking on Riven Rock Road was disrespectful because there were no public hearings or solicitation for hiker input. Notices could have been placed on the Hot Springs trailhead but weren’t. Parking access for trails should not be limited in the future without notice given to hikers and the community, so all […]
On March 31, 2021, I rode my bicycle to Riven Rock Road. Signs were placed there saying “No Parking,” threatening tickets to those who did so. I asked Gary Smart of the road crew what was going on. He told me that white lines were going to be painted on both sides of the road […]
On Saturday, March 28, 2021 at about 5:30 pm, I took my bicycle to the Hot Springs Trailhead, which is about a 10-minute ride from where I live. A vehicle which had printed on it “Hillcrest Security” had stopped on Mountain Drive next to the trailhead parking lot. I asked the driver, Mark, what he […]
