USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
Location: Santa Barbara County, about 25 miles north-northwest of Ojai, 170 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Santa Barbara County |
| Forest Service | Los Padres National Forest: Mt Pinos, Ojai and Santa Barbara Ranger Districts |
| USGS Topos | Cuyama Peak 7½, Fox Mountain 7½, Rancho Nuevo Creek 7½ |
| Official HPS Maps |
TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| | Viewable JPG file - Approximately 3.4 megs |
| | GPX file or Google Earth KML file to
download to GPS units and other map software (How to use GPX and KML files) |
| | Routes as shown on
CalTopo using the above files (How to use CalTopo) |
Nearby Peaks: Lizard Head
ROUTE 1
(USFS Adventure Pass may be required)
- Distance: None
- Gain: None
- Time: None
- Rating: Drive-up
Original: Paul A. Lipsohn, 1972
DRIVING ROUTE 1
- Drive north on I-5 past the Grapevine to the SR 166 off-ramp. Turn
left (west).
- Head west 36.5 miles, passing through Maricopa, to the junction with
SR 33 south. This junction may be reached by a slower route via SR 33
north from Ojai. (There is a junction with SR 33 north in Maricopa that
you will pass in Maricopa.) Turn left (south).
- Go 2.7 miles to Foothill Road on the right. Turn right (west).
- Go 2.1 miles, crossing the Cuyama River, to the Santa Barbara Canyon
Road (9N11) on the left. Turn left, note your odometer, and go as
follows:
- At 3.1 miles, junction with a dirt road on the left just past a ranch
with a sign "Santa Barbara Canyon Road". Turn right on a paved
road.
- At 7.5 miles, fork with Santa Barbara Ranch visible ahead. Go right
and cross a creek. The pavement ends.
- At 9.5 miles, a cattle guard and gate.
- At 10.0 miles, a hard to see dirt road on right. Keep straight. This
is the turnoff for Fox Mountain #1.
- At 10.8 miles, Dry Canyon Road on the left. Turn left.
- At 16.6 miles an obscure gated road/trail on the right. Keep left
This is the
parking spot for Lizard Head.
- Follow the road about 2 more miles up to the summit of Cuyama Peak.
If the Cuyama River is impassable, return to the junction of SR 166
and SR 33 and go as follows:
- Go west on SR 166 for 4.7 miles to a bridge over the Cuyama
River, and an immediate junction past the bridge, on your left. This is
Kirschenmann Road (paved). Turn left.
- Continue 2.4 miles to the end of Kirschenmann at Foothill Road. Turn
left (east).
- Drive 3 miles to Santa Barbara Canyon Road on the right (south). Turn
right and continue as above.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- The HPS register is sometimes located in a drawer or cupboard
inside the lookout
tower. There is a Forest Service register at the foot of the stairs.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Dry Canyon Road can be washed out in the early spring.
The road is sometimes not passable beyond the parking spot for Lizard
Head. Hike up the road from here. This is 1200' gain and 4 1/2 miles
round trip.
