Once upon a time, my boyfriend Matt B. brought me on a hike on Cold Spring Trail. This was probably…read morefifteen years ago, when we were in our twenties, and Matt--who I've since married--still brings up how I struggled on that hike. Cold Spring Trail is apparently short and easy and well suited to inexperienced hikers. We went again on a recent Sunday morning, and took our two boys, who are three and six years old. We didn't make it all the way to the top, but I can't say we did the first time, either. The trail was quite pleasant in the morning, before the sun came out in full force (I believe this was what made that long-ago hike so difficult). The grade was never too steep, even for our three-year-old, and there was plenty to see. All kinds of interesting bugs and plants and rocks, and several lovely little waterfalls. There was poison oak, too, but we got away clean, and our six-year-old seemed to enjoy spotting it. We also saw several other hikers and good dogs on the trail, but it never felt overly busy. I'm sure we'll be back to Cold Spring Trail, and maybe next time, we'll make it all the way up. Piece of cake for me, of course, just have to be mindful of the children.

My friend and I hiked this 2 mile easy trail on a Tuesday morning. It was great! Temperature was…read moremild, there is quite a bit of shade throughout the hike. The waterfalls are small but beautiful. There were not a lot of people when we hiked, maybe we saw 8 people max through out the hike. To Note: there is A LOT of Poison Ivy-Oak. I wore light long hiking pants. There are some stretches with no shade so wear sunscreen if sensitive to sun. Great if you are time limited, short hike. Landscape: little waterfalls, there is limited parking.

All Trails rates this hike as moderate by I say it's more towards hard. It is a steady steep…read moreincline for 3+ miles. All trails also says it's only 3.5 miles, that is one way! So your looking at 7 miles round trip. It's rocky but with shade the first 2 miles. After that bye bye shade and hello dry and dusty trail. You will want to wear hiking boots has it's very easy to loose gripping on the rocks and roll your ankle. I called it quits at 3 miles and went back down the trail. I was exhausted from the steady climb. I am not the most in shape person right now but I am fairly active. I just hiked 5 miles last week too. So unless you are in decent shape, be prepared to not make it all the way to the top. Bring plenty of water. As someone else said, walking through the private property portion until hitting the split off of the McMenemy trail is filled with dog poop and abandoned dog poop bags. It seems people don't take their dogs on the San Ysidro as I no longer says dog poop or bags unless they just kick it off the cliff side. On my way back down I saw a Gardner snake just off of the trail path. We started at 10:45 am and arrived back at the car at 1:42 pm.

Favorite hike in the region. Shaded, cool breeze up the ravine even though we were there in heat…read morewave during our visit. Moderate to easy hike. Loved the creek to put feet in at end and cool down with splash of water. Plenty of little critters, water striders, and other insects to entertain our kiddoes.

She came from out of town and said she wanted to do something fun…read more.. The conversation shifted to the hot springs in this neck of the woods... From the tone of my voice... She said I was unenthusiastic about it. But then I thought..... On our way to this place... The first thing that came off weird to me was parking.. Their isn't much parking This is about the only negative thing I have to say... I'm not an avid hiker I really don't go hiking at all In the middle of the day I was walking towards "The peak" Out of all days that could be chosen I found gold The weather was superb... Of course it had it's weird breaks (heat and sun) For the most part it was great And if you want a great experience Choose a day featuring great weather.. The hike up had lots of elevated climb to it I loved it... Their was lots to look at I didn't encounter any strange animals/ indigenous people or what have you I did see a bright blue dragon fly that seemed to follow me Wherever I went... The people along the hike we're friendly and nice We all seemed to share the same thoughts "Lost and confused " Not sure what hikes are to entail But this one would definitely called for strength, calories and hydration... You will need all that.. There was off beaten paths that led to points of scratching my head.. And in those moments I just turned around and went the way I came... While all this was happening I was reminded how far we have come along as humans How tough things were for our ancestors Just how appreciative I am for the life I have

(I am more than confused with what trail(s) are actually located here, and need to state that sadly…read moreI hadn't hiked here pre-fire and flood.) My first trip I was trying to locate Tangerine Falls, which may or may not be located on the other side of the washed out area of E. Mountain Drive. So once I turned my car around and was heading back to Olive Mill/Hot Springs Road I found a very small place to park. (NOTE: If that small area is full, you can park on Riven Rock Drive.) I began the trail, again fully thinking I was heading for Tangerine Falls. (But even today, as I check Google Maps, they call this: HOT SPRINGS CANYON TRAIL HEAD.) - so doesn't that constitute a name change? As a very beginner hiker the trail starts fast. I had boots and walking poles, which helped my footing immensely, Once I realized I had no idea where I was headed to I asked a few people for help who were on the trail, too. They informed me that now (post fire and flood) the way to access Tangerine Falls is via Gibraltar Road. Lots of dark green trees, lots of black burned trees, too. There is a place where you cross the road and then continue on the trail. After about 1/2 mile, I believe, there are 2 signs that gave direction to HOT SPRINGS trail, and I think there may have been a bridge (since washed out) where you could cross the creek to hike another trails? SEE PHOTO - Not too sure about this though, only inferring from the signs and what *looked like where a bridge may have been. I wasn't confident crossing over fallen trees and logs to cross the creek to literally "see what was on the other side". I did hike just a bit past this sign - and the trail is very narrow and drops off steep to the creek. Since I am a big newbie I turned around from there ASAP, but quite a few people flew right past me. Again, this review is from a newbie hiker. I'm in love with this place regardless and am determined to figure out what exactly is up there still and what trails a hiker has access to. (Cold? Hot? Tangerine? San Ysidro? Saddle Rock? What else?) Since I'm not a local I am putting together piece by piece on my own as I can. Apparently there are hotel ruins up higher as well? Expect more pictures ASAP! And bring water, good shoes, and maybe a trekking pole if you're a newbie like me. :)

Just finished hiking the entirety of Tunnel Trail from Tunnel Road to East Camino Cielo Road--about…read more9 miles round trip. If you're a runner and used to measuring distance by road miles, be advised, you will not be completing this in the 75 minutes or so it takes you to do 9 miles on paved roads. We hiked at a pretty decent clip today and this took us close to five hours (without more than a two minute break to enjoy the juncal formations at the top). The first 4.5 miles climb steadily uphill, reaching an elevation of about 3,700 feet. It's up up up and mostly exposed to sun. Trails are single track and rocky, so you'll need to stay focused and tread carefully. This is a strenuous trail. Prepare yourself accordingly. You probably won't enjoy this hike if you're not in at least semi-decent shape. And even if you are, you'll feel it. Though difficult, the rewards for this effort are well worth the time and fatigue. Tunnel Trail is a hike through the fascinating geological history of Santa Barbara. You'll see plenty of Matilja and Coldwater sandstone, Cozy Dell Shale and (my favorite) juncal formations near East Camino Cielo Road. These are formations from the Eocene Age. That is, you're looking at stuff that formed about 50 million years ago--pretty amazing. Be advised, the descent is a bit of a relief, but no walk in the park. You can pick up the pace, but on tired legs, stay focused as there are a lot of slippery rock areas and it's SO easy to misstep. At 9 miles out, bring water for sure and maybe even a snack. We didn't and probably could have used a little boost at some point--you'll expend a lot of energy on the way up. Send me a message for more specific directions to the trail head. Happy hiking!

Great hike. Took me about 5:30h roundtrip, but that's b/c I did take lunch and take time to eat at…read morethe top. A tough, sweaty 3h up, and a relatively easy 2h down. I did go all the way to the summit of La Cumbre Peak at 3995ft from sea level, about 3000ft from the Tunnel Trail trailhead. The description of the trail on santabarbarahikes.com was surprisingly accurate and did help me know which way to go more than once. The only part where I went the wrong way for a bit was at the very beginning -- the fork where Tunnel Trail goes to the right, and 7 falls & Jesusita Trail go to the left, so watch out for that. I am in pretty good shape and do a decent amount of hiking, and I would rate this as a tough hike -- it was very much like the Bright Angel Trail coming out of the Grand Canyon, a continuous 30 degree ascent with lots of step rocks (but about half the total distance as the BAT). I only took 3L of water and I think that was about 1L less than I should have. I took my water filter but this was a bone dry hike -- no water source to filter and drink on Tunnel Trail. Also, I started at 12:30pm which was fine, I got back with plenty of sun left, but I also hiked during the hottest part of the day. My recommendations for anyone considering this hike: 1. Definitely plan to go all the way to the summit, that will be about 11 miles roundtrip, plan on that taking 5-6h at least. The summit is cool b/c there are picnic tables, a pit toilet, and an old abandoned outpost of some sort. And you get amazing views of not only Santa Barbara but also of the vast backcountry and of the Gibraltar Reservoir (see pics of all). 2. Take food, have lunch at the summit on one of the picnic tables. 3. Take at least 4L of water per person. 4. If at all possible go with someone. I went alone but there a lot of potential things that could go wrong on a long, tough, and relatively remote hike (I didn't see another human after the Rattesnake Trail fork and the remaining 3 miles or so to the summit) like this -- sprained ankle, fall, snake bite (see pic of snake I saw on trail). But if you're smart and tough you could do it alone. I have to comment on Kali's critique that you can do easier hikes in CA for equally good views. That is very true. But me I hike for 1. The workout and 2. The view (as a reward for the tough workout), so this kind of hike is my favorite -- tough, but well worth it. Highly recommended.

This is a noteworthy avenue to the hiking path. It takes one up to the area below La Cumbre Peak,…read moreand Seven Falls.

We hiked from the trailhead just north of the Cater Water Treatment Plant up to Inspiration Point…read moreand back. Total mileage was about 7.4 miles, and it was a great hike. A good amount of trees and shade. The trail was very pleasant on the eyes most of the way, and you start to see the views of the city and ocean on some of the switchbacks at 2.5mi and 3mi. The turn around point is Inspiration Point, and what a great place to have that sandwich you packed with you: Inspiration Point has expensive views, and the area is nice and flat. We got two hikes in, while in SB; this one and Romero Canyon. We both greatly preferred Jesusita (pronounced "Hay Sue See Ta" ) over Romero Canyon.

This is one of the coolest hikes I've done. The reward is a natural hot spring, which makes the…read moredestination feel truly unique and well worth the effort. The hike itself is moderate, with a constant incline and uneven terrain. The biggest challenge is navigation. The first part of the trail is straightforward and fairly enclosed, but as you get closer to the hot springs, the route becomes confusing and isn't well marked. I talked to several other hikers who also got lost before eventually finding the springs. In general, stay close to the creek and continue uphill. Eventually you'll reach a fork where the trail goes left uphill away from the creek or right toward it. Go right and cross the creek. Continue until you see the Montecito Water Company sign and begin to smell the sulfur from the hot springs. From there, you can go either left or right; walk to go left even though it doesn't seem like a path. It looks more like a rocky stream crossing than a trail, but keep going for a few more minutes and you'll reach the springs. There are several pools. The upper pools are the hottest, and the temperature gradually cools as you move downstream. Most people were wearing swimsuits when I visited, although I've heard clothing optional use isn't uncommon. Insider's tip: Bring a towel! Parking is limited. You'll have the best chance to find parking on weekdays or very early morning on the weekend.

This trail is so nice and leads to beautiful hot springs!…read more Parking is limited so get here early or come mid day during the week. The hike up to the hot springs has a lot of rocks and a bit of a steady incline, so wear closed toe shoes. You can get some beautiful views of the ocean from high up on the hike right before you take the trail to the hot springs. Breathtaking. Love the layout of the hot springs. The very top one is scorching hot!

I love this place. Great for slacklining!!!! just remember to use the pads when you slack line so…read morethe bark on the trees don't get ruined. Beautiful view of the ocean

Great little hike I feel, great views always. I like to connect at the top and go to hot springs…read moreand loop around, good work out. Rocks, creek, waterfall, hot springs cant beat that.

This was a ~3.4 mile round trip hike that took about ~2 hours to complete. Parking is very limited…read morein this residential area. There are a few trails in the same area. Once the trail splits to Saddle Rock, then there are little to no one else on this trail. Most people seem to be going to the hot springs in a different trail. A few steep inclines to the top if you're going clockwise but not overly difficult. Plenty of nice views as you climb to the top especially of the Pacific Ocean. The remaining trail back to the parking lot was relatively easy. Short video of the hike: https://youtu.be/ggpMvI_Ytiw