Ventana Wilderness Alliance
Protecting the Northern Santa Lucia

On-Line Big Sur Area Trail Conditions Report

Big Sur Hiking and Backpacking Trails

Welcome to the On-line Trail Conditions Report for the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness Areas, provided here as a public service by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance. You'll find here up to date information on almost all of the trails in Central California's northern Santa Lucia mountains / Big Sur coast area, as well as contact information for folks who have recently walked the route you're considering. Here's how it works -- visitors to this page that have been out in the mountains lately simply submit via our online report form a report of the conditions they found along the various trails they hiked. The conditions reports don't have to be overly detailed, but certain information is helpful and to this end we've included a report format guide below to help contributors in submitting their information. Please read the report format guide prior to submitting a report. Once we've received the reports we edit them if necessary then post them to the appropriate trail's page, as linked from the trail list below.The most recent reports on any given trail will be placed at the top of the page, so the freshest information is the first a reader finds. Included with each report will be the email address of the person who made it, in case a reader has any questions not covered in the report.

As you can see this entire project depends heavily upon input from trail users such as yourself, so please take the time to tell us how the walking went on your last trip out.

T R A I L    R E P O R T S

Ventana Wilderness

Silver Peak Wilderness

State Parks

Recent Updates

30-May-08
BLACK CONE TRAIL
LOST VALLEY TRAIL
MARBLE PEAK TRAIL
SALMON CREEK TRAIL
THREE PEAKS TRAIL
22-May-08
BEAR BASIN TRAIL
BEAR BASIN CONNECTOR
BIG SUR TRAIL
BLACK CONE TRAIL
BUCKEYE TRAIL
CARMEL RIVER TRAIL
CRUICKSHANK TRAIL
GAMBOA TRAIL
LITTLE SUR TRAIL
MARBLE PEAK TRAIL
MILLER CANYON TRAIL
MOUNT CARMEL TRAIL
PINE RIDGE TRAIL
SALMON CREEK TRAIL
SAN ANTONIO TRAIL
SANTA LUCIA TRAIL
SKINNER RIDGE TRAIL
SOUTH FORK TRAIL
STONE RIDGE TRAIL
TONY TRAIL
VENTANA CAMP TRAIL
VENTANA DOUBLE CONE
VICENTE FLAT TRAIL
MARCH-2008
CHURCH CREEK TRAIL
COAST RIDGE TRAIL
LOST VALLEY TRAIL
WINTER-2008
BIG PINES TRAIL
DANISH CAMP TRAIL
DE ANGULO TRAIL
MANUEL PEAK TRAIL
PUERTO SUELLO TRAIL
RATTLESNAKE TRAIL
SODA SPRINGS TRAIL
WILLOW CREEK TRAIL
FALL-2007
CARRIZO TRAIL
JULIA PFEIFFER BURNS TRAILS
PREWITT LOOP
TURNER CREEK TRAIL
SUMMER-2007
ARROYO SECO TRAIL
LITTLE SUR CAMP TRAIL
LOST VALLEY CONNECTOR
SAN CARPOFORO TRAIL
THREE PEAKS TRAIL
 
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HOW TO SUBMIT A TRAIL REPORT

CHECKING CONDITIONS

To make use of the trail information provided here you'll really need to have a map or even one of the several trail guides available for the area. Once you've figured out a proposed route, you can then check on the condition of the trails you plan to use by clicking on the links above.

MAKING REPORTS

Please submit a seperate report for each named trail that you traveled (see the trails list), structuring your reports as per the guidelines below and using our simple online trail reporting form to submit the report.

For each report include your name, email address, the date you hiked that particular trail, a rating as to the general passability of that trail (Impassable, Difficult, Passable, Clear, or Wilderness Freeway), then follow up with a more detailed narrative of the specific conditions or problems encountered. For the longer trails some folks like to segment the specific conditions part of their reports, reporting conditions in a serial fashion between landmarks such as camps or junctions. This is fine so long as the entire report is specific to a particular named trail.

GENERAL LEVEL OF PASSABILITY

  • Impassable: completely overgrown, and/or tread obliterated
  • Difficult: brushy and/or many fallen trees, and/or tread faint
  • Passable: some brush and/or few deadfalls, tread evident
  • Clear: no obstacle and tread defined
  • Wilderness Freeway: heavily used and/or well maintained

SPECIFIC/LOCAL PROBLEMS

  • Encroaching brush
  • Snow coverage
  • Recent fire
  • Landslides and/or washouts of tread
  • Large and/or many deadfalls
  • Tread buried by slides or lakes
  • Dangerous river crossings during high water
  • No trespassing onto private property
  • Other?

What difficulties did you encounter finding and/or following the trail?

How did you get past or around these problems?

Now just fill out our simple online trail reporting form to submit your reports and we'll add them to the appropriate trail pages for all to use and enjoy. Please be aware that we'll also be including your name and email address along with your description, so that folks can contact you if they have any specific questions.

Big Sur Hiking Trails

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is providing this information free of charge as a public service to users of the Monterey District of the Los Padres National Forest. While we have read and screened the information provided here, neither we nor those submitting the information make any claims or guarantees as to its accuracy, and assume no responsibility for the safety of those using it as part of their trip planning process. Furthermore, backcountry travel involves myriad risks and potential dangers, all of which can be found in the area covered by this trails condition report page. It is the responsibility of the users of these reports to be aware of the risks involved in any backcountry activity and to assess for themselves whether they are up to the challenge of facing these risks. By providing this information we make no suggestion or representation, expressed or implied, that these trails will be in the same condition as described when you visit them or that they will be safe for your passage.

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