VENTANA WILDERNESS ALLIANCE
On-Line Trail Conditions Report

SOUTH FORK TRAIL

• USFS Trail # 3E09
• Parking:
• Watershed: South Fork Big Sur River
• Junctions: Big Sur Trail, Black Cone Trail, Marble Peak Trail
• Connects: Big Sur Trail at Rainbow Camp with Marble Peak Trail in Strawberry Valley
• Camps: Rainbow Camp, South Fork Camp, Strawberry Valley Camp

Conditions reported by: Steve S.
Survey date: 18-MAY-2007
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Rainbow Camp to South Fork Camp - Difficult

Rainbow Camp has a picnic table but has a large downed tree right in the middle of the camp. After a short distance from Rainbow, a large landslide on the north side of the river has obliterated part of the trail and created a stinking black lake. Skirting the lake we stayed in the riverbed for some time (100 - 300 yards?) before finally picking the trail back up on the south side of the river. Keep your eyes open for this as it soon moves some distance up the hillside and away from the river. Eventually it drops down and crosses the river and shortly enters the very peaceful South Fork Camp which is about as deep in the wilderness as you can get in these parts. This camp has a picnic table and fire ring.

Section: South Fork Camp to Strawberry Camp - Very Difficult

The trail out of camp is overgrown with a good amount of poison oak but easy to follow. After it veers due east and begins to ascend things get worse. The trail crosses to the south side of the creek and a number of fallen trees has necessitated the blazing of a new trail or trails that wind through brush and poison oak. This area is quite rough and the trail easily lost. Be careful as we had a run in with a rattlesnake. Bending over to get under a small fallen tree, I put my (leather gloved) hand right on the beast (the snake did not rattle up to this point and I did not see him in advance due to the heavy brush and grass). Fortunately, he barely punctured my glove and the skin on my thumb and deposited no venum. My advice: leather gloves, heavy boots, gaiters, long pants/shirt and most importantly some kind of walking stick/trekking pole to flush out snakes in advance of you.

After what seems like a mile or two but is likely about a quarter or half mile the trail improves markedly and the terrain is much less overgrown. A bit of steep climbing brings you to Strawberry Camp. No table but one large oak in an open meadow. Conditions reported by: Boy Scout Troop 60
Survey date: 27-JUNE-2006
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Strawberry Camp to South Fork Camp - Difficult

The South Fork Trail starts right out of Strawberry Camp and ascends to a small saddle then down into the drainage of the South Fork of the Big Sur River. The trail up to and about a mile below the saddle is open and good; we did a fair amount of trail work on this portion, The trail then becomes very brushy after descending below a dry rocky out-cropping and is very difficult to locate. We did mark the trail at this point and after a while it becomes more evident crossing the creek several times. Just before it looks like it will cross the creek again, the trail stays to the North of the creek and is very difficut to find because its obscured by poison oak and other brush. We marked the trail here and it agains becomes easier to follow and then quite open and easy, descending into South Fork Camp. This camp has a table and is very pretty with a beautiful river frontage.

Section: South Fork Camp to Rainbow Camp - Passable

This trail leaves South Fork and is pretty easy to follow. The trail crosses the creek twice prior to the landslide. The trail stops at the landslide and is found on the other side (Southern side)of the river. Follow a makeshift path down to where there are some logs laying across the river, no more than 15 or 20 yards downstream of where the trail stops, and cross here - do not go down stream. The trail picks up right on the exposed large worn rock on the other side, we maked this with tape. From here the trail is very good staying on the Southern side of the river ascending the side of the canyon then finally dropping sharply down to Rainbow Camp. This is a pretty camp with a table and a beautiful river frontage. Conditions reported by: Dave Lautzenheiser
Survey date: 4-JUNE-2006
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Strawberry Camp to Rainbow Camp - Difficult/Impassable

The start of the trail at Strawberry Camp was easy to find and follow over the saddle, although a bit slippery in a small slide area. After descending into the canyon along the South Fork, the brush was impenetrable in several areas and the tread impossible to find. My son and I have had this happen before so we were able to "bushwhack" around and find the trail after these areas but it was quite a chore. The trail crosses the "river" several times - some were simple rock hops while others, perhaps due to the season, etc. required shoe removal and some cold wading. The slide area between the South Fork Camp and Strawberry should be avoided by all but the most courageous. The steep, hard stuff making up the slide is treacherous to find solid footing in those areas where it is the only choice - poles, etc. are a must. We found that staying as close to the water as possible and carefully working along the loose rocks at the base of slide where possible was better than the slippery sloping surface. A note of thanks to someone who put some flags along the way as it assured us that our general "downstream" progress was correct. Conditions reported by: Biz
Survey date: 28-APRIL-2006
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Rainbow to South Fork - Difficult

The previous trail report still holds true. From Rainbow camp to South Fork camp the trail is in generally good shape with a little encroaching brush, mainly poison oak, but easily navigable. Once the trail drops down to where the slide is, the trail continues up on the other bank of the river above the slide. It's a little difficult to see. The trail is flagged in places to help, but typically aren't very helpful with the river crossings.

Section: South Fork to Strawberry - Difficult

The trail definately deterioted en route. After about the 4th river crossing, the trail disappeared. The trail did a switchback up a steep hillside through some horrendous deadfalls. The tread was extremely faint and was covered with grass and flowers. In less than a mile the deadfalls ceased and it was just brush again. Beautiful trail! Conditions reported by: John Yeo (email: j at colluvium dot org)
Survey date: 21-MARCH-2006
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Rainbow Camp to South Fork Camp - Clear

The trail is very clear, with little encroaching brush and great tread. The trail is a little tricky to follow, as it crosses the river for a short distance and returns just after the slide.

Section: South Fork Camp to Strawberry Camp - Passable

The trail starts out pretty clear and gets progressively worse as it approaches the ridge just before Strawberry. Towards the top, the tread is bad and numerous deadfalls make the going slow and difficult.

Conditions reported by: Ted Merrill
Survey date: 12-OCTOBER-2005
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Rainbow Camp to South Fork Camp - Difficult

From Rainbow Camp (a pretty camp), the trail immediately climbs via switchbacks far above the river, then after a while descends and gets lost in the flood zone but does NOT cross the river... stay on the same bank where it quickly leaves the flood zone and goes up hill again. After a short distance it comes down to the river again in a quite definite manner, directly across from where a large slide has rerouted the river. On the other side you make your way for twenty feet or so and around a corner walking on the fringes of the slide, until you regain the trail. The river upstream from here has been backed up into a small lake. Further upstream the trail crosses back to the south bank, although this is not obvious and it would be easy to keep going for a ways on a use trail that peters out; a single flag alerted me that I should cross the river here. On crossing the river I lost the trail and had to search for a while to find it; it continues uphill from the flood zone. From here it is pretty uneventful until South Fork Camp is reached (another pretty camp). Between Rainbow Camp and South Fork camp there is little encroaching vegetation. Section: South Fork Camp to Marble Peak Trail junction - Difficult

Continuing to Strawberry Camp, the trail passes through some very nice oak, madrone and bay forests. Unfortunately the trail gets worse and worse with lots of pushing through vegetation, and some poor tread, until eventually the pass is reached, and one is then quickly at Strawberry Camp. From here the South Fork Trail continues to the junction with the Marble Peak Trail with a push through scratchy wild roses and other encroaching vegetation which has regrown in the last several years. Conditions reported by: Matthew Dennis
Survey date: 15-JUNE-2005
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Strawberry Camp to South Fork Camp - Difficult

We encountered some of the most difficult tread along the descent from Strawberry Camp to South Fork Camp. There are few if any deadfalls, but due to the high rainfall this year there are many places where the trail simply disappears under brush. My group had to literally hack through some of the brush in order to unmask the trail and followed two deadends before we reached the northwesterly section of the trail. From there the trail became more evident despite the everpresent poison oak. South Fork Camp was a little more tick ridden than last I remember but still open and inviting.

Section: South Fork Camp to Rainbow Camp - Clear

From South Fork our group traveled west to the newly created lake half way between South Fork and Rainbow Camp. There was talk of a trail on the south side of the river but I didn't see it. The trail on the north side of the river leads to a log and rock crossing in the middle of an old landslide and up a switchback on the south side of the river. The tree branches that had obscured the access to that trail was neatly sawed down by one in our group. The tread from there to Rainbow Camp is a wilderness freeway and there are numerous waterfalls and Garden of Eden like gullies along the way. Conditions reported by: Ery Arias-Castro
Survey date: 20-MAY-2005
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Strawberry Camp to South Fork Camp: Difficult

The trail is pretty devastated and sometimes tricky to follow.

Section: South Fork Camp to Rainbow Camp: Mostly Clear

The trail was clear, except for an area of enormous erosion (landslide in fact). Conditions reported by: Lindsay Jeffers - Stevenson Wilderness Program
Survey date: 7-MARCH-2005
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

After significant trail maintenance by Stevenson crews, the trail is essentially clear with the exception of the slide area which is, at this time, passable with care and a good head for heights.

Section: Strawberry Camp to South Fork Camp (Clear)

The trail is as clear as it has been in years. The few detours are brief and obvious. Many of the most serious obstacles of the past few years have been completely removed and the trail has resumed its original foot bed.

Section: South Fork Camp to Rainbow Camp

The temporary trail along the foot of the slide downstream from South Fork Camp has disappeared and the last crossing that was problematic last year is under a water chute. The lake is deep and healthy. Stevenson crews have created a steep trail in the slide material that leads up to a relatively dry area above the most active slump and across this to an equally steep descent to the South Fork well below the old crossing. The nice feature of this crossing is that it is wide, fairly shallow and unlikely to present hikers a dangerous crossing. From that crossing, the route goes briefly back upstream along the bank before cutting south towards the canyon wall where the original trail comes down to the river. This trail continues in very good condition to Rainbow Camp.

The area of the lake remains the most dynamic spot I know in the Ventana Wilderness; each year it presents new surprises, but it is clear to passable in late spring of 2005. And on a warm afternoon, the sandy area just at the top of the lake and above the slide is a great place for a plunge and some sun. Conditions reported by: Dave Nelson
Survey date: 01-MAY-2004
General: CLEAR TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Rainbow Camp thru South Fork Camp to Strawberry Camp

Rainbow to South Fork Camp: Crossings were easy-river was fairly low. New tread cut on north side of river was nice to see. Interesting to see how nature deals with a plugged up mountain river which was caused by the massive slide in Feb. '95, still visible there.

South Fork Camp up to Strawberry: The trail quickly becomes DIFFICULT in some places above SF camp. It was burned in '99 and with the forest canopy reduced, new vegetation hides the trail and numerous dead trees have fallen making the tread and detours hard to follow. Ventana veterans will find their way OK in this stretch but it recently figured in with one hikers harrowing week-long 'lost in the wilderness' experience. (He was rescued) The camps at both ends would make great base camps for volunteer work trips. Conditions reported by: Lindsay Jeffers - Stevenson Wilderness Expedition
Survey date: 04-MAR-2004
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Rainbow to Strawberry Camps

Stevenson Expedition members cleared this trail, flagged it, and made it passable -- except for the river crossing upstream from Rainbow at the foot of the slide which creates the lake. There, the efforts of the Forest Service to create a trail over the foot of the active slide has been erased by earth movement. Where the trail used to cross at a narrow gap between a stump and a rock shelf, the stump has been isolated from the hillside, at least when the water is high; and coming downstream, it is a difficult scramble to reach even this dangerous crossing point.

We did not let any groups of students come through the trails from the Pine Ridge Trail over the Big Sur and South Fork Trails this year. Even without the high water and dangerous crossing at the slide (on South Fork Trail), the fallen timber between North Fork and Cienega make the trails impassible for most backpackers. Hopefully, some work can be accomplished on this section of the Ventana trail system before the summer backpackers arrive. Other parts of the trail system are brushy and difficult, but this major connector between water sheds is currently unusable. Conditions reported by: Steve Wilson
Survey date: 20-MAR-2004
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Rainbow Camp to South Fork Camp

I rate this trail as generally passable. I could rate it clear as it is very clear of encroaching vegetation and deadfalls, however, the very light use by humans and heavy use by the local pig population, who completely ignore simple trail use etiquette such as not cutting switchbacks, can make the route confusing in spots. In short, stick to the constructed trail.

The chief difficulty on this stretch of trail is the five crossings of the South Fork. The most problematic of these, when the South Fork has significant flow (as in March), is the furthest north/west/downstream one. When hiking in the upstream direction, the trail crosses the stream at the upstream end of the large slide, which is the constriction that creates the lake immediately upstream. Though the water was gushing pretty well through the constriction, I was able to stretch across the stream with the help of a sawed off log stuck in the northeast bank.

Hiking in the downstream direction, its a different story. First, the new trail is washed out for a short distance at the "dam". Secondly, the log did not provide any help, and due to the steep slippery far bank, and being solo, I didn't chance a broad jump across. Finally, the slide stretching downstream of the constriction caused enormous scour on the southwest bank for 100 yards or so, creating a small cliff that would be difficult to climb up. So I continued downstream along the bottom of the loose slide material until I passed the scour then easily crossed the South Fork and met up with the trail in short order.

The remainder of the stream crossings are straight forward, except the next one upstream crosses the gravel bed at quite an oblique angle. I pretty much had to wade all of them due to the spring flow and to maximize safety.

The remoteness, solitude, challenge, great camps, and wild and scenic river route makes the South Fork Trail one of the top trails in Ventana in my opinion. Final note, the South Fork Camp Table has been reconstructed, as has the Rainbow Camp table, as previously observed. Conditions reported by: Rick Johnson
Survey date: 25-JUNE-2003
General: DIFFICULT TO CLEAR
Specific:

Section: Strawberry Camp to Rainbow Camp

This segment of our 50 miler, we traveled from Strawberry to Rainbow. Trail conditions ranged from Difficult to Clear. Camped at South Fork and ate breakfast at Rainbow. Both were two of the best sites we encountered with ample shade, nice river, large flat area and picnic tables. Flies and mosquitos were pretty relentless.

We missed the slide bypass and had to navigate over difficult sections of the slide and down trees. Found the trail on the other side just past the slide. Need to ID the bypass better as a couple of our guys took some nasty spills in this section. Conditions reported by: Steve Chambers
Survey date: 1-OCT-2002
General: CLEAR to PASSABLE
Specific:

Trail clearing by a USFS crew continued from Rainbow to South Fork Camps. A new section of trail has been build to bypass Rainbow Lake created by a large landslide which partially dammed the South Fork about a mile upstream of Rainbow Camp. The small lake is still there along with large amounts of bare dirt. The table at Rainbow has been rebuilt with new lumber.

Southeast of South Fork Camp the trail has not been cleared and has many sections with fire killed brush leaning over or covering the tread. The 1999 Kirk Fire burned through the upper areas of this watershed. Approaching the divide between South Fork and Strawberry Creek brush thins and the trail is more open with easier passage.

From Strawberry Camp to the junction with Marble Cone Trail, the trail passes through areas of native rose bushes which grab at pants, shirts and bare skin. Conditions reported by: Mark Riddle
Survey date: 20-APRIL-2002
General: PASSABLE W/ DIFFICULT SECTIONS
Specific:

This trail has some hairy sections between Strawberry Camp and South Fork Camp where it's fairly easy to lose the trail due to washouts and false trails. (You'll also do battle with brush and poison oak along this section.) Past South Fork Camp I did not take the "Stevenson Trail" bypass but instead stuck to the river and worked my way along (mostly cross-country as not much visible trail) until connecting with the other end of the Stevenson bypass, where the trail has modest tread all the way to Rainbow Camp. Wildlife: loads of waterfowl in the "lake". Turtles at Rainbow Camp. Conditions reported by: Stevenson School Wilderness Expedition
Survey date: FEB-2002
General: PASSABLE W/ DIFFICULT SECTIONS
Specific:

Strawberry Camp to Rainbow Camp:
The trail needed some work which we performed, especially along the "Stevenson Trail" section. Now this section is in excellent condition. Everyone in our group who came through this way commented on the improvement. However, the stretch from Strawberry to South Fork remains brushy in spots and has some short wash-outs on the way down to more level sections. Conditions reported by: Jeff Down
Survey date: 7-JUNE-01
General: DIFFICULT DUE TO BRUSH
Specific:

Strawberry Valley to South Fork camp is difficult, but entirely passable. Large amounts of dead ceanothus make some parts of the trail difficult to pass w/ a large pack. Poison oak and brambles cover large sections of the trail, but the South Fork camp is still in excellent condition. Travelers are advised to give extra time for this section of trail as it is very slow going, taking about 2 - 2 1/2 hrs. to hike this short distance. Water is available at Strawberry camp, but the creek is running low for this early in the season. Conditions reported by: Jacob Koff
Survey date: 20-MAY-2001
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

A long section of this trail was obliterated. A by-pass trail was constructed that, according to the sign, is called the "Stevenson Trail." Calling this a trail is stretching the definition quite a bit. It's rugged, steeply sloped and challenging. This bypass eventually links back up with the South Fork trail and arrives at Rainbow Camp. Conditions reported by: David McMillan
Survey date: 27-MARCH-01
General: CLEAR TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

A herd of Wild Boar has damaged the trail, following it and grubbing on it for a distance of 5 miles. They even followed over the recent Stevenson trail, the damage probably continues on to Mocho camp. Apparently they think of hiking trails as all-you-can-eat buffets. A wallow is visible next to the trail upstream from South Fork camp. Their direction of travel was down stream. Aside from the fantastic demonstration of the erosion capabilities of the Boar, the trail is quite passable with the larger dead fall of the last few years still about but well tracked around. Most of the smaller obstacles have been cleared and the trail is generally easy to follow. Conditions reported by: Steve Wilson
Survey date: 13-MAY-2000
General: CLEAR TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

Verdant understory growth following the '99 fire may obscure the tread, but the general route up Strawberry Valley is pretty clear, and the tread becomes obvious at Strawberry Camp, were Crew 5 left their mark. The fire burned in a classic low severity, mosaic pattern from here to maybe 1/2 mile before South Fork camp. The trail on this stretch is rated "clear" with a stellar job of clearing downed trees being recently performed. Conditions reported by: Stevenson School Wilderness Expedition 2000
Survey date: APRIL-2000
General: CLEAR TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

Strawberry Camp is relatively untouched by fire, but all around it are signs of burn. There is very little flat ground at this campsite; both water and flat ground are more attractive further down the trail just south of the turn off to Willow Springs. The end of the Black Cone Trail can be followed up the draw to the north of Strawberry Camp; it stays on the west side of the draw for over a hundred yards. The main trail up to the ridge above the South Fork of the Big Sur burned over and is a WILDERNESS FREEWAY.
Down the steep slope at the head of the canyon of the South Fork, fire burned more lightly, leaving the trail clear until the spot where it traverses a large granite outcrop. Just below this, a large tree has burned out, leaving holes where its root system underlay the trail, and undermining the switchback above it. This will cause problems in the future unless those cavities can be filled in.
Before reaching the South Fork itself, a couple of trees have fallen, blocking and obscuring the trail and requiring a bushwhack to reach the trail further down the slope. With enough traffic, this route will probably become more obvious.
There are several places in this stretch where erosion has cut the trail. Only one, so far, requires a jump to clear it, and that one is higher up, above the granite outcrop. But further down, in several places stones have flowed down the hillside across the trail. They have not made following the trail more difficult, though. We cut some overhanging ceanothus, but our biggest construction project was to clear a way down to and along the South Fork to avoid the crown of a large pine that has fallen across the trail on the north side of the river. This is about a half mile above South Fork Camp.
There is the usual poison oak across all these trails. In some places, the old growth remains as bare burned branches beside the newer, green growth.
South Fork Camp is in good shape; the fire did not get this far into the valley. Just downstream and across the river, a major landslide has come down the western slope. The pool below the bank where the camp is has become quite shallow with new gravel beds and erosion runoff.
This trail is in the same shape as it has been for three years. There are a couple of trees across the trail, which can all be stepped over. The trail becomes fairly vague in the boggy places covered with fern and thimbleberry, but enough people have been through recently to mark the trail. The "Stevenson Trail" is becoming a little more pronounced, but still is far from a normal Ventana Trail. The grade and some of the traverses across rock and mud slumps require hands as well as feet. It is not a trail for timid people. The valley floor below probably should be explored for a possible river-level trail; but at the bottom of one of the steep chutes, I could see standing water right up to the southern cliff side. There is still a very active slump on the north side of the valley; additional material has come down just downstream of the original slides, and the downstream terminus of the "Stevenson Trail" now requires a walk across tumbled river boulders to regain the original South Fork Trail because the river cut that section of the bank this winter.
Rainbow Camp is in generally good condition, but the spring that crosses the campsite is essentially covered in ferns and no longer appears attractive or usable. Conditions reported by: Steve Wilson
Survey date: 13-MAY-2000
General: CLEAR TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

Once past South Fork Camp, conditions deteriorate to "passable", with use trails around downed trees, until the sign designating the "Stevenson Trail" is reached. In '97, a massive landslide of the northeast wall blocked the South Fork Big Sur River, creating a massive lake and blocking the trail. We checked out the original USFS trail for curiosity. It is suffering from disuse, with lots of deadfall and poison oak encroachment. After a couple of hundred yards it reaches the river. The entire stream bed is completely filled in with gravel, and dead trees abound. The lake has receded to a point one or two hundred yards downstream of its original length, but still fills the canyon wall to wall. We retreated to the Stevenson Trail. This trail provides a bypass of the lake, and is rated "difficult". It climbs and descends the southwest wall of the canyon very steeply, and crosses at least 3 slide prone areas where there is some exposure on steep, loose ground.

After the Stevenson trail, the South Fork Trail is "clear", though definitely little used, until it ends in Raibow Camp.