[b]Date Hiked:[/b] March 21, 2026
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

Trail: Vicente Flat Trail (Girard segment) 4E13
Section: Cone Peak Rd trailhead to first redwood grove


I approached via a 3.6‑mile bike ride up Cone Peak Road, using the ride and subsequent trail work as a structured conditioning session (intervals on the climb with a rucking pack and steady‑state effort on the descent). Brush along the ridge road is beginning to bloom, so insect and tick activity will likely increase in the next 2–3 weeks. 3 small streams are still flowing on this section of the road.

From the trailhead to the chain‑link fence, last spring’s CCC work is holding up well: tread is wide and clear, and the fence effectively directs hikers onto the gentler, non‑eroding line. Only minor work was needed here (a few small leaners and burned snags removed).

Beyond the initial 500‑yard climb, the trail levels, then descends with excellent views of Cone Peak. At the old fork, the left (toward the historic Girard campsite) is now heavily brushed in and effectively impassable; hikers should stay right on the main Vicente route and its switchbacks. I viewed this area soon after the Dolan fire; at that time, the whole area looked like a moonscape, but the old Girard trail was still visible. It runs past the camp and down the ridge to the obelisk-like chimney, the only remains from the Girard "luxury hunting lodge " that burned around 1930 to the south of Lime Kiln and the current campground water tank, more history here:
https://www.ventanawild.org/forums/topic/848#:~:text=A%20history%20prepared%20by%20Limekiln,destroyed%20by%20fire%20around%201930.
Hwy 1 was not open in the area until 1934+, so this old trail was the only inland route at the time that I guess would have connected with the San Antonio trail down to the Avila Adobe/Pack station. This was a local Hwy 1 construction report: "The boom of exploding dynamite and the rumble of blasted rock is reverberating through the virgin country of Lime Kiln canyon this week as convict crews attack the most formidable project of the entire San Simeon-Carmel highway."

Read more at: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/photos-from-the-vault/article288700180.html#storylink=cpy

Working downhill, I removed roughly 28 burned falls/snags and did extensive lopper work. This provided a full‑body workout (repeated deadlift/overhead‑press motions with logs plus several hundred lopper cuts), illustrating how volunteer trail work can double as a meaningful strength and cardio session. Previous crew work is very evident with old brush piles and virtually no brush “push‑throughs.” Remaining obstacles between the trailhead and the first redwoods include about 7–8 small step‑overs, 1 low duck‑under, 1 larger tree requiring a “climb up, jump down,” and 1 brief step‑around off the main tread. Overall, the tread condition is good to excellent, and navigation is straightforward if hikers stay on the main route. I encountered just 2 fellow travelers, one with a pack and another short-pants trailer runner.

Near and within the redwood grove, prior work has also held up well. The large Tan Oak treefall that fully blocked the trail last year has been removed, and the soft-needle tread beneath the canopy is in very good condition, with only minor obstacles. Unfortunately, I gave up on my goal of viewing the snow-fed Vicente waterfall for another day. I turned around at the first redwood grove and did additional light clipping on the climb out, then finished with a 3.7‑mile coast back to the car—making the full outing a combined ride‑hike‑trail‑work fitness challenge. The only cramping was in my wrists and hands. Surrounded by the odor of millions of blossoms in the cool, clear air, I coasted back to my car at sunset.

Summary:

Tread: Good to excellent throughout this segment.

Brush: Mostly cleared; only light brushing is still needed in a few spots as the wilderness reclaims her own.

Deadfall: A handful of small step‑overs, one low duck‑under, one larger tree requiring a branch climb, and one short step‑around.

Navigation: Left fork toward Girard campsite effectively closed by brush; main Vicente/Girard route is clear and obvious.

Seasonal note: Bloom starting; expect rising insect/tick activity soon.

Fitness note: Route works well as a bike‑in, hike‑and‑trail‑work conditioning loop for volunteers comfortable with lifting and clipping.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] February 14, 2026
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

My wife and I woke early to started up the trail from Vicente Flat Campground to the Ridge Road just about 7:15 am. The trail was in the best condition that I have ever remember it. It is still a challenging hike - steep, constantly uphill, and enough river crossings and trees across the trail to keep it intersting and challenging enough that you feel like you are hiking. It was a clear sunny morning when we started but the clouds started gathering shortly after the start of our hike and by time we reached the ridge road we were surrounded by grey. We thought we might be able to summit cone peak - so we headed north to the cone peak trailhead. The further we went the colder, grayer and windier it got. It started to sprinkle just as we started up the cone peak summit trail. I remember bush wacking through this part of the trail on my last trip up - but this time it was wide and clear. We met a runner coming down who said the trail was clear the entire way to the summit! As we rounded the corner the wind and rain were more than we had prepared for so we decided to turn around and head back to Vicente Flat Campground. I am anxious to hike cone peak again later this spring - maybe when the days are a little longer and the weather is a little better. Thanks for all the trailwork - you have really been doing a lot of good (hard) work!

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] December 4, 2025
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Vicente Flat trail is very passable! A little steep/scramble-y around stream and redwood crossings in the mile past Vicente Flat camp. There is tons of water in this mile, but no more water after that up through Cone Peak. The last mile to the road has 7-ish blowdowns that could be fairly easily cleared easily with a chainsaw and moderately-difficulty with a trail saw and hardy loppers, and would prevent erosion as hikers try to go around.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] March 24, 2025
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

I dayhiked this up then down from Vicente Flat. "Passable" fits what I saw on the 24th, but this trail is being worked so it may deserve a higher rating in just a few more days.

Just above Vicente Flat, all was fine, but after crossing Vicente Falls Creek about 1/3 mile upstream, the trail has deal with a tight canyon that has seen lot of debris flow and is obstructed by some fallen, now broken, redwoods. To deal with this, the trail crosses the stream several times. Most are rock-hops, although I didn't manage to keep my boots totally dry. One somewhat harder crossing offered a choice of clambering over a large redwood or stepping across some wet rocks with a great deal of water flowing beneath. Taken carefully, nothing was unsafe, but I did have to pause and think about my options. (Part of that is that I'm older and not quite as agile as I once was.) I went over the logs heading up and opted for the rocks coming down. Once out of the canyon, the trail was in wonderful Wilderness Freeway condition. At about 2800' feet, I found out why. I met a CCC trail crew working their way up, with two folks the Forest Service there too. Above them, the trail was in good "Passable" condition. There was some occasional brush to push through (and ticks!), but the last of the deadfall step-overs were removed between the time I went up and came back. Thanks, Jenn!

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] February 8, 2025
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

I came down from the top to visit Vicente Falls (Thanks, Dr. Jack, for the intel) and do some trail work. My last time was right after the fire; it looked like a lunar landscape at the time. Seeing the new growth, especially the "fuzz" covering the burnt Redwoods, is impressive. I was able to do some clipping all the way down and remove about down burnt snags. Some great work was done before me, and in any burn-out area, it will be years before the burnt brush is reabsorbed into nature. Since I came after the rain, there have been some new blowdowns to work on. The tread is amazingly in good shape, but I did not have the time to complete the task; there is two crawls under as well as a snag "landslide" in one area with about 30 feet to cross, but all passable.

The river flows very well after you enter the river bottom, and fantastic work is done cutting through the large redwoods. As noted, one of the upper steam hops has a new large blowdown, but a new bypass is evident. There were 6-8 campers at Vicente Flats this weekend. Bushwacked up the northern side canyon, just above the camps, to view a large flowing, multi-tiered waterfall in all its glory. Awe-inspiring. I had to hurry back up to Cone Peak Road as I cleared the trail of the clipping. The views and changing terrain always make this route a winner. Some with a saw and a half day could complete, clearing the upper portion.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] January 24, 2025
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Hike started at the Kirk Creek trailhead. Trail to Vicente Camp was clear and easy to follow with beautiful views. Many clear places to camp at Vicente. Water was flowing about 0.4 miles beyond the initial camping location (a couple backpackers missed this and ended up hiking ~1.5 miles back down the trail to find water). During our stay, we summited Cone Peak. At Cone Peak, the conditions were freezing with ice starting to form on plants. The trail was pretty clear to the peak beyond a few bushy places and downed trees. We encountering freezing rain, hail, and some snow near the peak and whiteout conditions due to heavy fog.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] December 15, 2024
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Ascending from Vicente Camp, there is one new small diameter redwood and a larger tanoak down over the trail in the canyon portion. Otherwise, the trail is wide and clear through the canyon and the extensive sawing work of the massive blowdowns is evident. Upon leaving the redwoods, the trail is in good shape for a couple switchbacks but in the upper section approaching Cone Peak Road there is brush encroachment and at least a dozen new burnt snags that have fallen onto the trail and brush re-growth.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] September 10, 2024
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

Our Cone Peak trip overlapped with a Forest Service crew who worked their way down over a few days from Cone Peak Road on Vicente Flat trail, the Vicente Flat campsite, and the Kirk Creek trail. The team did a lot of cleanup around the Vicente Flat and Upper Hare Canyon campsites, as well as a lot of fix-up and rerouting around what appeared to be landslide damage in the canyon; some scrambles back and forth across the creek here, but well-defined. The upper part of Vicente Flat trail got some vegetation cut-back and was easily hiked.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] July 20, 2024
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

We hiked from Vicente Flat Campground to the beginning of the Cone Peak Trail via Cone Peak Road.

Beginning from Vicente Flat, the first mile is passable with some obstacles. In some spots the trail has been obscured by deadfall, but you're following a narrow canyon so it is easy to find the path again. Someone has flagged the trail with red tags too. There are maybe ten large fallen redwoods that have blocked the trail. All of them can be passed, but be careful because some are on steep, unstable slopes. Plentiful water available. Tons of flies, we were glad to have head nets.

After the first mile, you leave the creek and begin to ascend out of the canyon. On this leg the chaparral frequently encroaches on the trail, including some poison oak and thorny seeds, but it is easy to follow the trail. Recommend wearing long pants.

Cone Peak Road is in good shape for hiking and feels like a breeze in comparison to the trail below. Some fallen trees block the path but can be navigated around.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] June 16, 2024
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Beautiful views on a clear day up from Hwy 1. The amount of wildflowers is incredible. Never seen the trail this colorful. Trail could benefit from regular clearing as undergrowth takes over in many spots. Wear pants. Poison oak is everywhere. Encountered a rattler on the west face. Be aware of their distinct warning and tread with caution on the dry/scrub sections. One major downed tree crossing about 3/4 of the way in has been notched out to climb over - but be cautious of the loose dirt.