Many of the areas that were closed for public health and safety following powerful winter storms that caused significant damage have reopened.
A new Forest order is now in place that keeps severely compromised roads, trails, campgrounds, and day-use sites closed, needing more work as funding becomes available.
Some examples of continuing closures include Red Rock Day Use Area and Trailhead, Romero Camuesa Road to the Upper Santa Ynez Recreation Area/Pendola/hot springs area and Upper Oso Campground Loop is closed.
See the complete and updated list: https://tinyurl.com/ForestUpdates2023
Report problems to the Los Padres Forest Association group here: https://lpforest.org/trails
Ventura Land Trust’s upper trails are still closed (beyond the ‘Y’) and weather isn’t the only reason. Further opening may happen later on in October. Photo by Dan Hulst, conservation director.
For an account of a very popular local trail in Ventura Land Trust’s Harmon Canyon, read Stewardship Director Dan Hulst’s account:
Nearly 35” of rain fell at Harmon Canyon Preserve, leading to widespread impacts across public access infrastructure. The eight miles of utility road spanning the preserve and forming the backbone of the trail system eroded and became impassable. This resulted in a partial closure that carries on to this day.
Open is the lower portion with many popular trails, the closure on the upper portion is where the fire road splits and forbids dogs whether or not it becomes open.
Many folks have asked Ventura Land Trust (VLT) why we have not re-opened the upper canyon in the months since those powerful storms.
It is because the utility roads in Harmon Canyon Preserve are part of a public utility easement held by Southern California Edison (SCE). This easement contains maintenance clauses, meaning that if VLT performs road maintenance that is deemed faulty, VLT could be held liable. In short, the road maintenance at Harmon Canyon must be carried out by SCE as the easement holder.
As the extent of the road damage became clear, so did the crucial need to approach repairs in a collaborative manner with SCE. Given that VLT and SCE have different goals, priorities, and timeframes, collaboration between the two organizations has relied heavily on compromise.
While neither organization may be getting exactly what they want, both parties are able to ensure that their priorities are incorporated into the work being performed. And ultimately, through partnership, the public will get what they want: restored access to the upper canyon.
Road work continues in upper Harmon Canyon and is expected to be completed later this year.
