Highway 33, which is the primary road used to access the Ventura backcountry, has been closed since January due to storm damage.
It’s used to visit many special places including Pine Mountain, Matilija, Rose Valley, Piedra Blanca and large portions of the Sespe Wilderness.
The latest update from CalTrans is that Hwy 33 is expected to reopen sometime around the end of the year - that will be great, we can't wait!
Unfortunately, so many of the trails accessed from Hwy 33 remain in very bad shape. Not only are there trail-gobbling landslides, washouts and sinkholes resulting from the winter rains, but the plants have also been growing like crazy, exploding with regrowth over the trails. Most of them need a lot of work clearing slides, brushing back the scrub oak and helping to once again define where the trail should go.
Volunteers are sorely needed to help the Los Padres Forest Assn. and Forest Service to reopen these trails. Many opportunities exist to volunteer and/or to donate essential funds to hire professionals and equipment; go to: https://lpforest.org
The Association has started with some of the trail restoration work and have led trail projects this year on the Sespe, Piedra Blanca, Matilija, Chorro Grande, Reyes Peak, Boulder Canyon and Alder Creek Trails but it’s just scratched the surface of what is truly needed for this amazing network of trails.
First on the trail priority list would be repairing the Kerr Spring slide along the Sespe River Trail where over a hundred yards of trail was buried by a landslide of rock and mud. Other priorities include continuing work on the Matilija Trail, clearing Lion Canyon again, working the trail up towards Pine Mtn Lodge and hacking away at both Potrero John and lower Chorro.
Your support today goes a long way to helping repair the trails across the Ventura backcountry.