Cold Spring Canyon

Cold Spring Trail

Cold Spring Canyon’s near-wilderness nature is all the more surprising when considering its location--scarcely a mile as the orange-crowned warbler flies from the villas of the rich and famous, and just two miles from Montecito’s boutiques and bistros.

When the Santa Ynez Forest Reserve was established in 1899, rangers used the trail up the West Fork of Cold Spring Canyon to patrol the Santa Barbara backcountry. Forest rangers soon realized that this tricky trail, which climbed around a waterfall and crossed shale slopes, was difficult to maintain. In 1905, the Forest Service built a trail up the East Fork of Cold Spring Canyon. West Fork lost its status as a government maintained transportation artery, and the pathway even disappeared from some maps over the years.(Local hikers, however, never forgot the wonders of West Fork Trail and today, while little used, it offers a fine hike. )

“Our favorite route to the main ridge was by a way called the Cold Spring Trail,” wrote Stewart Edward in his 1906 classic, The Mountains. “We used to enjoy taking visitors up it, mainly because you come on the top suddenly, without warning. Then we collected remarks. Everybody, even the most stolid, said something.”

Cold Spring Trail begins by the alder-shaded, year-round creek, then rises out of the canyon for fine coastal views. Options abound for the ambitious hiker and several of them are described below.

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The hike: The path rises briefly through oak woodland, then returns to the creek. On your left, 0.25 mile from the trailhead, is a junction with West Fork Trail. This century-old trail ascends 1.5 miles to Gibraltar Road.

Continuing past the West Fork trail junction, the East Fork Trail rises up the canyon wall and rejoins the creek 0.5 mile later. Look for a fine swimming hole below you to the right. The trail then switchbacks moderately out of the canyon to Montecito Overlook. Enjoy the view of the Santa Barbara coastline and the Channel Islands.

If you’d like to loop back to the trailhead via Hot Springs Canyon, you have two options. Easiest way is to take the Edison fire road and make a steep one-mile descent into that canyon. A more challenging route is to ascend Cold Springs Trail another 0.25 mile or so and look for an unsigned connector trail on the right. This path leads down to the ruins of the old Hot Springs Hotel. Once at the bottom of the canyon, you’ll descend a fire road to a vehicle gate, then follow a footpath 0.5 mile around and through a residential area down to Mountain Drive. A mile’s walk along one of Santa Barbara’s more bucolic byways returns you to the Cold Spring trail head.

(While the paths leading into and through Hot Springs Canyon are used by thousands of hikers per year, they are posted “private property”.)

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From the junction with the Hot Springs connector trail, Cold Springs Trail switchbacks up-canyon and offers fine coastal views. A one-mile climb brings you to two eucalyptus trees (about the only shade en route!) and another 0.75 mile of travel takes you to the unsigned junction with a side trail leading to Montecito Peak (3,214 feet). Enjoy the view!

Cold Springs Trail continues a last mile to Camino Cielo. From the Sky Road, many trails lead into the far reaches of the Santa Barbara backcountry.

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