Location: Santa Barbara County, about 25 miles north-northwest of Ojai, 170 miles from Los Angeles

Maps

Auto Club: Santa Barbara County

Forest Service: Los Padres National Forest: Mt Pinos, Ojai and Santa Barbara Ranger Districts

USGS Topo: Cuyama Peak 7½, Fox Mountain 7½, Rancho Nuevo Creek 7½

HPS: Route(s), waypoints and explanation of usage

Nearby Peaks: Lizard Head

Distance: None

Gain: None

Time: None

Rating: Drive-up

Original: Paul A. Lipsohn, 1972

DRIVING ROUTE 1

• Drive north on I-5 past the Grapevine to the SR 166 off-ramp. Turn left (west).
• Head west 36.5 miles, passing through Maricopa, to the junction with SR 33 south. This junction may be reached by a slower route via SR 33 north from Ojai. (There is a junction with SR 33 north in Maricopa that you will pass in Maricopa.) Turn left (south).
• Go 2.7 miles to Foothill Road on the right. Turn right (west).
• Go 2.1 miles, crossing the Cuyama River, to the Santa Barbara Canyon Road (9N11) on the left. Turn left, note your odometer, and go as follows:
• At 3.1 miles, junction with a dirt road on the left just past a ranch with a sign "Santa Barbara Canyon Road". Turn right on a paved road.
• At 7.5 miles, fork with Santa Barbara Ranch visible ahead. Go right and cross a creek. The pavement ends.
• At 9.5 miles, a cattle guard and gate.
• At 10.0 miles, a hard to see dirt road on right. Keep straight. This is the turnoff for Fox Mountain #1.
• At 10.8 miles, Dry Canyon Road on the left. Turn left.
• At 16.6 miles an obscure gated road/trail on the right. Keep left This is the parking spot for Lizard Head.
• Follow the road about 2 more miles up to the summit of Cuyama Peak.

If the Cuyama River is impassable, return to the junction of SR 166 and SR 33 and go as follows:

• Go west on SR 166 for 4.7 miles to a bridge over the Cuyama River, and an immediate junction past the bridge, on your left. This is Kirschenmann Road (paved). Turn left.
• Continue 2.4 miles to the end of Kirschenmann at Foothill Road. Turn left (east).
• Drive 3 miles to Santa Barbara Canyon Road on the right (south). Turn right and continue as above.

HIKING ROUTE 1

• The HPS register is sometimes located in a drawer or cupboard inside the lookout tower. There is a Forest Service register at the foot of the stairs.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

Dry Canyon Road can be washed out in the early spring.

The road is sometimes not passable beyond the parking spot for Lizard Head. Hike up the road from here. This is 1200' gain and 4 1/2 miles round trip.