Got to the trail a bit late as we had a lot of errands to do and were kinda shoehorning this run in. Had about a 1:30 pm start time so a bit hot and humid but that’s the Santa Barbara Front Country in the summer. Too bad we didn’t have time to head over to the SYRA and hit Cold Springs Tavern for a Tri Tip sandwich and a Hoppy Poppy…next time.
Directions to the Trailhead Here
Here are the stats:
- Distance: 6.96 km / 4.32 mi
- Moving Time: 55:29
- Elevation: 312 metres / 1,024 feet
- Temperature: 22° C / 72° F
- Humidity: 72%
After parking at the trailhead off Bella Vista Drive there’s a single trail to follow – it’s a fire road. You have one creek crossing before you get to the first decision point – you can take the Edison Catway to the left to connect with the Buena Vista Trail and eventually the San Ysidro Trail. To stay in Romero you’ll want to veer slightly right (it continues up into the same canyon rather than creeping up to the left) and have another dry creek crossing (at least it’s been dry every time I’ve seen it. Then, you have one last non-dry creek crossing and you’ll hit the decision point to go right up the fire road or left up the singletrack.
One of my favorite runs is up the fire road and returning down the canyon. Due to time constraints, we just did the fire road out and back this time.
