"It is really thrilling to have all these trails open for the first time since 2023, it has been a long three plus plus years waiting," Montecito Trails Foundation Executive Director Ashlee Mayfield told KEYT in late September. She was talking about Old Romero Road. The Santa Barbara Ranger District reopened it during the week of September 16, 2026, along with Franklin Trail, Arroyo Burro Trail, Matias Connector Trail and North Tunnel Trail.
Most of the coverage has stopped at the reopening itself. The more useful story for anyone who hikes or rides out of Romero Canyon is how the route came back, because that explains what it is like now. Old Romero didn't reopen all at once. It returned in two phases, about a year apart, and each phase depended on a different set of partners. The upper miles came back as a deliberately rustic trail. The people who maintain it describe their work as something they expect to keep redoing, not a fix they expect to last.
The Formal Line in the Sand
The reopening is written into Forest Order No. 05-07-54-26-09, a storm damage recovery closure for the Santa Barbara Ranger District. It runs from September 16, 2026, through September 15, 2027. Old Romero Road is no longer on its list of closed routes. Several others still are. The Los Padres Forest Association says parts of the Santa Cruz Trail, the Aliso Loop, the lower section of north Tunnel and "sections of other trails" remain closed. So the front country is not entirely back, but the Montecito end of it is in much better shape than a year ago.
Altogether, the group counts more than 15 miles of reopened trail across the Santa Barbara front country and mid-country.
Phase One Ran Through Private Land and a Utility Agreement
The first phase came in September 2025, when the full San Ysidro Trail and the first 2 miles of Old Romero Road reopened after more than a year closed. The two projects ran on very different arrangements.
On San Ysidro, Mayfield told Noozhawk that "by far the biggest challenges were three realignments where we had lost the trail bed completely." Those sections cross private property, so the work needed the landowners' cooperation, the Forest Service, an outside biologist and a hired trail crew. The Los Padres Forest Association's professional crew did the work, with support from Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue. Most of the money came from the foundation's 2024 fall barbecue, which raised nearly $50,000. The Ann Jackson Family Foundation, the Mark C. Lemons Family Foundation and the Montecito Community Foundation added more.
The lower 2 miles of Old Romero came back through a fire-road arrangement. Montecito Fire has an agreement with Southern California Edison to keep those roads passable for the department's four-wheel-drive vehicles. Mayfield said the utility had largely stepped back from maintaining local fire roads, and she credited Montecito Fire Chief David Neels with helping bring its support back. According to Mayfield, Edison restored fire roads "from Gibraltar all the way through Toro Canyon," including stretches that do not reach its power poles.
That arrangement covered the graded lower road. The remaining 5 miles needed a different approach. At the time, the foundation estimated that phase at about $350,000. Its 2025 barbecue, which kicked off the campaign, netted $45,000, and the group said it hoped to start work in the spring.
Phase Two Was Done by Hand
The upper miles were finished in late summer 2026. The Los Padres Forest Association Trail Crew worked on Old Romero Road for all of August with the Montecito Trails Foundation and the Santa Barbara Ranger District, brushing the route and clearing slides. The association said the work came to almost two months, done "despite triple digit heat working along south facing slopes," and it thanked the foundation for "supporting the work and navigating the process." In the Montecito Journal, the association added that "everything was done by hand."
Here are the two phases together:
September 2025 | September 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
Old Romero Road reopened | First 2 miles | Full route to East Camino Cielo |
Key partners | Los Padres National Forest, Southern California Edison, Montecito Fire | LPFA Trail Crew, Montecito Trails Foundation, Santa Barbara Ranger District |
Nature of the work | Fire-road restoration under a utility agreement | Brushing and hand-cleared slides |
Also reopened | Full San Ysidro Trail | Franklin, Arroyo Burro, Matias Connector, North Tunnel |
The published sources do not say how much of the $350,000 goal was raised or whether campaign money paid for the August crew work. The confirmed facts are that the foundation supported the work and the trail is open.
What the Upper Miles Feel Like Now
Because the two halves were restored differently, they are built to different standards. The Montecito Trails Foundation describes the Romero Canyon Jeepway as a 7-mile route from the trailhead to East Camino Cielo. It was restored once before in 2017 and again in 2026 after the winter storms of 2023. From mile four up to Camino Cielo, it is now rated "Trail Class 1: Minimally Developed." Past the four-way junction, the foundation says to expect "a trail maintained to a rustic standard. Tread may be narrow, rough or indistinct."
The Jeepway shares the canyon with a separate route. Romero Canyon Trail, Forest Service trail 26W14, is a single-track that climbs mostly through riparian zone, which the foundation calls the shadier option. After about 2 miles it meets the Jeepway at a four-way intersection. From there you can stay on the Jeepway or take the single-track 1.7 miles to Camino Cielo. The Forest Service lists 26W14 as open daily, year-round, with no motorized use. Dogs must be on a leash no longer than six feet or otherwise under physical control.
With both routes open, you can climb one and come down the other again. The upper section of the old road is a primitive trail, and its condition reflects that.
Mayfield's advice for the reopened routes is simple. Keep your ankles covered, watch what you touch, skip the earbuds and pay attention to your surroundings. Riders can pick up a bike bell at the top on Camino Cielo so hikers and people with dogs can hear them coming. Deer season in hunting zone D-13 also runs October 10 through November 8, which is worth knowing before a long day in the backcountry this month.
Trailhead Parking Has Tightened
While the trails were reopening, county rules cut into roadside parking at two other Montecito trailheads.
- Cold Spring. On April 21, 2026, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 for a no parking, stopping or standing tow-away zone on the south side of Mountain Drive East. It runs from 1,520 to 1,870 feet northwest of the centerline of Cold Springs Road. County Public Works acknowledged it would remove some hiker parking. The goal is a clear travel lane and shoulder on the inside of a sharp ninety-degree turn. The resolution tells Public Works to install signs "as time and resources permit," so check the curb before you park.
- Hot Springs. Tow-away enforcement has been in effect since October 2025 on East Mountain Drive and Riven Rock Road. Some sections are no parking anytime. Others are no parking from sunset to 8 a.m., which matches the closing time of the Hot Springs trail parking lot. Oversized vehicles are also restricted.
Who Does the Upkeep
The phase-two crew list is the same group the canyon will depend on next time. Mayfield described the work to KEYT this way:
"We are here and prepared to come back and go to work and sometimes I just say we are really building sand castles so it is not about one particular project but just about being able to come back and maintain it regularly and try to keep it open and reopen things as fast as possible we obviously don't want to see these three year lags."
That upkeep has a long history here. The foundation's annual barbecue, held this year on September 19 at 100 Innovation Place in Summerland, honored longtime board members Kevin and Sheila Snow. Sheila joined the board in 1988 and helped start the barbecue tradition in 1990. Kevin has worked on trail maintenance funding, easements, and coordination with neighbors and agencies. The phase-one ribbon cutting in 2025 shows the same mix of people. It brought together Bryan Conant of the Los Padres Forest Association; Paddy McMahon, Vicki Mills and Mayfield of the foundation; and Aida Thau, First District deputy chief of staff.
Volunteers are welcome. The Los Padres National Forest team opened a call for help cleaning and restoring the Montecito Hot Springs Canyon Trail, starting on National Public Lands Day, September 26, for both experienced volunteers and beginners. Closer to sea level, the Montecito Association's Beautification Day is Saturday, November 7, with check-in in the Upper Village and a cleanup along the Hammonds Beach Trail. For more ways to spend a morning outdoors, our guide to outdoor activities in Montecito and our Montecito neighborhood page are good places to start.
Knowing which canyon road has been rebuilt, who keeps it open, and which curb now gets you towed is the kind of local detail we track at Alemann & Associates. If you're weighing a home near Romero Canyon, Cold Spring or Hot Springs and want to understand trail access and trailhead parking on a particular street, we're happy to walk through it with you. Contact Us.
Photo courtesy of Ashlee Mayfield/Montecito Trails Foundation
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
