Gaviota Peak and Campbell Trail, with a side trip to the hot spring

The entire trail is a wide path that leads upwards with successively higher vistas of the 101 freeway winding through the hills. There is vegetation along the trail but not enough to give much shade so wear a hat. The trail is uniformly and moderately steep most of the way but gets slightly steeper at the end. At the top of the peak you get a fantastic view of the ocean which is hidden throughout the rest of the trail since you climb from behind the mountain. There is a register kept in a sturdy metal can at the peak where you can record your achievement. A nice side trip is a short hike from the trailhead to a hot spring. It's nice to take a dip in the pool after the hike or just sit on the rocks with your feet dipped in.

• If you do Gaviota Peak, your total will be around 6 or 7 miles.
• If you do the Campbell trail loop, your total will be around 11 miles.
• If you just go to the hot spring, it's about 1 mile total round trip.

There is a fee to park your car. Last time I was there it was $2 but it could change. The trail is part of the California State Park system.

Gaviota Peak and hot spring Updates

Update trail conditions

Posted: November 15, 2009, 8:25 am
by: ktaylor

I took our small hiking club from San Marcos HS up here yesterday. We took the Tresspass trail up to the peak, and returned on the road down the back. The views were absolutely spectacular: Point Mugu to Point Conception, and north to ? The Tresspass trail is excellent! The way views are revealed as you ascend are wonderful, and it's far more fun and interesting than the one down the back, but there are a few rough steep parts. No ticks this time, even through all the tall grasses, and the poison oak is mostly just dried out sticks with little white berries. You can still get a rash from it, though if you're sensitive to.

Posted: June 10, 2009, 3:28 pm
by: jbaysurfer

Hiked this trail to the peak today, and forwent(did I just make up a word?) the trespass part of the loop due to all the tick warnings. I actually plucked one tick off of my pants on the way up from the main trail which in a few (very few) sections has tall overgrown grasses.

It was very crowded for a wed. morning imho. The "Santa Ynez womens hiking club" was out with their group of 18 hikers, and a dozen of the vandenberg Hotshots were up there in full turnouts, axes and trail gear doing (presumably) fire prevention work.

Just as everyone said, this hike DOES seem longer going down then up. I think it's because it's not all that steep so you don't really tax yourself too much on the climb unless you're trying to push the pace.

The hike up is about the easiest 2k of vertical you could ask for though because of it's sustained "not too steep" pitch. The view from the top is outstanding, and might even inspire you to hike a different trail nearby (as it did me, and I'll be back out there soon).

Overall, I'm a mission canyon regular who probably needed to branch out a bit anyway, so I'm gonna look at the fire closures as opportunities. I already miss mission canyon though...I hope it gets reopened soon.

Posted: May 18, 2009, 3:09 pm
by: TJC

Since the fire has closed off a lot of the Front Country, decided to head up to Gaviota to check out this hike for the first time. Since I suspect a lot people might have the same idea, here's a warning:

A long stretch of the trail going down from the peak to the junction with Trespass Trail is currently infested with deer ticks. If you don't like ticks don't try to go through there because they were numerous and impossible to avoid.

That being said, I thought this was a really nice hike. The parking fee at the lot described here was still $2. The hike up the peak is quite a workout but the views are great.

Posted: March 29, 2009, 12:21 pm
by: bman333

Decided to try the hike to the peak yesterday. It was a gorgeous sunny day w/ many hawks flying around and a few friendly fellow hikers on the trails. Went up the main trail to the peak, which was quite a bit more challenging than I expected but enjoyable nonetheless. We did not encounter any snakes or mountain lions thankfully, but two different people warned us about ticks in a way that made us somewhat paranoid for the rest of the hike (we were in shorts) but we did not get any. The view from the top is spectacular! There are a few rocks to sit on and have some lunch. After snapping a few pics we hiked down trespass trail which was VERY overgrown in many places and you have to tromp through bushes. At one point there is a pretty cool cave. The hike down seemed to be longer than the trail up (this could have been b/c we were tired) but was still beautiful. After we got to the bottom we hiked up the trail to the hot spring and soaked for a bit. Pretty rad hike overall

Posted: March 1, 2009, 12:50 am
by: Jade

I thought I'd put a snake warning on this hike, for those of you who happen to have a very snake-phobic person hiking with you (like we did!)

This hike was absolutely beautiful, first of all - we went up the main route, and came down Trespass. Trespass is extremely overgrown, but also very green and pretty right now, with lots of wildflowers.

On our way down we actually had multiple snake encounters - first there were 3 different gopher snakes (I think). The last of those was 2-3 feet long and was happily lying across the trail with a pretty sizable meal bulging his stomach. I came within a few inches of stepping on him, and we actually had to lift him aside with a stick before he'd move.

Then finally we had to get past a rattlesnake, which we never actually saw, but it made a lot of noise. It was not easy getting a seriously snake-phobic person past that!

Posted: January 19, 2009, 1:25 pm
by: pope

Did this on Saturday for the first time. Guess we went about it backwards, up the Trespass trail and down the road. With the sunny 80degree weather we were having the low angled sun was brutal on the Trespass trail from the southern exposure. A lot of fire follower flowers can be seen on that trail and it would be nice to enjoy on a cooler day. Trail is very clear but a few sections where it is starting to crowd in. Not one of the favorite hikes of the Front Country, but glad to finally check it out.

Posted: March 31, 2008, 1:22 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Backpacked east of Gaviota Peak on 29 / 30 March 2008. The trail from Gaviota Peak saddle east to Homestead Spring is almost covered by post fire plants and flowers. Pink ribbons help locate the trail, but most of us will get in some cross-country. Good water in the spring box. The Adobe is almost again covered with bushes; it is almost gone from sight; as happens to Brigadoon. Does anyone have any information on the “Lost Padres 4WD Club” who looked after this area at one time?

Posted: March 24, 2008, 12:01 pm
by: Coyote Dave

Three friends and I hiked up Gaviota Peak on Saturday. We took the road to the top, and the trail (Trespass Trail) on the way back. Wild flowers are firing on the western and southern facing slopes. Lupine and poppies are relatively abundant, but not the dominant species right now. Instead, gypsum, purple night shade, madia, and several other species are running the flower show. Everything is still really green too.

Beware of ticks and juvenile rattle snakes, which are out in full force right now, earlier in the season than I can ever remember. The trail down the peak via Trespass Trail is a pretty overgrown so wear long pants and bring a stick for "beating around the snake bush".

Posted: March 6, 2008, 11:53 am
by: JMader2008

Hiked up the trail on Wednesday. There was no one on the trail my entire trek, and the only other people in the park were some visitors to the hot springs.

The trail is in good condition overall, with some erosion due to all the rain of a few months ago. Lots of green and new foliage growth, and the trail is very clean (no trash, waste, signs of humans being there).

The next time I visit I will try to bring a new log book for the peak, as all the books are now filled with entries.

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Posted: March 2, 2008, 7:43 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked to Gaviota Peak on 18 FEB 08. A new logbook for the fantastic summit can is needed.

Posted: January 18, 2007, 9:40 am
by: TheCuban1040

Hiked up on December 17. Awesome views from the top, but that last half mile or so makes you work for it. Pretty steep walk. Got some good pictures, and didnt see any naked men, so thats a good hike in my book.

Posted: December 3, 2006, 10:40 pm
by: Brian_

^amateurs

Posted: July 9, 2006, 7:56 pm
by: dj

Saturday, 8 Jul 06
Got up with the full intention of going biking today but that didn’t happen………Tom just didn’t want to do that. O no. He just had to take me to this fantastic hike he had done b4, with another hiking friend; Jane. He had already been all the way to the top with her, and another time he had gone half way to the top, way past the Hot Springs. Biking just wasn’t on his agenda for something to do. He decided we really needed to climb to Gaviota Peak today. It was a great and easy hike after all. So, although it isn’t really difficult in most situations, yesterday had to be the day he chose. For such an easy hike, it about did us in. I thought we'd die b4 we got to the top. When Tom hiked this trail b4, a few months ago, there had been plenty of cloud cover/almost fog. He said it would take about 4 hours, which I mistakenly took to be round trip. We took 3 bottles of water; one we left in our ice chest to drink upon the return to my car. We started off at a pretty good ascent rate and even passed a few other hikers. Some were lying around under trees. Smart people!! I don’t think they went any further either. I did not realize at that point that it wasn’t just a little jot from a gate we had to climb around early on, to the top. After about the first 2 hours, we had already gone thru one entire bottle of water, remember we only had 2 cuz he said we’d be done in 4-5 hours. As we continued up, with NO cloud cover in over 84 degrees and with no real breeze except in a few areas near ravines, we searched for any shade along the sides of the trail, resting/pausing often. I’ve never considered myself a wimp… after all; we go out walking/hiking or biking almost every night after work. But, I kid you not, I had my doubts we’d make it. Then we got to what he remembered to be the top and his pace picked up. And we climbed and climbed cuz as you near the top, the incline does get a tad steeper. O, and the flies were horrible all day. They were worse at the summit. The view was beyond incredible. With no clouds we could see forever. Ok, so the Channel Islands had some clouds but we could see them. It would have been heaven on earth except for those flies and NO breeze even at the summit. Tom has assured me that we will NOT do another trip on the east side of any mountain until fall. We did luck out with NO Mountain Lions and NO Rattlesnakes so there was some additional good to this hike. It took us over an hour to descend due to loose rock/stone and the decision not to damage our bodies any further. Near the bottom, there is one last incline back up toward the Hot Spring and then it’s all-downhill from there. Yes, back to good cold water. I downed the bottle and he downed the melted ice in the chest. We then headed to the State Park to purchase 2 more cold drinks b4 the drive home. Traffic was light, which was great considering how tired I was. I read today that it is about 6-7 miles and would really like to know. We were limping after getting out of the car back home. We are fine today and about to go out on a short jaunt just to stretch our muscles.
We passed a ranger on the way to the Hot Springs and she was chopping on a tree that had fallen across the trail. Higher portions of the trail are clear but starting to overgrow. We encountered another hiker at the top that had come up the other side and he walked a way down with us. He said it was the worst conditions he had encountered that and had climbed it 5 times since arriving in CA 3 months ago.

Posted: May 7, 2006, 7:41 pm
by: Ralph Turchiano

Outside of being a good hike. The trail is almost covered with growth past the hot springs. The trail is still easy to find, but not for long if it is not maintained soon.

Posted: March 1, 2006, 5:35 pm
by: Anonymous

Trail was very over grown but very fun!

Posted: January 15, 2006, 7:06 pm
by: terrilyn_2000

Very nice hike with great views. Trail a bit muddy after last night rain. Nice touch of a notebook at the peak
Brought some wine and cheese it was great!!...But the naked guy was in the spring so we hurried by that
Terrilyn

Posted: April 9, 2005, 5:50 pm
by: Paolo

After a debilitating injury last fall, we could finally get back on our 6 (collective) feet and ascend the long winding jeep road to Gaviota Peak, and then down to one of my Geocaches. The usual trail up to the peak is in great shape, minimal rain damage. The powerful gusts of wind and the moving clouds make this hike spectacular… but do bring a windbreaker if you get cold easily.

For the most daring, the peak is reachable via the aptly named Trespass Trail. Turn right following the Trespass sign before getting to the hot springs. You will be following an old farm road, pass the occasional rusty gate. Take an optional but highly recommended detour on a single-track nearly completely overgrown by wildflowers of all kinds, which then meanders through mysterious green valleys and lakes (!) to climb back up to the top. Unless you are a parseltongue like me or H. Potter, this calls for long pants and high boots. A GPS is always handy, although for a while you will be in sight of Hwy. 101.

Posted: April 8, 2005, 10:53 am
by: Anonymous

Still pretty, though flooded over due to some showers. Strong smell still...but took a group up and they didn't mind it much. No naked man this time either!

Posted: March 23, 2005, 7:15 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.