San Ysidro Trail

San Ysidro Trail begins in Montecito. The usual destination is a waterfall about 2 miles from the trailhead, making the hike relatively easy (remember, Santa Barbara is all mountains, so relatively easy usually does not mean there are no hills.) This waterfall can be quite impressive after a strong rain, and very tranquil in the drier months. Continue past the waterfall out of the shade and into the chaparral and the hike becomes quite strenuous in its relentless climb to East Camino Cielo Rd. at the summit, a 9 mile round trip. An excellent workout.

San Ysidro Trail and the Waterfall Updates

Update trail conditions

Posted: December 9, 2009, 1:11 am
by: WhiskeyDoc009

This was a great afternoon hike, unfortunately it was a bit cloudy so visibility was limited. Trail conditions were pretty decent after the rain. As can be expected, most exposed rock was a little slick. There water was moving pretty good also, but nothing spectacular. Very easy to get across the stream. A couple sections of the trail had visible damage from very recent rockfall, so if you do go up make sure to stay alert to your surroundings! I'm new to the area and as such don't know if this is a recent update, but several of the handrails near the top of the trail are lose and some even disconnected. Make sure to keep an eye out for that also. Happy hiking!

Posted: September 4, 2009, 11:12 pm
by: jjsparker

wow - it was toasty. Hiked from noon to 5pm, peaked and back. I didn't see any of the wasps. Lots of lizards, but no snakes - yay!

Posted: August 6, 2009, 10:10 am
by: bkallin00

There is a large in ground yellow jacket nest on the right hand side of the trail as you go up. It is past the old pueblo trail and not too much past the lower creek trail. It is literally on the trail there is no avoiding it. We were fine on the way up, but our dog got into it on the way down and we were chased until pavement. Multiple stings for us and way too many for the dog. The hike is beautiful though but be warned about the wasps.
Ben and Danielle

Posted: March 25, 2009, 3:36 pm
by: trailuser

Our dog, 'WOODY' bolted from our pet sitter on March 10th on Eucalyptus Hill when we were in New Zealand on vacation.
He was last seen at the power poles between hot Springs & Cold Springs Trails on March 17th.
We found him on Thanksgiving weekend in Sequoia National Forest, 2 miles up a trailhead at 4000feet. He had probably been in the wild for close to 2 months. He is a survivor.
Woody is a 'German shorthair' / hound mix and weighs about 55lb.s
He could posibly be heading further into the backcountry. If anyone sites him please call me on my cell @ 895 6646
Thanks Art

Posted: March 3, 2009, 1:18 pm
by: jjcavins

Just went a couple weeks ago after the rains. Trail is fine, everything was flowing but still easy to cross the creek. I think it would be impossible to get lost on this trail. a great hike for dogs.

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Posted: January 7, 2007, 4:59 pm
by: Diane

There are a lot of new signs on the lower portion of San Ysidro and McMenemy trails. They are marked with a SYR symbol, which means San Ysidro Ranch. I predict that they will confuse hikers who want to find the San Ysidro trail to the waterfall. They will have to purposefully not follow the SYR signs in order to reach the San Ysidro trail.

They aren't set up very securely. It remains to be seen how long they last. Already a couple of them had fallen over or people had propped them up weakly.

Posted: March 19, 2006, 1:42 pm
by: Anonymous

Charged up there last weekend during a deluge...it was pouring...I came prepared with rain gear, so I was OK, but the trail was definitely slippery and dangerous. If it weren't wet it would be mostly safe, with some difficult rock hopping sections. The sun came out and I was able to get some great pics, I review trails and have the sunny Tangerine shots here: outdoor-weblog.com

Posted: December 1, 2005, 8:09 am
by: Anonymous

Hiked San Ysidro for the first time on Monday and it was one of the nicer hiking experiences due to all of the shade and constant sounds of the creek. However, I missed the fork to the falls and ended up going all the way up to Camino Cielo ) but glad I made the mistake, as I got a much needed workout! Found the falls on the way back down and plan on going again, as there are many other trail options from San Ysidro trailhead.

Posted: November 26, 2005, 8:28 am
by: Anonymous

Beautiful day for a hike. Trail is in great shape and lots of water. Went around 9am to the top. Recent rains have made for an extremely buggy hike.

Posted: November 23, 2005, 3:06 pm
by: Anonymous

Went the distance to the top. At 9:30a I started and the sun was on me most of the way (guess about 75F). The waterfalls were nice and the first couple miles was the best half. Air was calm and visibility was near excellent. Hardly anyone else on the trail. I drove 3.5 hours from Sherman Oaks and just happened to find this particular trail by asking the locals. I might do this one again sometime.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted: May 8, 2005, 11:47 pm
by: Anonymous

I hiked to East Camino Cielo today. Trail is in good shape, a lot of overgrowth though.If u can handle the tall grass and weeds, its a great way to lose yourself on a Sunday afternoon.

Posted: April 18, 2005, 3:41 pm
by: Sean

I hiked up passed the waterfall yesterday almost to the road. The trail is in good condition, although past the waterfall the overgrowth narrows the trail to a true single track. Its fine to hike on but using poles is troublesome.

Its such a great feeling to get out of the forest, and see the big canyon you are hiking in. You can periodically hear the water well below. Its great living here!

Enjoy the picture of the waterfall from Sunday 4/18.http://homepage.mac.com/travelsean/PhotoAlbum17.html

Posted: March 23, 2005, 7:18 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.