Cold Spring Trail

Beautiful trail! Really woodsy and shaded, if you are not looking to being exposed in the sun. We had a REALLY hard time finding the location, though, and had to ask several people and keep driving about 10 – 15 past where we thought it was to find it. Steady incline with lots to see! People on trails were friendly and chatty — we even met fellow Bostonians! I would definitely go back for a longer hike.

This is in a residential area with no parking and no outlet. Extremely hard to find. I think this trail is for the residents of this community. Do not waste your time is you are driving through the area and want a hike.

GREAT FOR KIDS!
If you have kids, this is a very fun little hike because of the many opportunities it gives the kiddies to find frogs and salamanders along the way!
I’m not talking the full hike, just the bottom parts that have creek crossings.
Let’s be honest, little legs can only go so far.

Oh. Em. Gee.
Stop. Don’t read another review. Just go! It’s a maaagical place with the greatest views. Park in the parking area on Mountain drive. Follow the wooden signs that say ‘trail’ with the arrow. Cross the creek and climb to the top… the first part is steep, you’ll get a good workout, like climbing stairs. Enjoy the view along the way :)

So we wake up and my husband is all like, «Do you want to go on a leisurely hike in Montecito?»
«Of course!»
3 hours later, this loop is a little less than leisurely.
We had done some quick research and read that the trails are not clearly marked but when in doubt, keep right. Keeping right at times involved short cuts with dramatic inclines and getting lost among the oak trees.
Don’t get me wrong, this hike is fantastic. And the view at the top is well worth the sweat. (270 degrees + full coastline.) But unless you’re very familiar with the trail, you may encounter a few wrong turns and big climbs. It’d be great if the town would add some more signage to the route or markings on trees. Nevertheless, if you want to take in the beauty that is Santa Barbara and are feeling adventurous, I highly recommend!

Cold Springs Trail is about 9 miles (roundtrip) of repetition. This isn’t meant to diminish the amazing views because there are great views. It’s the terrain that is less impressive it’s mostly uneven rockiness. You will feel the repetition 10x more on the way down so keep that in mind as you decide on a stopping point.
There are some lovely scenes while you begin in a more wooded area — water streams that still exist are very peaceful. At some point you’ll see a fallen tree converted into a bench. Cute. The electrical towers are only about a mile or two into the hike and the view is almost good enough to just want to stop there. Don’t, it gets more challenging at that point and it’s worth it to at least make it to the Eucalyptus tree. (3 – 3.5 mi in?).
Bugs are rampant after the electrical towers, especially on a hot day. I was fortunate they seemed uninterested in me. Weird. The hike ends with a water tower in a little area where you’ll see some parked cars. It’s a little risky to climb to the water tower because of the privacy its walls provide. Listen first, people could totally get frisky up there.
The view from the water tower isn’t nearly as good as the views before. That’s a little disappointing. Return the way you came but be careful it’s punishingly repetitive.

Beautiful woodsy, shaded trail with a gradual incline. I missed the split to do the loop and ended up doing the Montecito Peak which is beautiful. It’s woodsy through out– you will get no sun on this trail up until the Peak. It doesn’t attract too many people, I ran into a couple of first timers and others that appear to live in the area. Friendly people in this area, always bring water. Some first timers on this trail didn’t have any water, even if shaded you can die from heat exhaustion. Driving here from the 101 is really pretty, the area is just filled with big green tress on these beautiful park like estate properties.
Along this trail you will find a split right where the bench is– That may have been where I should have turn to do the 3 mile loop that I had planned to do but I kept going straight. Once I crossed the creek there was a sign posted to the left that said Route Closed. That may have also been the turn to do the loop, I’m not sure. There are no clear directions on these signs other than at the entrance listing the names of the trails. So I kept straight and ended up at the peak with no loop. I would love to come back and explore the turn off’s it’s so pretty in here. The incline to the Peak is easy and worth doing.

This hike takes the award for «best scenery» so far among coastal SoCal hikes we’ve done. The hike to Montecito Peak is 3.7 miles from the trailhead, and to Camino Cielo Road, 4.5 miles — all of it uphill, but of course, the bonus is that it’s all downhill going back. The amazing views of the coastline from northern Santa Barbara almost all the way to Ventura make the moderate uphill (average 10% grade) trek well worth it!
The last 0.15 mile up the side of Montecito Peak is a bit more challenging — 200 feet of vertical gain — but also worth it. The view is amazing. However, be careful coming back down. The soft soil and gravel makes it easy to slip and fall — consider side-​stepping down some of the narrower and steeper sections.
The lower two thirds of the trail is well-​shaded — a big plus in the summer. There is also a fair amount of poison oak in these areas as well, but the trail is wide enough, so if you keep your eyes open and watch where you’re going you should be fine. There is almost none once you get about two-​thirds of the way up.
We did the hike on a Friday afternoon in July. We encountered very few other people on the trail past the first two miles from the trailhead. In fact, we had the top of Montecito Peak, with its stunning views, to ourselves for the whole half-​hour or so we spent up there. ;-)
Again, a beautiful hike, well worth the time spent.
We found this site to be quite helpful. I’d suggest printing it out and bringing it along.
Enjoy!

Start early if it’s your first time. I’m an avid hiker and athlete and it took me almost 2 hours to reach the top of Camino de Cielo (I went on dead end paths every so often and they’re not so obvious to me). Sometimes I questioned if I was even on a trail, but that made it fun! The view from the top was just gorgeous and I was lucky enough to find to other gals who could take my picture. Once you get closer to the top, the loose gravel makes it tough but interesting. I love a challenge!

This was a very good trail. There were long trails with shade and some without any shade. A lot of rocks. We hiked from E. Mountain Drive to Montecito Peak. About 9 miles round-​trip. It took us a little over 6 hours round-​trip, but we took a lot of long breaks.
We started the Cold Spring Trail on the right «Cold Spring Trail» instead of the left «Cold Spring Trail.» The first quarter of a mile was an extremely steep incline. It must have been about an 80 degree incline or something, because I had to literally crawl and claw my way up there with my hands («gnarly» is how my friend described it). If you’re not comfortable with climbing, then you can turn left instead of right.
We hiked for maybe an hour or so and made it to the power lines. From there, you can see a lonely eucalyptus tree on top of one of the mountain peaks. It took us about 45 minutes to reach that tree, which had an excellent view and a cool breeze. This is the perfect spot for a picnic or resting stop.
From there, we continued for another hour up this very rocky trail to Montecito Peak. Once you reach the bottom of that Montecito peak, you can decide if you want to continue to the top. It’s very steep (maybe 75 degrees); it was not as steep as that initial climb on the «Cold Spring Trail.» My friend didn’t want to climb up there, so I climbed up there by myself with his dog haha. There’s a lot of gravel and I did end up crawling up there with my hands. Once you get to the top, it’s flat. The view is awesome! You can see Carpinteria and all of Santa Barbara. There is also a box between some large rocks filled with notebooks where you can write something and sign your name. Climbing down was tough, because it was slippery. I had to stay low to the ground, so I would not slip. I saw a humming bird on my way down :). Hiking shoes are highly recommended.
On our way back, we took the left Cold Spring Trail instead, because we did NOT want to risk climbing down that steep incline we experienced at the beginning of our hike. We saw the carved out bench and then an actual bench. It was a nice route, because there was a creek. There is supposed to be a waterfall, too, but it’s dried up. It is too bad that every trail I go on now has a dried up creek or waterfall due to the drought.
I should also mention that there is a lot of poison oak at the beginning or bottom of the trail. Once you get fairly up there, you don’t see any… or at least, I don’t remember seeing any. I still wore shorts, because I do not like hiking in long pants.

Fun hike… Cool to check out the over the top mansions. The trail is great for pups… Ours had a blast.
Though the trails are marked, it’s difficult to distinguish which is the 2 mile hike and which is .5
Next time we are in town, we will try a different trail, but it was worth it to check this one out!

This is a fun little trail for the entire family in the heart of Montecito. The view when you get to the top is amazing. The odd thing is that you are literally walking between mansions for a good portion if the trail. Still, I recommend it.

I’ve been hiking this trail since I was 8 and love it more and more every time I walk this trail.
This is my go-​to hike when i’m in town and always go on the steeper trail with switch-​backs at the beginning. Love the stellar views, the trail is so familiar to me, like the back of my hand.
Another amazing thing is the people also hiking the trail on the regular, I made some hiking buddies just from often times crossing paths with the same lovely folk. really nice feeling.
I left my heart here…

Most important thing I wish I knew for this hike was how to get to the trailhead. Don’t follow the directions Unilocal or Google maps gives you. Or do, but instead of following Hot Springs Rd to the end like they will say, when going north on it, turn left at E Mountain Dr. Go about 150 ft., and there is a lot of 6 spots on your right just before a small bridge over a creek. park here and at the right corner of the parking spots is the trail entrance.
The hike gets very steep about halfway through. Mostly shady but gets pretty open toward the top. Doesn’t take long and the views are great. All around an enjoyable quick hike. Stop at Pressed Juicery (about 1.5 miles away) afterwards!

This is my absolutely favorite hike in Santa Barbara. Sometimes I do the «loop» it is easy and doesn’t take very long. You just follow the trail and any time another trail goes off to the left, don’t take it! At the top you will have some very nice views of Santa Barbara. If you want you can do it backwards (start from the trailhead that is 50 feet to the right of the main trail head) If you do it that direction the first ten minutes is pretty steep.
From the Cold Spring Trail you can also go to Tangerine falls by turning left and crossing the creek after you pass the bench. You will have to take a right turn off of the main trail about 20 minutes later but it is quite obvious. The hike to tangerine falls is a little tougher but so worth it.
The third hike you can do from this trail is all the way to Montecito Peak or the fire road or beyond. To do that you go around the loop past the summet and take a left turn, when you get to the big power poles go along the service road until you see a trail on your left going up the mountain.
If you see a ratlesnake I have named him Rodney.

Easy trail with some steep hills BUT it’s still easy. There’s some waterfalls and the hike is pretty quick. There’s a nice view when you get to the top. I remember the trail being pretty shaded so that’s nice.

If you’re looking for a quick and mostly easy hike, this could be the one!
I hiked this with my friend, and we didn’t have much time before sundown, so we were racing to get to the top. We almost turned back, but we trudged on and made it to the Montecito overlook in time before the sun set! It was only about 1.5 mi up to get there, and you see a nice overview of the city and the ocean. A few steep parts but not bad, and there were lots of trees for shade.
Another review says there’s poison oak, but I wasn’t aware of this and did the hike in shorts and was okay. But now that you’ve been warned, you might not want to take your chances!

This place is better to go on a hike in the early morning as Monkey and I learn to not go towards the afternoon on a hot sunny day. Unless you love the heat and the hot sun. Also would be a good idea to wear long pants as there are a lot of poison oaks along the trail.
It’s steep up and down and the trail gets small so if you have a hard start then its wise to stop there unless you got heart. It’s a tough trail so it’s recommended for a fit person. Walking sticks would be nice too. If you are the kind that gets dizzy often then it’s not a good place to hike as you can fall off the side of the hill.
But when you get to the top the view is wonderful as you can see the island, ocean, ugly oil rigs, the whole town of Santa Barbara and the harbor. Also I love that along the trail there are lots of shadows to keep direct sunlight from hitting you as I’m the kind of person whom rather hike in the shade then direct sunlight. It’s nice to hike along a runny stream and see the pretty flowers and different animals and bugs. My favorite part was going down the hill as it’s easy for me and I’m the kind of person who don’t like climbing hills.
For some who likes to dip in the streams, don’t forget swimsuits, towels, flip flops. For those who don’t like bugs hanging around them I’d recommend bug spray on yourself.
I’d go back up here again and recommend checking it out. If a group of senior citizens can do it then you can too.

This is my go-​to trail in the SB area. I LOVE coming here. I usually do the East fork. The entire early portion of the trail is in the shade and follows the creek, making for a cool hike. Once you pass the electrical towers, the trail is a lot dryer and mostly in the sun but still enjoyable. For a little variation you could do the West Fork of the trail but it is quite a bit shorter. The West Fork is across the creek at the bench, about a quarter mile in. The East Fork is about 9 miles roundtrip while the West Fork is 3 to 3.5 miles roundtrip.
If you are short on time there are some awesome views of SB and Montecito from the electrical towers and it’s only about a mile and a half up. This makes for a quick, relaxing hike.
The only thing I don’t enjoy about coming here are the large amounts of people who also enjoy it. I can’t stand going out for a relaxing hike only to be followed by a group of 5 women chatting the entire way. I generally avoid this trail on the weekends because it can become very busy and there is limited parking. The best time I have found to start out is early weekday mornings.