5.2 miles
Distance
582 ft
Climb
-3,505 ft
Descent
00:49:23
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Santa Cruz (Little Pine Mountain) Trail

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Santa Barbara
    , California
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Downhill Primary
    Popular direction shown
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #4819 in Mountain Biking
  • Local Popularity
    35 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 5 in Trail Running
    • 5 in Hiking
  • Land Manager
    Los Padres National Forest

Santa Cruz Trail, also known as Little Pine, is a Santa Barbara back country classic. The upper trail head is near Happy Hollow camp ground at the top of Little Pine Mountain, and the bottom trail head is a short way up the Camuesa OHV road from the Upper Oso camp ground. While some adventurous souls climb the Santa Cruz trail, most continue past the lower trail head and up the OHV road. Take a left at the intersection with Buckhorn road. Next take the cut off to Happy Hollow at the cistern. The trail head is on your right as you arrive in Happy Hollow. It is about 11 miles and 4000 feet of climbing from Upper Oso to the upper trail head.

While overall an intermediate trail, there are sections of extreme exposure and loose shale. The section near the top from Alexander Saddle down to the upper meadow has breathtaking views, but you really don't want to ride off the trail here. And don't be shy about walking areas in the shale slides. Otherwise just hang on for more than 5 miles of single track bliss.

You will often encounter hikers on this trail, so please ride with a bell.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Santa Cruz Trail (Little Pine Mountain) bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -2,923 ft
  • Altitude min
    1,344 ft
  • Altitude max
    4,352 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,302 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,379 ft
  • Grade max
    -51.037%
  • Grade min
    48.475%
  • Distance climb
    4,164 ft
  • Distance down
    4 miles
  • Distance flat
    2,109 ft
  • Avg time
    00:49:23
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Mar 28, 2021
Dry
Avg: 4.4 (5 votes)

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Ridden Direction
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

Radar Time
      Directions to santa-cruz-trail-little-pine-mountain trailhead (34.601060, -119.746630)
      update trails status or condition

      Santa Cruz Trail... Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Mar 28, 2021 @ 5:41pm
      Mar 28, 2021
      		 Someone has been doing some trail work up there. Looks good, still needs some work. A bit of hike a bike,but passable and 95%+ passable while riding
      Mar 28, 2021 @ 6:45am
      Mar 28, 2021
      Jun 20, 2020 @ 6:11pm
      Jun 20, 2020
      		 Not ridable. Didn’t have enough service to see previous comments, and there are not signs stating it’s closed that we saw on either end....
      Feb 3, 2020 @ 8:51am
      Feb 3, 2020
      		 reporter Officially closed by USFS because of high risk exposure, washouts, and slides
      Mar 11, 2019 @ 2:59am
      Mar 11, 2019
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 1 rides
      • 21 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 22 rides
      • 22 miles avg distance
      All
      • 42 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      48 |
      Mar 28, 2021 @ 5:39pm
      Mar 28, 2021
      59 |
      Dec 31, 2019 @ 9:54am
      Dec 31, 2019
      55 |
      Dec 31, 2019 @ 9:54am
      Dec 31, 2019
      58 |
      Dec 31, 2019 @ 9:54am
      Dec 31, 2019

      Routes with this trail

      titleratingdistance
      Santa Cruz Trail Loop
      		17 miles

      4 Reviews & Comments

      • + 0
      otahally (Nov 30, 2017 at 14:32)
       I went to ride this late November 2017. Upper 2/3’s of the trail is completely overgrown, washed out and desrteoyed by forest fire. Unrideable. Highly recommend to skip this until it’s fixed, if that is a Even feasible.
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      Matthewmako (Aug 8, 2020 at 11:09)
       August 8th deer hunting opener... at least one hundred hunters on trails early am today. Off highway vehicles and firearms galore. Wear orange if you are gonna head out so you don’t get shot accidentally.
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      DentonRamsey (May 24, 2021 at 20:01)
       Is this rideable now? Any updates?
      [Reply]
      • + 1
      shreddedWheat (May 31, 2021 at 22:42)
       I haven't ridden it lately but I spoke with someone from the Sage Trail Alliance last week. He said that the trail is open and rideable. Apparently they've put a ton of work into rebuilding it.
      [Reply]

      Post a Comment



      Videos

      more »
      Little Pine Loop - 1 of 2 - Santa Barbara -...
      661 | Apr 11, 2016 , Santa Barbara
      Little Pine Loop - 2 of 2 - Santa Barbara -...
      506 | Apr 11, 2016 , Santa Barbara
      Santa Cruz Trail – Santa Barbara, CA
      24:13 | 218 | Dec 9, 2014 , Santa Barbara

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