SAGE staff and volunteers dedicate over 2,000 hours to the maintenance of trails on public land each season.
SAGE’s Core Trails
These are the front and back country routes that we like to hike or ride on a weekly basis. Our area’s most popular trails fall into this category, and we work to maintain safe conditions for the people who use them daily. Tread and erosion repair in the winter, and lots of brushing in the spring keep us busy on Tunnel, Jesusita, Cold Springs, Arroyo Burro, Camuesa, Romero and more.
Elings Park
SAGE maintains all of the trail infrastructure at the Country’s largest privately owned public park. As a place where some of us grew up hiking or biking, this one is near and dear to our hearts, and we love supporting this trail network just a short ride away from downtown. Much of this park’s trail has been around since the ‘90s, but new improvements include the SB Foundation and Adams Legacy Foundation trails, both built in 2023. 2019 saw a complete rebuilding of Southside trail, bringing things up to modern, sustainable standards.
Los Padres Restoration
A true Santa Barbara Classic, Tunnel was constructed for the Gibraltar Dam and Mission Tunnel construction operations completed in 1920. Nowadays, it’s known for being one of the more difficult trails in the area, featuring rewarding views of town and the ephemeral Mission Falls. While always top of mind for…Read More
While many of our trails sat in disrepair after this winter’s storms, Jesusita might have been most sorely missed. As the most popular trail in town, SAGE responded as quickly as possible to get this one back online, with many sections needing full rebuilds. Multiple slides impacted the top section,…Read More
SAGE’s most recent effort to expand on the connectivity into the Upper Santa Ynez region made some epic loops possible. We are sad to say that while these trails are officially open, they are in a rough state, after the storms of ‘23, and travel is not advised. While not…Read More
2021’s restoration work sought to connect trails in the Upper Santa Ynez with the previous year’s work lower down the drainage. Devil’s Canyon of North Tunnel allows for an easy exit onto the Gibraltar access road. From here SAGE made it possible to get back up to the ridge, or…Read More
SAGE’s first season of resurrecting neglected and historic trails was a big one. Bringing online these three effectively doubled the available mileage in the Santa Ynez Recreation Area, and added much needed alternates to the well loved Camuesa Connector and Santa Cruz. The region is steeped in history, with these…Read More