A brief visit to the Los Padres NF

[boney]

First there was a fire, then a bad storm and a bunch of the roads had washed out. The Forest Order said nothing opening until late July 2025.

BUT, I found a page on the web site that mentioned the specific roads that we wanted to travel were already open for two weeks. A quick phone call to the Monterey District Office yielded nothing. Zero. Left a message, never heard back. Nobody answers the phone over there since everyone got fired, I guess. So I called the Forest HQ and got a machine on which I can leave a message. Nobody got back to me, and no one else there answers the phone since, apparently, this "everyone got fired" thing seems to be real, and it's already having effects. Good thing they got the roads fixed before that crew got fired. I took a screen shot of the web page stating the roads were open and figured that better be good enough if there was a ranger.

Highway 1 south of Big Sur is also closed due to a massive rock slide. If you're not familiar with the area, the roadway literally clings the the lower edge of a cliff that drops from up to 1000 or more feet, directly into the ocean. Maybe not the best plan for a road, but damn, if it isn't a spectacular drive.

The internet weatherman said a stable ridge of pressure for a day or two. The moon is waxing gibbous. The temps were supposed to be up to 70 (along the coast.) Off we went.

To get around the Hwy 1 closure we came down through Ft. Hunter Ligget and then across Ferguson-Nacimiento road. On the base you can take the bridge, or go the way the tanks do.

Ferguson-Nacimiento Road is a little "no stripe" ribbon of asphalt that crosses over the coast ridge down to Hwy 1 just south of the closure. Because its small and slow, most people do not come up this way, they cross over to 101 much further south.

At the top of the coast ridge, we turned south on Coast Ridge Road and followed it down to Prewett Ridge and out to the campsite. This is an ordinary dirt road along the top of the ridge that unfortunately doesn't have a gate keeper to keep the Subarus and Vanagons at bay. Lucky for us, it was mid-week and the intel on the roads being open was buried on their web site. When we arrived, nobody was there. It stayed that way too.

It doesn't look that great from here:

But a change in perspective makes the point.

There is a road down there, snaking along the edge of the cliff:

We had a light breeze all night, which is extremely rare. Most of the time the wind picks up after the sun goes down and it's gale force. I don't know anyone who has come up here and not had a windy night. But somehow, we nailed it. Props to the weather man who called it.

The next morning, fog had moved in:

The rest of the trip was pretty ho-hum by comparison. We joked about how the year has been ruined by the first night. Nothing will be as good.

Plaskett Ridge Road is open too. Except for that part that crosses private property. It's not open.

But if you continue down the Coast Ridge Road, it eventually turns down the hill on Los Burros (or something like that.) It's a nice drive. We turned south on Hwy 1 and then inland.

Down on the Carrizo Plain, the wind was blowing hard on the ridge where we had thought to set up camp. With no natural shelters, it was looking pretty bleak. Typically the wind picks up at night, and we didn't feel like sticking around to see how much harder it would blow.

We opted for the developed site that is tucked away across the valley in a little canyon.

Night #2.

We had to share with an "overlander" and a motorhome. Lucky for us, no generators.

Most of the driving was dirt roads. Nothing too difficult. If you're in the area, find a day with good weather and get up there before the grass turns golden. Or get out the Carrizo Plain before it gets too hot.

Hope you're all out there having fun!

 

[Belizean]

Nice area and nice pictures. Never been right there, but I have been to Carmel and Morro Bay and south. The coastal areas are so beautiful.

 

[Manic Mechanic]

That's amazing. And the two Jeeps look equally as good

 

[CJ]

First there was a fire, then a bad storm and a bunch of the roads had washed out. The Forest Order said nothing opening until late July 2025.

BUT, I found a page on the web site that mentioned the specific roads that we wanted to travel were already open for two weeks. A quick phone call to the Monterey District Office yielded nothing. Zero. Left a message, never heard back. Nobody answers the phone over there since everyone got fired, I guess. So I called the Forest HQ and got a machine on which I can leave a message. Nobody got back to me, and no one else there answers the phone since, apparently, this "everyone got fired" thing seems to be real, and it's already having effects. Good thing they got the roads fixed before that crew got fired. I took a screen shot of the web page stating the roads were open and figured that better be good enough if there was a ranger.

Highway 1 south of Big Sur is also closed due to a massive rock slide. If you're not familiar with the area, the roadway literally clings the the lower edge of a cliff that drops from up to 1000 or more feet, directly into the ocean. Maybe not the best plan for a road, but damn, if it isn't a spectacular drive.

The internet weatherman said a stable ridge of pressure for a day or two. The moon is waxing gibbous. The temps were supposed to be up to 70 (along the coast.) Off we went.

To get around the Hwy 1 closure we came down through Ft. Hunter Ligget and then across Ferguson-Nacimiento road. On the base you can take the bridge, or go the way the tanks do.

Ferguson-Nacimiento Road is a little "no stripe" ribbon of asphalt that crosses over the coast ridge down to Hwy 1 just south of the closure. Because its small and slow, most people do not come up this way, they cross over to 101 much further south.

At the top of the coast ridge, we turned south on Coast Ridge Road and followed it down to Prewett Ridge and out to the campsite. This is an ordinary dirt road along the top of the ridge that unfortunately doesn't have a gate keeper to keep the Subarus and Vanagons at bay. Lucky for us, it was mid-week and the intel on the roads being open was buried on their web site. When we arrived, nobody was there. It stayed that way too.

It doesn't look that great from here:

But a change in perspective makes the point.

There is a road down there, snaking along the edge of the cliff:

We had a light breeze all night, which is extremely rare. Most of the time the wind picks up after the sun goes down and it's gale force. I don't know anyone who has come up here and not had a windy night. But somehow, we nailed it. Props to the weather man who called it.

The next morning, fog had moved in:

The rest of the trip was pretty ho-hum by comparison. We joked about how the year has been ruined by the first night. Nothing will be as good.

Plaskett Ridge Road is open too. Except for that part that crosses private property. It's not open.

But if you continue down the Coast Ridge Road, it eventually turns down the hill on Los Burros (or something like that.) It's a nice drive. We turned south on Hwy 1 and then inland.

Down on the Carrizo Plain, the wind was blowing hard on the ridge where we had thought to set up camp. With no natural shelters, it was looking pretty bleak. Typically the wind picks up at night, and we didn't feel like sticking around to see how much harder it would blow.

We opted for the developed site that is tucked away across the valley in a little canyon.

Night #2.

We had to share with an "overlander" and a motorhome. Lucky for us, no generators.

Most of the driving was dirt roads. Nothing too difficult. If you're in the area, find a day with good weather and get up there before the grass turns golden. Or get out the Carrizo Plain before it gets too hot.

Hope you're all out there having fun!

Excellent post and nice images. Looks like a good time was had by all.