May 20, 2019 — Cerro Alto is located in a particularly lush region within Los Padres National Forest. For some reason, there's a fee to park at the trailhead, and an Adventure Pass doesn't work. I don't know what sort of weird management is going on, but whatever. There are two main routes to get to Cerro Alto from here: the more direct switchbacks up the peak's north slopes (I used this as my decent), and the more pleasant and pretty Canyon Trail, which first heads east through a gorgeous forested section before taking a mostly flat trail back west, meeting up with the direct trail and heading to the summit (see map). I recommend taking the longer route to get some nice scenery, despite the extra mile or so, but I'm a sucker for loops.
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