Hike Santa Ynez Peak via Tequepis Trail Los Padres National Forest, CA

Apr 25, 2023 — Santa Ynez Peak is the high point of the Santa Ynez Mountains, and it's often reached by just driving to the summit from the west along Camino Cielo Road. Plagued with a desire to hike my peaks rather than drive them, I was hoping to locate some sort of trail. I was surprised to find the Tequepis Trail, a popular set of switchbacks leading to the Santa Ynez Mountains ridge crest. Located far enough away from Santa Barbara CA, it doesn't get as much traffic as a trail well-maintained as this normally would. Often used by hikers to reach a nice viewpoint of the Pacific Ocean, some seem to also access the summit of Broadcast Peak. The trailhead is reached by driving through a private ranch on an excellent road to a well-signed trailhead, arrows pointing to where it's legal to park.

I followed the first sign, which directed me to walk through the Circle V Ranch Camp, a retreat center complete with a pool, cabins, and the like. Once through the camp a large sign marked the Tequepis Trail, an easy crossing of the flowing creek a pleasant welcome to gorgeous Tequepis Canyon. The trail followed the flow of the water and there were gorgeous trees growing within the canyon, wildflowers creeping onto the trail. After about a mile of this, the trail emerged into a small clearing and started the first switchback. I started getting views to the north toward Lake Cachuma and toward Santa Ynez Peak high above.

After about a half dozen switchbacks and progressively improving views, the Tequepis Trail continued south toward the ridgeline on the east side of Broadcast Peak. There'd basically been no shade since the oak grove within Tequepis Canyon until here, so I was happy for slightly thicker vegetation on the steep slope blocking the sun. The aftermath of a landslide on an adjacent slope was cool to look at from this angle. I noted multiple planes flying overhead throughout the hike, airtankers training for fire suppression. On the drive in earlier I'd seen one drop a haul of water and I subconsciously hoped they'd do it again, this time directly on me during this extremely warm hike.

I reached the ridge crest and was a little deflated to find the view to the ocean obscured by clouds. Fortunately they receeded a bit later on and I could better experience the scale of the ocean from this high up. The crest is sparsely vegetated, granite boulders sporadically popping out of the brush. I started west toward Broadcast Peak, a steeper endeavor than the Tequepis Trail and using an eroded use trail. There was no bushwhacking, but it was loose and quite different in character from the highway of switchbacks I'd just hiked up. Broadcast Peak is just a bump on the ridge surrounded by machinery, so I continued on, taking a service road down to Camino Cielo Road. The road was rocky, so I was surprised to see two motorcyclists driving along it. They politely waited for me to pass.

I hiked for about a mile to the base of Santa Ynez Peak along Camino Cielo Road, and then another steep use trail took me up the peak's east slope. The views were similar to what I'd been enjoying since Broadcast Peak, but now I was at the range high point. I backtracked, using Camino Cielo Road to bypass Broadcast Peak, and then continued on a social trail to get from the road back up to the Tequepis Trail.