{{Short description|Hiking trail in California}} {{Infobox hiking trail | name=Santa Cruz Trail | photo=File:NRT Logo.svg | caption= National Recreation Trail | location=[[Los Padres National Forest]] | length_mi=21.5 | trailheads=Buckhorn-Camuesa Road<br/>{{coord|34.5648|-119.7657|display=inline}}<br/>Mission Pine Trail<br/>{{coord|34.7080|-119.7466|display=inline}} | use=Hiking<br/>Mountain biking<br/>Stock travel | elev_change_ft= | highest_name=Mission Pine Basin | highest_ft=5350 | lowest_name=Oso Creek | lowest_ft=1160 | difficulty=Strenuous | season=All year | sights=[[San Rafael Mountains]] | hazards=[[Fatigue (medical)|Overexertion]]<br>[[Dehydration]] }}
The '''Santa Cruz Trail''' is a trail in the [[Los Padres National Forest]], in [[Santa Barbara County, California|Santa Barbara County]], California. It is the primary footpath from the Santa Ynez Recreation Area into the [[San Rafael Wilderness|San Rafael]] and [[Dick Smith Wilderness]] areas. The section from the southern trailhead up to Santa Cruz Camp is designated as the '''Santa Cruz–Aliso National Recreation Trail'''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.americantrails.org/NRTDatabase/trailDetail.php?recordID=2149| title=Santa Cruz/Aliso| publisher=National Recreation Trails Program| format=| work=| accessdate=}}</ref>
==Description== The trail begins at the Buckhorn-Camuesa Road near the Upper Oso Campground and heads north through the [[San Rafael Mountains]], climbing to near the summit of [[Little Pine Mountain]] at Alexander Saddle, before dropping down into the Santa Cruz Creek drainage, which includes a number of campsites. One of these campsites, Santa Cruz Camp, contains a [[United States Forest Service|Forest Service]] guard station. The Santa Cruz Trail, no longer a [[National Recreation Trail]], then ascends to the high ridge of the San Rafael Mountains, reaching its highest point near its junction with the Mission Pine Trail.<ref>{{cite book|last=Carey|first=Craig|title=Hiking & backpacking Santa Barbara and Ventura : a complete guide to the trails of the southern Los Padres National Forest|publisher=Wilderness Press|location=Birmingham, Alabama|year=2012|isbn=0-89997-635-2|pages=160–166}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation Forest Service page]
{{California hiking trails}}
[[Category:National Recreation Trails in California]] [[Category:Los Padres National Forest]] [[Category:Santa Barbara Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest]] [[Category:San Rafael Mountains]] [[Category:Natural history of Santa Barbara County, California]]