# Santa Cruz Trail

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Hiking trail in California

Santa Cruz Trail National Recreation Trail Length 21.5 mi (34.6 km) Location Los Padres National Forest Trailheads Buckhorn-Camuesa Road 34°33′53″N 119°45′57″W / 34.5648°N 119.7657°W / 34.5648; -119.7657 Mission Pine Trail 34°42′29″N 119°44′48″W / 34.7080°N 119.7466°W / 34.7080; -119.7466 Use Hiking Mountain biking Stock travel Highest point Mission Pine Basin, 5,350 ft (1,630 m) Lowest point Oso Creek, 1,160 ft (350 m) Difficulty Strenuous Season All year Sights San Rafael Mountains Hazards Overexertion Dehydration

The **Santa Cruz Trail** is a trail in the [Los Padres National Forest](/source/Los_Padres_National_Forest), in [Santa Barbara County](/source/Santa_Barbara_County%2C_California), California. It is the primary footpath from the Santa Ynez Recreation Area into the [San Rafael](/source/San_Rafael_Wilderness) and [Dick Smith Wilderness](/source/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**.[1]

## Description

The trail begins at the Buckhorn-Camuesa Road near the Upper Oso Campground and heads north through the [San Rafael Mountains](/source/San_Rafael_Mountains), climbing to near the summit of [Little Pine Mountain](/source/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 [Forest Service](/source/United_States_Forest_Service) guard station. The Santa Cruz Trail, no longer a [National Recreation Trail](/source/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.[2]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Santa Cruz/Aliso"](http://www.americantrails.org/NRTDatabase/trailDetail.php?recordID=2149). National Recreation Trails Program.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Carey, Craig (2012). *Hiking & backpacking Santa Barbara and Ventura : a complete guide to the trails of the southern Los Padres National Forest*. Birmingham, Alabama: Wilderness Press. pp. 160–166. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-89997-635-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89997-635-2).

## External links

- [Forest Service page](https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation)

v t e Hiking trails in California Interstate American Discovery Trail Great Western Loop Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Pacific Crest Trail Tahoe Rim Trail Tahoe–Pyramid Trail Bay Area Alameda Creek Regional Trail Barbary Coast Trail Bay Area Ridge Trail Contra Costa Canal Coyote Creek Trail Guadalupe River Trail Iron Horse Regional Trail John W. Christian Greenbelt Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail Los Gatos Creek Trail Ohlone Greenway Philosopher's Way Richmond Greenway San Francisco Bay Trail Santa Cruz Trail Sawyer Camp Trail Spur Trail Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail Stevens Creek Trail Three Creeks Trail Sierra Nevada Four Mile Trail Hetch Hetchy to Lake Vernon Trail High Sierra Trail Independence Trail John Muir Trail Lower Sagehen Creek Hiking Trail Mist Trail Mount Whitney Trail Sierra High Route Silver Knapsack Trail Tahoe Rim Trail Tahoe–Yosemite Trail Theodore Solomons Trail Trail of 100 Giants Southern California Backbone Trail Cactus to Clouds Trail Gabrielino Trail Lost Palms Oasis Trail Mount Wilson Toll Road Sam Merrill Trail Bradshaw Trail Santa Clara River Trail Silver Moccasin Trail Trans-Catalina Trail Ventura River Parkway Trail Windy Gap Trail Other Bigfoot Trail Brad Freeman Trail California Coastal Trail Hammond Trail Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail Joe Rodota Trail Kortum Trail MacKerricher Coastal Trail Nobles Emigrant Trail Pine Ridge Trail Pinnacle and Shorttail Gulch Coastal Access Trails Prince Greenway

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Santa Cruz Trail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Trail) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Trail?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.