Mono Trail -

Gallery

Hike Details

• Length : 1 mile to Santa Ynez River; 5 miles to the Sunbird Mine via Gibraltar Trail.
• Gain : 800' total out and back with lots of mild ups and downs; one moderate climb on the way back from the mine.
• Difficulty : Easy to the river; moderate to the Sunbird Mine; Level 1 and 2 single track.
• Path : The trail has been cleared recently, but cottonwoods fall across the trail relatively often; damage to the first mile of trail bellow Mono Camp from flooding after the Zaca Fire in 2007 caused major damage but it has recovered ; watch for poison oak

Access / Getting There

Things to Know

Expectations for Riding the Santa Barbara Area Trails
Country trails are multi-use trails and as such are used by several thousand users each week. If you are riding downhill on these trails, expect to encounter them on your way. Your cooperation will help make everyone's experience a safe and pleasant one.

Ten things every mountain biker who rides the front country trails is expected to do:

1. Have a bike bell so other trail users know you are approaching.

2. Keep your speed down; practice riding techniques that minimize impacts.

3. Good braking means never having to skid. Do not lock up your brakes.

4. Approach switchbacks with caution and brake well before you reach them.

5. Stay on the designated tread. The front country trails are multi-use, not a race course.

6. Ride with other trail users in mind and enhance rather than interfere with their enjoyment.

7. Always assume there is another trail user around each corner.

8. Yield the right-of-way to uphill trail users. Stop and dismount if necessary to allow them to pass.

9. When approaching equestrians, dismount and ask them what they want you to do.

10. Be courteous. Smile and say something friendly to everyone you encounter.

Background

Trip Log

On The Trail

On The Bike

This is a trail that I wish would go on forever. The canyon through which it passes is filled with cottonwood trees and thick stands of willows. The canopy completely covers the trail and provides the feeling that you are riding through a tunnel of greenery. It is the home of a tiny bird known as the least Bell’s vireo, a migratory bird that is on the Endangered Species List. There are roughly only 300 known pairs of them left, and approximately fifty or sixty of these pairs make this area their spring and summer home. 

Mono Trail begins at the lower end of Mono Campground. Though it isn’t immediately obvious, you shouldn’t have too much trouble locating it. Look for a path that takes off through the brush. A hundred yards after you pass through a long grass meadow the canopy closes in overhead, and from here on the trail curves back and forth through the cottonwood forest for a half-mile, finally straightening out somewhat for the last mile, which is along the left side of the canyon.

Near the mouth of the canyon the trail rises slightly and then turns sharply left and follows the Santa Ynez River upstream. Mono Trail continues for a mile along the left side of the river, ending near the bottom of the Forbush Trail. Once you’ve crossed the river, Gibraltar Trail is a half-mile up the Forbush Trail (a lot of it pushing). This leads along open, grassy hillsides with impressive views of the cottonwood forests through which you’ve just ridden. It is three miles to the Sunbird Quicksilver Mine and seven miles to Gibraltar Reservoir. If you are camping at Mono, this will make a nice out-and-back ride before heading up to the Little Caliente Hot Springs for the evening soak.

On The Run

On The Walk