River Road in the Lower Santa Ynez Recreation Area closed at the first crossing.
River Road in the Lower Santa Ynez Recreation Area was closed at the first crossing during the winter due to heavy flows in the Santa Ynez River. It is set to reopen on Saturday, according to the U.S. Forest Service. (Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo)

River Road in the Lower Santa Ynez Recreation Area is scheduled to open to vehicular traffic on Saturday after being closed for months due to heavy flows in the Santa Ynez River and damaged roadways, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

River Road provides access to several recreation sites, including the popular Red Rock Day Use Area in Los Padres National Forest.

“The road has been closed for the winter due to high water and road damage from winter rains,” said Andrew Madsen, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. “Los Padres National Forest is asking the public to use caution while driving on the roads, as the first crossing is a loose gravel crossing, and there is still quite a bit of water coming down the river.”

Questions may be directed to the Santa Barbara Ranger District office at 805.967.3481 or the Los Padres website at www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

— Noozhawk editor in chief Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.