Hiking exuberantly up familiar Rattlesnake Canyon Trail in early September’s splendid heat, I realized how fortunate we are to live in Santa Barbara and yet have easy access to near-wilderness canyon trails like trusty Rattlesnake (4.1.1. for driving directions).

Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation proudly oversees more than 60 parks and sports facilities, and also manages six miles of beach frontage plus nearly 35 miles of frontcountry trails.

Rattlesnake Canyon as a wilderness area is quite different than almost all of the other 60 parks, differing in size (450 acres) and in the deliberate acceptance that this deep canyon running into the Santa Ynez Mountains requires little “managing” beyond light trail maintenance.

The main sign as you enter Rattlesnake Canyon at the Stanwood Bridge on Las Canoas terms it the “Skofield Park Rattlesnake Canyon Wilderness Area.” (Parking is more than adequate at the nearby Skofield Park parking lot.)

Because this canyon — called las canoas on old Spanish maps — runs directly up into true wilderness, it’s like an unregulated/untrammeled conduit into more pristine and more alluring nature.

I’m a supporter of the “wildlife corridor” access for animals, but since we humans are animals ourselves, I visualize the ‘Snake as our free “corridor” into wild nature.

The Rattlesnake Trail easily allows city dwellers access to less managed and less “civilized” regions.

Currently, Rattlesnake Canyon’s 450 acres lead right into more wilderness areas happily lacking amenities such as drinking fountains, first aid stations and, yes, benches and tables.

Over the years, since I first began trudging up the ‘Snake, in the early 1970s, I’ve seen many mule deer, alligator lizards, banana slugs, ticks galore (in season), rattlesnakes, redtail hawks, turkey vultures, newts and more.

On two occasions, friends and I have even assisted two crashed paragliders, whom we helped rescue. Once I spotted a scorpion, but they’re quite rare.

While current city regulations ask for owners to keep their canines on leash, I’d estimate about 75% ignore this restriction and let their hounds run free. I have no objection since why bring your buddy back there but then deny him/her that freedom to roam that you are enjoying?

Yet, there is some risk to dogs because of rattlesnakes (plenty of them), and I applaud those owners who pick up their dog’s feces and dump the plastic bag into the trash can at the trail’s entrance on Las Canoas. (Plastic bags for this are available at the entrance.)

In my decades hiking up and down the ‘Snake, I’ve also encountered horsemen and horsewomen, but fewer and fewer during the past 15 years.

This trail is so tough with quite rugged terrain, especially for horses, that only a genuine trail horse or mule is safe to ride on Rattlesnake Canyon Trail.

(Back in the day, the Rancheros Visitadores horsemen group would come down Rattlesnake Canyon en masse from the Santa Ynez Valley through a 35-acre portion of Skofield’s property that they had bought for $15,000. This ended in 1964.)

In 1970, the Skofield family sold the rest of the 450 acres to the city for a combination of federal, county and city funds. Some years back, a horse actually fell off a small cliff higher up the trail and died after crashing into a pool.

It was an ugly and sad sight, and a day later my friend, guru Franko, and I saw two unlucky veterinarians literally chopping it up and placing the “quarters” in special leather bags on two waiting sure-footed mules. Ugh.

Rattlesnake Canyon Wilderness Park is about the only canyon trail that bans bikes (and e-bikes), which is a relief for elderly hikers, school groups, solitude seekers, and any horsemen still daring to use the trail.

Since bikes are allowed on almost all of the other city-owned trails, this restriction feels reasonable and reinforces that Rattlesnake is more of a wilderness path.

As reported in an earlier column, the Skofield family owners hoped it would remain a rustic near-wilderness, without some of the amenities, tables and benches available at the other 59 public parks.

Every year, thousands of us use this magnificent trail running into our local mountains. I witness joggers, couples, elderly sorts, the young, families and dog owners enjoying this trail unencumbered by overt signs of civilization. This trail does already serve as a “wilderness corridor” for many critters as well as humans suffering city blues. Long live Rattlesnake Canyon Wilderness Park!

I am grateful to Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation for caring for and protecting our outdoor spaces. When I complained recently about batches of new blue graffiti all over, the department had it removed quickly. Gratitude also to those of us who pick up trash as well as the responsible dog owners who scoop up their pets’ droppings.

4.1.1. 

The best source on Rattlesnake Canyon is my colleague Karen Telleen-Lawton’s “Canyon Voices — the Nature of Rattlesnake Canyon” (2006), especially page 39; Redmon column here.

Best practices for hiking Rattlesnake Canyon: Awareness of the conditions, especially temperature, remains key. In winter, when it’s cool and sometimes cold, you have few snake worries. In spring and at midmorning with fresh sunlight dappling on the meadow, serpents sometimes like to luxuriate right on the warm trail or in the thick grasses on either side. When with children and conditions are snake-friendly, don’t let them rush out in front of the first adult hiker.