With so many flocking to see the brilliant super blooms in the Carrizo Plain and Death Valley, let us not forget the emerging fields of spectacular blue lupine and golden poppies beginning to blossom on the slopes of nearby Figueroa Mountain.
We know the indigenous Chumash appreciated the oaks and water sources on Figueroa Mountain, calling it Soxtonocmu, and the views are also compelling.
Mid-April is still rather early for the full explosion of color and fragrance, but I’ve come to enjoy these floral spectacles early or late in their seasons just to avoid “the madding crowd” of fellow flower tourists and the attendant automobile commotion.
On Tuesday, April 16, my partner and I drove north on Highway 101 along the Gaviota Coast, passing by Arroyo Hondo and grinding through the Gaviota tunnel to the Zaca Station Road exit. If you are a wine enthusiast, you branch off here into wonderful wine country with its thousands of acres of vineyards displacing native oaks and chaparral.
However, we drove counter-intuitively back along Highway 154 past historic Mattei’s Tavern. At Los Olivos, watch out for the obscure left turn onto Figueroa Mountain Road (signed). At the sharp uphill turn at Midland School, we saw scores of children exploring nature with the nonprofit NatureTrack organization doing its excellent work.
After about 12 pleasant miles of twisting driving, passing by Midland School on the right and Michael Jackson’s former Neverland Ranch on the left, you arrive at Figueroa Mountain Road’s highest point. I recommend a halt here, but there are only about eight legal parking spots.
I appreciate the U.S. Forest Service placing various “No Parking” signs all along the top here in the blossoming zone since there have been recent reports of traffic jams on Soxtonocmu, mainly because of sightseers parking with two tires still on the pavement — this is illegal, noted as illegal, and the Forest Service is there and will be ready to issue tickets for blocking the roadway. All four tires have to be off the asphalt.
My wife and I hiked around while right on the highly scenic road itself, then hiked a ways up the extension road to the top (to Pino Alto, now open). We observed the flowers present everywhere but still sparse, with many more about to explode more jubilant colors.
Maya Angelou has written that “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” At times I found myself breathless surrounded by the fields of bright colors, the azure sky and a brief feeling of timelessness.
Unfortunately, Figueroa Mountain Road is quite narrow and in many places basically has just one lane with a rocky hillside on one side and a steep cliff on the left. I drive a red Tacoma truck with 4-wheel-drive, and there were indeed plenty of potholes and axle-busters on the road. Maybe don’t drive the Tesla up there but take the 4-wheel-drive Subaru?
Timing is important, so we left Santa Barbara at 7:30 a.m. and arrived at our parking spot (shown with the red truck) by 9:30 a.m., having encountered no other traffic on Figueroa Mountain Road besides evident U.S. Forest Service vehicles and some road-clearing tractors. When we left at 11 a.m., more cars had begun arriving, and we met six on our way out.
One parking tip is to go past the signed turnoff up to the Pino Alto (apex) and after another winding mile you arrive at lovely Figueroa Campground. There is available parking just outside the entrance, and the road hike back to the more abundant flower zone is steep but the exercise quite beneficial.
If you want a challenging four-mile hike to the summit (Palo Alto) and back, click here.
We brought a thermos of hot tea and snacks, looked down on the Sedgwick Reserve, used our binoculars for avian study, and absorbed the quiet and the coniferous scents emanating from the gray pine in the area. Yes, I’m retired and can head up there early on a Tuesday morning, but there are several other good times to catch the flowers and some silence, and try to avoid the traffic commotion of the weekends.
4.1.1.
Driving (the long way, avoiding most of Highway 154): Take Highway 101 north to Zaca Station Road. Head back to Los Olivos and turn left at the signed Figueroa Mountain Road. My odometer read 59 miles to the small parking spot we used; it’s where Figueroa Mountain Road then continues seven miles on down to Cachuma Saddle.