From left, Bryan Conant of the Los Padres Forest Association; Paddy McMahon, Vicki Mills and Ashlee Mayfield, all of the Montecito Trails Foundation; and Aida Thau, First District deputy chief of staff, take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the reopening of San Ysidro Trail.
From left, Bryan Conant of the Los Padres Forest Association; Paddy McMahon, Vicki Mills and Ashlee Mayfield, all of the Montecito Trails Foundation; and Aida Thau, First District deputy chief of staff, take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the reopening of San Ysidro Trail. Credit: Nick Presniakov photo

The full San Ysidro Trail and the first 2 miles of Old Romero Road have reopened to the public after a multi-agency restoration effort.

The two popular recreation areas in Montecito had been closed for more than a year because of storm damage. 

The reopening, led by the Montecito Trails Foundation, restores public access after crews addressed what the foundation called significant “infrastructure, safety and environmental concerns.”

The work took the better part of a year and required extensive collaboration to navigate washed-out sections of the original trail, according to Ashlee Mayfield, executive director of the Montecito Trails Foundation.

The restoration of the San Ysidro Trail was funded primarily by donations raised at the foundation’s 2024 fall barbecue, which Mayfield said brought in nearly $50,000 for the project, with additional support from the Ann Jackson Family Foundation, the Mark C. Lemons Family Foundation and the Montecito Community Foundation. 

“By far the biggest challenges were three realignments where we had lost the trail bed completely,” Mayfield said. “That took the cooperation of the landowners, because it’s actually private property, as well as the Forest Service, and then we had to hire an outside biologist and a trail crew.”

Trail crew members work on a section of the San Ysidro Trail damaged by storms. The work took the better part of a year and required extensive collaboration to navigate washed-out sections of the original trail.
Trail crew members work on a section of the San Ysidro Trail damaged by storms. The work took the better part of a year and required extensive collaboration to navigate washed-out sections of the original trail. Credit: Bryan Conant photo

The work was executed by a professional trail crew from the Los Padres Forest Association and with support from Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue.

For Old Romero Road, the reopening of the first 2 miles was the result of a complex collaboration among the Los Padres National Forest, Southern California Edison and the Montecito Fire Protection District.

“Montecito Fire has an agreement with Southern California Edison to keep those roads accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles for use by the fire department,” Mayfield said.

She said the utility had largely stepped back from maintaining local fire roads in recent years and credited Montecito Fire Chief David Neels with helping facilitate the company’s renewed support.

A section of San Ysidro Creek winds through the canyon near the trail in 2023. The area was closed for more than a year before trail access was restored in September following a multi-agency restoration effort.
A section of San Ysidro Creek winds through the canyon near the trail in 2023. The area was closed for more than a year before trail access was restored in September following a multi-agency restoration effort. Credit: Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo

Edison restored fire roads “from Gibraltar all the way through Toro Canyon,” a stretch that “doesn’t even reach their power poles,” Mayfield said. That effort was “really done to help with fire safety and public recreation.”

The Montecito Trail Foundation’s next goal is to restore the remaining 5 miles of Old Romero Road, a project Mayfield said is expected to cost about $350,000. The foundation officially kicked off its fundraising campaign at its annual barbecue on Saturday, which she said netted $45,000.

Plans for the next phase have been submitted, and the foundation hopes to begin work in the spring.

— Noozhawk staff writer Nick Forselles can be reached at nforselles@noozhawk.com.