I’m perplexed. Not just a bit. Completely, totally, in my face perplexed. Baffled. Wondering….

How did we get to the point where battle lines are being drawn? And what do we want or need to happen to come to a solution?

I’m talking about the “hot springs problem” in Montecito, of course. If ever there’s a problem in need of a solution, it’s this one.

Otherwise, we risk creating a showdown the likes of the OK Corral — though this time armed with shovels and pick axes. 

On the one side are those who love the hot springs and believe in the necessity of rebuilding the pools each time a winter storm washes them downstream. They’ll do most anything to ensure they never go away. Otherwise they fear they’ll be lost forever.

On the other side are those who would love to tear the structures down, remove the pools and return Hot Springs Creek back to what they think of as its natural state. Many of them are ready to hire the crews to do just that.

Treating the Symptoms is Not Enough

Treating the symptoms — which basically revolves around parking and access issues — is not the problem. It’s just one of the problems.

The Hot Springs Trail and specifically the hot springs are well beyond their carrying capacity. The health of the ecosystem surrounding the pools is being compromised.

Well-intentioned members of the community are violating forest regulations and many of our local agencies are a part of the problem.

Recently, I spent time discussing the issues with Santa Barbara District Ranger Daryl Hodges. Given that the hot springs are a part of his management territory, he’s getting most of the blame.

Many think of this as a Los Padres National Forest problem. It’s the lure of the hot springs that is the problem, they say. Remove the pools, and the numbers will drop. Remove them, and the problem will go away.

Trail-use data collected by the Santa Barbara County Trails Council at the Hot Springs trailhead recently vividly illustrate the impact high levels of use could be having.

The data were gathered on four recent weekend days: Saturdays May 25 (287), June 1 (112) and June 18 (118); and on Sunday June 2 (162).

The totals add up to 679 user visits in just four days. Considering the counts were made only during the morning hours through 1-2 p.m. the totals for those four days is likely much higher.

Dealing to the Best of Our Ability

“You know I’ve been working on this issue and this concern since November of 2021,” Ranger Hodges tells me, “when one of the community members up there asked for my help.”

The woman explained to Hodges that she had serious concerns about the overnight camping, the unattended fires, the trash and the pollution.”

“I’ll do what I can to the best of my ability,” he says to her.

But to me he adds, “My authority stops at the property boundary. I have no control over the trailhead or the parking, or for the trail or the power line roads needed either for patrolling or rescues.”

Hodges recognizes that some of the problems are his agency’s. Without the existence of the hot springs, practically speaking this would just be another front country trail. That they are on property he is expected to manage is his to deal with.

To that end, he’s asked the guy mainly responsible for building the structures to stop, though with little success.

But Hodges also recognizes that for many in the community, the hot springs represent a valuable and important resource. He understands they do not want to lose access to them and fear if they don’t rebuild they’ll disappear.

The key thing Hodges wants to convey is that he is willing to be a part of the solution, but that this is not just a Forest Service problem. It’s a Hot Springs Creek problem and ultimately a community problem.

 A Front Country Problem Finally Coming Due

Unfortunately, Hot Springs is not the only part of the front country trail system under stress.

While the numbers listed above point out the necessity of dealing with the problem at Hot Springs Canyon immediately, the rising popularity of the front country trails has been an issue for as many years.

By the early 2020s, I began to be concerned about the impacts caused by this newly found love for the front country trails and the Montecito Hot Springs.

Out of that came a story titled “Front-Country Trailhead Parking Issues Are Symbol of Larger Concerns” dated July 2021.

Head to the Rattlesnake or the Tunnel or the Cold Springs, San Ysidro or Romero trails, and you’ll find lines of cars along them, especially on the weekends, with those heading to the trailheads forced to walk in the street on their way up.

Recreational trail use has been expanding dramatically for years. Today, I think one can reasonably say the use numbers per year are well beyond a half million.

Sounds like a lot? Averaging a hundred users per day for say the Tunnel and Inspiration Point trails, and that translates to 36,500 users each year. Double that, and we’re talking numbers closing on 100,000 for just that one trail.

But while solutions are needed for the entire front country trail region, right now focusing on the Hot Springs issue is critical.

Real Solutions Needed

Bryant Baker, director of conservation and research for ForestWatch, a local group that provides oversight of the Los Padres, echos what Hodges is saying. 

“The situation at the Hot Springs is a complicated management issue,” Baker says. “Any effective solution will need to be community-driven and include collaboration between local residents, trail users, the Forest Service, Santa Barbara County, and other stakeholders.

The question is, how can we make that happen, happen now, and involve everyone who needs to be at the table?

Who’s Responsible for the Hot Springs Problem?

The easy answer is everyone, but the primary agencies including Santa Barbara County, the City of Santa Barbara and Los Padres National Forest have been particularly at fault. 

Earlier this month, both the City of Santa Barbara and County passed mega budgets, one over $1 billion and the other in the mega millions.

I’d bet neither of them has a line item devoted to trails, to trail care, to trailhead parking or to trained trail crews, possibly because they ought to be found in departmental budgets devoted to trail concerns.

But it’s mainly due to the fact that neither the county or city has ever budgeted for those things.

When it comes to the front country, the true champion for trails has always been Los Padres National Forest, but given its own budgetary issues, it no longer has the capability either.

The sad fact is that while use of the front country trails increases exponentially, little attention is given to them by the agencies directly responsible for their management.

Instead, most of the responsibility for managing those trails has been handed over to local nonprofit groups such as Los Padres Forest Association, Montecito Trails Foundation or the Santa Barbara County Trails Council.

Eliminating the Blame Game

Having said this, it’s time to think in terms of who needs to step up now. The question is not who to blame, but how each can contribute to solving the problem.

That includes more than a handful of agencies, such as those noted above, agency departments and other organizations.

Hodges ticks off a list of the ones he is looking to include in developing a task force for the hot springs problem.

They include the City and County Parks departments, County Public Works, both the Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, Southern California Edison, Montecito Fire, the Montecito Association, various citizen and trails-related groups and probably others we missed.

Agreeing Upon Certain Basics

There are a few things I hope Hodges will agree with me that should be included in what I’m calling the bottom line.

One of these is a recognition the hot springs are a valuable community treasure, are important to many, and should be protected.

Another is that some level of management is needed to ensure a sustainable level of use that will protect the health of the ecosystem and help minimize impacts at the trailhead and on the trail.

Hodges and others have suggested the need for a management area boundary that  stretches from the trailhead to the hot springs, and includes a quota system of sorts. I’d like to see that happen.

Perhaps an online permitting system could be developed using the recreation.gov website with geofencing included that only allows obtaining a permit from within Santa Barbara County or possibly the Tri-County areas.

Road access also needs to be improved at least up to the site of the Hot Springs Ruins to provide better fire access, and allow for both patrolling and emergency medical support.

Last, a plan for managing the number of pools, rock structures, pathways and the like and restoration as needed after the winter storms to ensure the structures are reasonably safe.

The Time is Now

In the meantime, an initial environmental review should be done to provide baseline data regarding all aspects of the hot springs watershed corridor: from parking to the trailhead, including trail conditions, impacts to the stream and the health of the hot springs.

The time for that is now.