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OJAI MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2021
Far-flung Summer Hikes
story and photos by PERRY VAN HOUTEN
REYES PEAK TRAIL The nearly 6-mile-long Reyes Peak Trail (23W04) takes you along the north slope of Pine Mountain, through a forest of Jeffrey and sugar pine, white fir and incense cedar. An obscure path to the south of the main trail climbs to Reyes Peak, the third highest mountain peak in Ventura County at just over 7,500 feet, and the former site of a fire lookout tower. Following the main trail, hike 4 miles to Haddock Peak. The trail then drops steeply to Haddock Camp and the junction with the Gene MarshallPiedra Blanca National Recreation Trail. Water is usually available at the camp, but the creek can be just a trickle or even dry in summer. To get to the trailhead from Ojai, drive 31 miles north on Highway 33 to the turnoff for Reyes Peak (aka Pine Mountain) Road. Drive another 7 miles to the start of the Reyes Peak Trail. There are restrooms at the trailhead but no water is available.
Recreational areas in Los Padres National Forest made inaccessible during winter and early spring by annual road closures have reopened for the summer hiking season. That’s good news for local outdoor enthusiasts anxious to visit some of the more remote areas of the Ojai backcountry. Here are a few of my favorite far-flung hikes, which I would rate as moderately to very strenuous.
