Murietta Trail near Ojai finally being repaired after Thomas Fire

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Mile by mile, the hiking trails that were ravaged by the Thomas Fire back in 2017 are being restored. The latest repair project will remove overgrowth from the Murietta Trail near Ojai.

The Murietta Trail project will be implemented by the trails group, which consists of the Los Padres Forest Association, the C.R.E.W., Sage Trail Alliance and the Santa Barbara County Trails Council.

This work was made possible by a grant from the Thomas Fire Trail Fund.

“We're very excited to begin work on the Murietta Trail,” said Bryan Conant with the Los Padres Forest Association. “Right now the trail is incredibly overgrown and in some places impossible to follow, but once it’s restored, it will be open to all types of trail users—day hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians and also backpackers camping at Murietta Camp.”

The Murietta Trail beings about 12 miles northwest of Ojai, where the Murietta Canyon and Matilija Canyon watersheds meet. From its head, the trail meanders 1.67 miles southwest through the Los Padres National Forest and toward Santa Barbara County.

“Restoration of this trail is a crucial first step toward reconnecting the Santa Barbara and Ventura trail systems. Upon completion, we anticipate that hikers looking for a challenge will launch from the Murietta Trail, crest the Santa Ynez Mountains, and connect to Santa Barbara County's front and backcountry trails,” said Mark Wilkinson with the Santa Barbara County Trails Council.

Trail work will begin now and is expected to continue until mid-May.

Trail crews will follow a flagged route, cutting a rough preliminary line through the dense ground cover. They will also remove downed trees that cross the trail and bring the trail back to U.S. Forest Service Trail Standards.

If you are interested in volunteering with the trail crews or supporting the restoration project financially, you can visit the Thomas Fire Trail Fund website here.

The Trail Fund is seeking to raise a total of $200,000 for the use of repairing trails in both Santa Barbara and Ventura counties that were damaged by the Thomas Fire. As of April 27, the fund has raised $50,000, a quarter of its end goal.