Pine Ridge Trail facts for kids

The Pine Ridge Trail (also known as USFS 3E06) is a very popular hiking trail in California. It's located in the Ventana Wilderness, which is part of the Los Padres National Forest. This trail is about 19.5 miles long. It goes from the Big Sur Station near the ocean all the way up to China Camp on Tassajara Road, which is about 5,000 feet high!

The Post family from Big Sur built this trail in 1916. It's a great path for both hikers and people who ride horses. Along the way, you can find many places to set up camp and enjoy nature. The trail goes through different types of natural areas. You'll see forests with different kinds of trees, thick bushes (called chaparral), woods near rivers, and even redwood forests.

Part of the trail was closed in 2017 because of a big wildfire and heavy rains. These events caused landslides and knocked down many trees. As of December 2020, the western part of the trail is still being fixed.

Where is the Pine Ridge Trail?

The Pine Ridge Trail goes across the Ventana Wilderness. It starts at China Camp, which is about 4,260 feet high. This camp is on Tassajara Road near Chews Ridge. The trail ends at the Big Sur Ranger Station, which is much lower, around 300 feet high.

This trail is the most used path in the Ventana area. It offers many places to camp for hikers and horse riders. The western part of the trail goes through areas with redwood trees. Here you will find Terrace Creek, Barlow, Sykes, and Redwood Camps. The middle part of the trail goes through forests with conifer trees and other hardwoods. You'll also see meadows at Pine Ridge, Divide, and Pine Valley camps.

How to Get to the Trail

When the trail is open, you can park your car safely at the Big Sur Ranger Station. Parking costs $10.00 per day. Many people start their wilderness adventure from here. It's a good spot to reach the camps along the Big Sur River. You can also use it to start longer trips into the Ventana Wilderness.

You can also get to the upper part of the trail from China Camp. This trailhead is about 34 miles from Monterey. It takes about 90 minutes to drive there. You cannot park your car overnight at this trailhead unless you have a reservation at a campground. Some parts of the road to Chews Ridge need a car that sits high off the ground or a four-wheel drive vehicle. In winter or bad weather, the road might be closed.

Campsites Along the Trail

Here are some of the camps you can find along the Pine Ridge Trail:

• China Camp (4,260 feet high, 0 miles from the start)
• Church Creek Divide, where it meets the Church Creek Trail and Carmel River Trail (3,651 feet high, 3.6 miles)
• Divide Camp (3,800 feet high, 4.0 miles)
• A meeting point with the Black Cone Trail and Bear Basin Trail (4,530 feet high, 7.3 miles)
• Pine Ridge Camp (4,100 feet high, 7.8 miles)
• Redwood Camp (1,800 feet high, 10.9 miles)
• Sykes Camp (1,080 feet high, 13.2 miles)
• Barlow Flat Camp (900 feet high, 16.1 miles)
• Terrace Creek Camp, where it meets the Terrace Creek Trail (1,350 feet high, 17.5 miles)
• A trail that goes about 1 mile down to Ventana Camp on the Big Sur River (1,500 feet high, 18.7 miles)
• Big Sur Station (370 feet high, 23.0 miles)

Why the Trail is Closed

The Pine Ridge Trail was closed in June 2017 because of a large wildfire called the Soberanes Fire. After the fire, heavy rains caused a lot of damage to the western part of the trail. This section is between Big Sur Station and the Big Sur Trail junction. As of August 2018, the trail was blocked by many washouts (where the path was washed away) and dozens of fallen trees.

Because of this, several camps like Sykes, Barlow Flat, Redwood, Terrace Creek, and Ventana Campgrounds are also closed. The Forest Service wants people to follow these closure rules strictly.

When Forest Service workers checked the trail, they found over 100 trees that had fallen. There was also a lot of brush growing over the path. Four major landslides had completely removed parts of the trail. To reopen the trail, they need to study the area and might even have to create a new path in some places. Since this is a federal wilderness area with a wild river, fixing the trail needs special teams. These teams might even need to use explosives or build new bridges. Because of this, the trail was closed for a long time.

In January 2020, the Forest Service announced that crews were working to fix and change parts of the trail. They hoped it might open in the summer of 2020. They also said that the small hot springs pools built by people at Sykes Camp were destroyed by floods. The Forest Service will not allow these man-made structures to be rebuilt. This is because they go against the rules of a wilderness area, which does not allow structures built by humans.

Trail History

The trail from China Camp to Pfeiffer Ranch Resort on the Big Sur River was finished in April 1916. This was soon after the land became part of the Monterey National Forest. A team from the Forest Service worked for several months. They got help from Monterey County and other private groups. They also finished the trail from Pine Ridge to Pine Valley and fixed a phone line.

This article includes information from U.S. Government publications and websites, which are free to use.