The Stone Ridge Sea to Sky is a classic Big Sur route from the Pacific Ocean to the summit of Cone Peak ascending over 5,000 feet in a little over 5 miles. The Carrizo Trail combined with the North Ridge is the interior version of Stone Ridge Sea to Sky (i.e. “Valley to Sky”) with a long climb and spectacular views of the interior region. Combining the Sea to Sky and Valley to Sky into one route has always been a priority and this loop accomplishes that with an aesthetic route from the ocean up and over Cone Peak to a spectacular valley with grassland savanna and unique rock formations known as the Indians. The loop includes both the Arroyo Seco Trail and the Carrizo Trail to reach the valley on the backside of Cone Peak, and instead of linking the two via the Milpitas Road, it utilizes a couple use paths that provides an excellent sampling of some of the best rock formations in this region. Thus, the route is almost entirely on single track with zero filler and essentially no road (a key aspect of making this route aesthetic in my opinion).  It’s a phenomenal tour of the biodiversity and beauty of the region in a 28 mile package with over 11,000 feet of gain.  Photo album here. Map of the route here (Strava).

Sky Lupine and Skull Rock California poppies and views to Big Sur’s South Coast from Stone Ridge Knobcone pines and Santa Lucia Peak

As reflected in the photos on this post, the route passes through most of the ecosystems in the Ventana Wilderness and Big Sur from coastal scrub to redwood forest, to the high forest of fir and pine, to valley oak savanna and virtually everything in between.  Conifers include Santa Lucia Fir, Incense Cedar, Sugar Pine, Ponderosa pine, Coulter Pine, Gray Pine and Knobcone Pine. There’s a wide range of oak species from coastal live oak to valley oak, sycamore, alder, madrone, California laurel and big leaf maple, among many others. The Milpitas Special Interest Area contains many rare plants in the rock formations.  In the spring the traveler is treated to a wide array of wildflowers.  The loop as presented utilized Stone Ridge as an out-and-back for a 28 mile route, but taking the Gamboa Trail and Stone Ridge Trail as part of the loop would result in a 50k (31 mile route) and have very little retracing of the route.    The network of trail and usetrails on this route are generally in decent condition with some brush to be expected on the upper reaches of the Arroyo Seco Trail and Carrizo Trail.

A carpet of redwood sorrel next to West Fork Limekiln Creek Poppies on Stone Ridge Lilac in bloom on Stone Ridge

In addition, the use paths connecting the Arroyo Seco Trail to the Carrizo Trail are faint in spots.  The use path starts out fairly defined at Santa Lucia Memorial Park but becomes faint about half way through but the direction is fairly obvious as the path maintains a generally straight line parallel to a band of rocks as it uses rock benches and grassy slopes to traverse through micro basins. At the south end of the rock formations the use path peters out entirely. Cross a seasonal stream aiming for a crossing point of least resistance (there are some willows) and then walk through flat grassland savanna often used as a cattle pasture aiming for Milpitas Road 8. Cross Milpitas Road and take Road 8 down to its end where the Carrizo usetrail can be found. This use trail is mapped on BigSurTrailMap.net and it’s useful to have the GPX. The Carrizo use trail travels through some brush tunnels before crossing the North Fork San Antonio River. Pick up the usetrail on the other side of the river as it now travels through grassy meadows on the west side of Carrizo Creek. The use trail crosses Carrizo Creek at an elbow and ascends to a small gap. The use trail then enters a brush tunnel before emerging at a junction with the primary Carrizo Trail at the top of the grassland.

The Carrizo Trail and North Ridge Route is the inland version of the classic and well-known Stone Ridge Sea to Sky route on Cone Peak’s south face (of which there are many posts on this blog). In less than 7 miles the route travels from the Milpitas Special Interest Area at the North Fork San Antonio River (~1550 ft) to the summit of Cone Peak at 5,164 ft. With a cumulative elevation gain of nearly 5,000 feet, it packs nearly as much punch as the route from sea to sky but is remarkably well graded, and while it is still a big climb, it never gets nearly as steep. The route passes through numerous different ecosystems in a gradient of plant communities including (1) oak grassland, (2) chaparral, (3) young Coulter Pine forest amid mud stone rock formations, (4) to Sugar Pine forest, and finally, (5) the alpine environment on the north ridge with Santa Lucia Firs.  Along the way one enjoys views of both the drier inland area of the Ventana, including Santa Lucia Peak and the rock formations and grasslands of the Milpitas Special Interest Area, and the more lush coastal side with forests and ocean vistas. The whole package makes this one of the most interesting and scenic routes in the Ventana Wilderness and a worthy complement to the Sea to Sky route on the coastal side of Cone Peak. Full photo album here.  Route display here (from Big Sur Trail Map, the best mapping resource of trails in the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness Areas).

The early miles of the Carrizo Trail are largely exposed and can get quite hot while the old growth Sugar Pine forest in the upper reaches is one of the cooler places in the Ventana Wilderness where towering pines provide constant shade.  This Sugar Pine forest is the largest and healthiest stand of Sugar Pines in the Ventana, with some rare (for the Ventana) incense cedars sprinkled in. Unlike Sea to Sky, which features ocean views nearly the entire way, here one has to gain quite a bit of elevation to see the ocean.  In fact, the first clear view of the ocean is around 5.5 miles in as one reaches a divide between the headwaters of San Antonio River and Devils Canyon.  However, from this point to the summit the ocean vistas along the north ridge are some of the best the Ventana has to offer.   This route is largely dry except for Carrizo Camp Spring so make sure to carry enough water, especially on warm days.  A side trip can be made to Cook Spring which is fairly reliable, even with a seep in dry times.

Both the Carrizo Trail and the North Ridge are historic routes.  The Carrizo Trail was used by homesteaders in the 1800s as a route from the coast over the crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains. The North Ridge was used to deliver a telegraph wire up to the summit of Cone Peak when the lookout at the summit was still operational.  This wire is still visible in spots along the north ridge.  However, despite the lengthy history, the Carrizo Trail was becoming quite brushy.  The good news is that recent trail work has opened the Carrizo Trail back up! As of this writing, the worst section, known as the “Brush Bowl” between miles 3 and 4 on the Carrizo Trail, was recently brushed to “passable,” meaning that a clear path is evident but it is still narrow in spots. The remainder of the Carrizo Trail is clear!  The North Ridge route was never a spot conducive to fast brush growth, but it to had become brushy in spots.  After recent work on the North Ridge, it is also clear of brush, but it must be emphasized that this is a “route” and not a “trail” – there is some rock scrambling and a traverse of steep slopes.  Instead of the typical blog post format where I’ve had some text near the top followed by a long series of photos in no particular order, the following series of photos are organized in chronological order based on what you would see on the route from trailhead  to the summit of Cone Peak.  In that sense, this post is a pictorial guide to the Carrizo Trail and North Ridge. The captions to each photos provide relevant details.

Full photo album here.  Route display here (from Big Sur Trail Map, the best mapping resource of trails in the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness Areas).