Use Marker Groups Wolf 2002
Piru 2003
Day 2006
Zaca 2007
Gap 2008
La Brea 2009
Devils Canyon Trail - Los Padres National Forest
Trail Distance 3.39 Miles
The Devil’s Canyon loop allows you to experience the enchanting canyon to be found beyond Red Rock while at the same time escaping the crowds that sometimes end up there. This is possible because the swimmers and sunbathers don’t usually begin to show up until the early afternoon. Starting at 9am (or so) allows you to avoid most people.
Begin the hike by following the gravel road past Red Rock. As you leave the popular swimming hole behind you’ll find yourself walking on what seems like a country road—this one dates back to the days when this area was being developed for its mineral riches—mainly quicksilver. Contorted layers of rock on the north side of the river show the extreme pressures which the shale must have undergone. Underfoot, if you look carefully, you can still find pieces of the red brick quicksilver kilns. Beyond this you’ll find more pools as the road meanders back and forth across the river and through sycamore, cottonwood, and willow groves, meadows, and groves of live oak for several miles to Gibraltar Dam.
When you reach the base of the dam, rather than hiking up the last steep hill to the top of it, head up the road just as if you were returning back to Red Rock on the high road. Fifty yards up the road look for the beginning of the Devil’s Canyon Trail. The canyon is deep and narrow, and for the first half mile has a rugged and wild character to it as it passes through a thick layer of sandstone. Above this the canyon opens, and the trail turns to the right (west) and begins to climb a series of grass slopes as it rises up into the Santa Ynez Fault. Another half mile brings you to the end of Devil’s Canyon and the beginning of Matias Potrero. Continue west of this for 2.5 miles to a trail intersection (marked by a sign). A right turn will drop you down to Paradise Road just a few hundred yards below Live Oak picnic area.
Ray Ford - http://www.sboutdoors.com/devils-canyon.html
Trail Details
- Trail #: 27W14
- Wilderness Area: Non Wilderness Area
- County: Santa Barbara County
- Ranger District: Santa Barbara Ranger District
- Trail-head Latitude: 34.52109
- Trail-head Longitude: -119.68833
- Trail Condition: Good - Trail is easy to follow and is in good shape
- Topo Maps:
Activities & Features: - Day Hiking
- Mountain Biking
- Panoramic Views
- Wildlife Viewing
Trail Stats
- Total Elevation Gain: + 400 feet.
- Total Elevation Loss: - 2423 feet.
- Overall Average Slope Gain: + 16 %.
- Overall Average Slope Loss: - 16 %.
- Kilometers: (km)
- Meters: (m)
- Miles: (mi)
- Feet: (ft)
- Average Slope: (%)
Survey Photos:
Los Padres Forest Association - 10-25-2018
Los Padres Forest Association - 10-25-2018
Los Padres Forest Association - 10-25-2018
Los Padres Forest Association - 10-25-2018
Los Padres Forest Association - 10-25-2018
Los Padres Forest Association - 06-13-2019
Submitted Trail Reports
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Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 10-31-2020 - by Los Padres Forest AssociationLink: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 10-31-2020 Surveyor Name: Los Padres Forest Association Trail description: LPFA volunteers cut out 4 trees along the lower part of the trail. The trail was in better shape than expected, easy to follow but watch out for poison oak as well as the Lizard Woman. Mode of transport: Array Trail condition: Needs some work - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 05-16-2020 - by Elijah Lovejoy
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 05-16-2020 Surveyor Name: Elijah Lovejoy Trail description: Hiked Angustora pass down to river for a swim and back. Trail was easy to follow now that water has eased. Enough mud and crossings to make me glad I didn't try it a month ago.Lots of poison oak to push through. Lots of wildflowers too. Lovely views.I would avoid this trail on a hot day. Plenty of sections on the steep side.Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Needs some work Condition details: water levels have eased, lots of poison oak - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 04-07-2020 - by Chris Martin
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 04-07-2020 Surveyor Name: Chris Martin Trail description: My family hiked the Devil's Canyon Trail starting from Angostura Pass. The descent from Gibraltar Road is in excellent condition and beautiful at this time of year. (look for the pile of rocks to indicate where the trail leaves the road) After the intersection with the Matias Trail we turned right and began to enter Devil's Canyon which is where things became more difficult. About 1/2 mile after the intersection there is a mudslide that has washed out the trail and there was a tricky slog through foot thick mud that was clearly unstable to get to the other side and the trail. Then at the first stream crossing the water level was high enough (there had been rain a few days before) that wading through 12-18 inch deep water was the only reasonable solution. Each subsequent stream crossing was more difficult than the first and we ended up bushwacking to avoid one particularly difficult pair of crossings (the water was too high and fast for safety). So while it took nearly two hours to go just 1/2 a mile down to the road that leads to the dam, when we were able to be on the trail it was in good condition and easy to follow. We completed the loop by using Gibraltar Road from the dam back up to the pass, which was easy and wide and in excellent condition since it is maintained by the city. Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Needs some work Condition details: Devil's Canyon Trail Loop Hike - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 01-16-2020 - by casafede
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 01-16-2020 Surveyor Name: casafede Trail description: I just hiked from the Red Rock parking lot along the gravel road towards Gibraltar Dam and then took a right into Devil's Canyon, past Matias Potrero and onto Paradise Road, where I biked back to my car at the Red Rock parking lot. The trail is the most beautiful this time of the year, the temperature is cool, and there are no bugs, BUT once you enter Devil's Canyon, it's tick hell! I wore long pants and long sleeves, but must have gotten rid of close to 100 ticks in my 3-4 hour hike. I had sprayed dog tick repellent on my clothes but it seemed to have no effect. I just purchased human tick spray repellent and will be testing it for a few yards first. If it doesn't work, I'm turning back. Those things are bad news. They are most common along damp trails, and especially after it rains. The Devil's Canyon Trail and Matias Potrero trail are along the north-facing range, which doesn't get as much sun, so the time of year, it's the perfect hang-out for ticks. Only go there if you are prepared. Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Good shape and easy to follow - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 06-13-2019 - by Los Padres Forest Association
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 06-13-2019 Surveyor Name: Los Padres Forest Association Trail description: LPFA volunteers worked the bottom half mile of the Devils Canyon Trail clearing downed trees and some brush. Overall the trail is in relatively good shape and quite passable along the bottom portion but is getting overgrown with foot-high vegetation including PO, thistle, squaw and snowberry. NEEDS TRAFFIC! Water is flowing nicely through the canyon still.Mode of transport: Array Trail condition: Needs some work Images:
Photo JB - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 05-11-2019 - by Matt Cook
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 05-11-2019 Surveyor Name: Matt Cook Trail description: We started the trail from the top junction with Gibraltar road by East Camino Cielo Road. The trail from here to the fire break was in great shape, with a little bit of hanging brush and small amounts of poison oak. Tons of beautiful wildflowers. It appears serious grading work was done somewhat recently. Once hitting the fire break, the trail is almost non existent, but it is still not too hard to navigate. This is where the fun ended.  The connector trail from the junction of Matias Potrero down Devils canyon to the dam is in horrible shape. A lot of the trail is washed out with thick head high brush, multiple rattle snakes which you can't see until stepping on them in the blind brush, and extreme amounts of poison oak. We were able to hack through with a machete, and it took us a few hours to go less than 2 miles. At this point, I can only recommend an out and back from the top down to the fire break. *Note* The maps above does not match the description of the trail. Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Hard to follow - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 10-25-2018 - by Los Padres Forest Association
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 10-25-2018 Surveyor Name: Los Padres Forest Association Trail description: A LPFA volunteer surveyed the Devil's Canyon Trail and it isn’t in good shape. It is heavily overgrown by poison oak and other low herbs. There is lots of downed branches/trees across the trail. Most are small and can be removed with a hand saw, but three locations would need a chain saw, if they can be removed at all. Coordinates of the three downed trees are: 1) -119.691826 34.5147212) -119.686806 34.5142693) -119.688781 34.520027Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Needs some work Condition details: Three large downed trees, see photos below. Images:
Map of downed tree locations
Tree #1A, two adjacent oaks across trail. Trunks are about 21†and 16†diameter.
Tree #1B
Tree #2A, Two oaks in close proximity. One oak has two trunks, both about 24†diameter.
Tree #2B, trunk of about 30†- Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 02-18-2018 - by Los Padres Forest Association
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 02-18-2018 Surveyor Name: Los Padres Forest Association Trail description: Report from a Sierra Club organized hike: The North Tunnel trail is in nice shape except for about 100 yards right before the intersection with Devil’s Canyon. Here, the trail has been plowed and the brush has been spread out across the area, making it very difficult to pass through. The trail is often not visible. The Devil’s Canyon trail has a slide area right at the beginning and several trails have been made to go around this. Further, the trail is followable but overgrown, with a lot of downed trees and narrow footpaths. There is some water in the lower creek, along with poison oak and thistles.
Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Needs some work - Devils Canyon Trail Survey - 05-18-2015 - by Gerry Ching
Link: Devils Canyon Trail Date: 05-18-2015 Surveyor Name: Gerry Ching Trail description: Hiked the Matias Potrero - Devil's Cyn loop today. The eastern segment of the Matias trail is in relatively good shape. Overgrown in spots, but the tread is always visible. The junction of the Matias and Devil's Cyn trails is marked with a large metal sign which doesn't mention the Devil's Cyn trail. Go left and downhill from this junction.
The Devil's Cyn trail descends fairly steeply. The section 0.3 miles from the junction is overgrown with tall grasses, but can be followed easily with care. Several downed trees (0.8 mile from end of trail) across the path requires going around or over. The last 0.4 mile involves 4 stream crossing with lots of poison oak. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts highly recommended. The track is a little hard to see, but followable. There is a trail sign where the trail meets Paradise Rd, but the sign doesn't identify the trail.
Did this loop without a car shuttle, parking the car at the Matias Potrero trailhead. Utilizing the shortcut trail down to the Red Rock parking lot, total mileage with 8.6 miles.
The day was near perfect for this hike. Cool, in the low 70s with a fresh breeze. Oh, a fair number of ticks encountered. Note: the Matias/Devil's Cyn route as marked on the 1995 topo quad is quite accurate.
Mode of transport: Hike Trail condition: Needs some work Condition details: Devil's Cyn trail needs work
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Survey / Report Form - Please click this box to open the form.Last Updated: Tuesday, March 1, 2016
