Baron Ranch 2021 Overview

The trails proposed over a decade ago are now open seven days a week for all trail users except our canine friends. For more information, please visit the Explore Santa Barbara County website.

Baron Ranch is a 1,083-acre ranch owned by Santa Barbara County (County). The County Public Works Department’s Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division manages the property. The restoration of fifty acres of native plant communities is part of the biological mitigation program for the Tajiguas Landfill Reconfiguration Project and partial mitigation for the Tajiguas Landfill Expansion Project. Habitat restoration activities include creek restoration, planting of native riparian, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral habitats. Additional activities included relocating red-legged frogs from Pila Creek to Arroyo Quemado Creek. As a result, the California red-legged frog, a species listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act, is enjoying its new home. 

New Trail Opened in 2021

The Santa Barbara County Trails Council (Trails Council) took a significant role in planning, funding, and implementing new trails and the realignment of existing trails. The Trails Council did the work in coordination with the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department, Parks Division, and the County Public Works Department. 

A 1.35-mile realignment of the existing Baron Ranch Trail (opened in 2010) was relocated from the eastern side of the creek to its western side via a bridge spanning the creek, reconnecting with the existing trail at an at-grade creek crossing. The main trail, now renamed Arroyo Quemado Trail, includes the entire trail segment within the County’s jurisdiction, extending northward and connecting with the trail segment beginning at the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) boundary. The distance from the trailhead to Camino Cielo is 6-miles.

Ten years of making improvements include a vehicle turnaround area, 65- foot long bridge, interpretive signage, new gates, fencing, and directional and informative signs. The Trails Council restored the native habitat around the trailhead and along the entrance road. Volunteers planted over one acre of land previously dominated by invasive species with 400 native plants. Dozens of volunteers helped with hand watering, weeding, and hands-on plant care.

Baron Ranch is located off Calle Real on the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California, approximately 2.3 miles northwest of Refugio State Beach. The trails are now open for equestrians, mountain bikers, hikers, trail runners, and nature lovers from 8 am to sunset seven days a week. Due to the sensitive habitat at Baron Ranch, no dogs are allowed on the property.

Trail Access to Camino Cielo and Gaviota State Park

The combination of the Loop Trail and the Arroyo Quemado Trail enhances non-motorized public access across County-owned land and an area of LPNF that has historically been inaccessible via any established route. This combined County-LPNF Trail is one of only two Front County trails to provide access to LPNF land in the 26-mile reach of the LPNF west of California State Route 154. The Arroyo Quemado Trail offers connections to West Camino Cielo within LPNF, and Gaviota State Park trails to the west, creating a 13.5-mile-long trail system across County, state, and federal lands.

Learn More About the Trail

Website: Baron Ranch Trails

Map: Baron Ranch Trails

Directions: Baron Ranch Directions

Article by Tom Modugno:  Baron Ranch History

Bird Sightings: Birds Seen on Baron Ranch Trails

Plant and Animal Sightings: Check out over 100 plants and animals

Regulations and Warnings: Baron Ranch Trails (PDF)

Directions from the South:

1) Hwy 101 North, 2.4 miles past Refugio Road exit turn right at the road crossing onto Arroyo Quemada Ln., just past a yellow sign indicating “cross-traffic ahead”. There is no northbound deceleration lane, so the turn-off must be anticipated.

2) Immediately turn left onto Calle Real and proceed approximately .75 mile until the road reaches a street sign that says “End”. Use the circle to turn around and park along Calle Real.

Directions from the North:

1) Take Hwy 101 southbound, to Refugio State Beach exit. Exit 101 and go under the freeway and take the northbound Hwy 101 onramp. Travel 2.4 miles north and turn right at the road crossing onto Arroyo Quemada Ln., just past a yellow sign indicating “cross-traffic ahead”. There is no northbound deceleration lane, so the turn-off must be anticipated.

2) Immediately turn left onto Calle Real and proceed approximately .75 mile until the road reaches a street sign that says “End”. Use the circle to turn around and park along Calle Real.

Our work at Baron Ranch is ongoing. Please donate.

Thank you for considering a gift to the Baron Ranch Trail Fund. All gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. You will receive a written acknowledgment of your gift in the mail.

Donation Levels

• Trail Enthusiast........................ $25
• Trail Guide................................ $35
• Trail Advocate........................... $50
• Trail Partner.............................$100
• Trail Builder.............................$500
• Trail Blazer............................$1,000
• Trail Guardian.......................$5,000

We need community support to finance this ambitious project. To donate online, click the green button, or download our pledge form to mail a check.

All donations made in 2021 will receive a Baron Ranch t-shirt as our token of appreciation. Please include your choice of women's or men's style and the size when donating.

For more information, call Executive Director, Mark Wilkinson, at 805.708.6173