The Santa Barbara County Trails Council sponsors a range of trail running events under the Island View Trail Run banner. We have held events at Midland School Trails in Santa Ynez Valley, Franklin Trail above Carpinteria, and Baron Ranch on the Gaviota Coast. Each event is timed and equipped with aid stations and volunteer support.
Franklin Trail
The run begins at Carpinteria High School, winding around the school parking lot and adjacent orchards, where the trail emerges onto a lovely uphill single track with magnificent ocean views. A steady climb and switchbacks will take you up Franklin Canyon, with numerous vistas along the way. Past the first single track, you run on dirt roads alongside several ranches, well-developed coastal scrub, and mixed chaparral. The 4-mile course is an out-and-back, turning at the end of the first section of the single-track trail just before the dirt road gate. The 10-mile course is also an out-and-back but continues on a dirt road towards the top of the hillside to the beginning of the Los Padres National Forest single-track trail. The 16.0-mile course is also an out & back that enters the Los Padres National Forest at 1700 feet and reaches the crest at 3700 feet — a gain of 2000 feet over three miles.
Baron Ranch Trails
The trail run begins at the entry gate to the County-owned property, with the first mile of the Arroyo Quemado Trail being relatively flat. After the at-grade creek crossing, the trail climbs following a decommissioned ranch road to the turn-off for the Loop Trail to the right or an at-grade second creek crossing to the left. From here, it is approximately four miles to Camino Cielo and the crest of the Santa Ynez Mountains, making for a 12-mile out-and-back run.
Maintaining Trails
The trail run proceeds benefit the trail on which the event was held. The Trails Council, along with community partners and supporters, maintains single-track trails through the Los Padres National Forest, typically connecting to the crest of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
The trail runs are held under a special use permit and in partnership with the Los Padres National Forest.
