This Trail is a County of Santa Barbara Designated Landmark
The trail up Arroyo Burro Creek once led from the river to the sea. It was named by the Spanish missionaries for the herd of burros they kept in the meadowlands near the mouth of the creek at today’s Arroyo Burro Beach, aka Hendry’s Beach. Archaeologists have found evidence of Chumash activity near the delta lands and along the ravines and escarpments of the south-facing mountain wall. On the north side of the mountain lay the Chumash villages of Snihuax and Shnaxalayiwis. These were renamed by the Spanish Missionaries as Los Prietos and Najalayegua.
In 1845, the lands between the by-then-abandoned Chumash villages were granted to José Dominguez by Governor Pio Pico. In 1860, José Moraga, a descendant of Spanish pioneers, discovered quicksilver (aka cinnabar aka mercury) on the Santa Ynez River and used the Arroyo Burro Trail to reach his mines. Others followed.
In 1875, William Wrench and party took a horse trip to the cinnabar mines via the Arroyo Burro Trail. On the “almost invisible” path they found narrow ledges, stupendous and confused masses of cliffs, tremendous rocks cleft asunder, fossilized fishbones and shells of various sizes, ferns and flowers growing in shady nooks and crevices, and a bounding cascade.
Another equestrian party in 1877 encountered a pile of small stones, surmounted by a single large rock, which, they were told by José Moraga, marked the dividing line between the hunting and foraging grounds of the Najalayegua Indians of the Santa Ynez Valley and the Coast Indians of Santa Barbara.
By 1897, hiking trips had become popular, and two high school boys headed out over the Arroyo Burro Trail with the front wheel of a bicycle with a cyclometer, a bottle of paint, and a number of tin signs. They placed these signs every mile, showing the distance from town. In the 1910s and 20s, many organizations, such as The Hiker’s Club, the YMCA, the Boy Scouts, and the State College’s Outing Club, sponsored hikes along the trail.
In 1944, the Santa Barbara County Riding Club worked to extend the equestrian trail system and sponsored rides along the Arroyo Burro. By the 1950s, however, increased agricultural and residential development diminished access to the trail. In 1953, Barbara McGowan, SBCRC leader, and twelve young children returned from their camp at the Upper Oso via the Arroyo Burro Trail. Though the trail was plainly marked at the top, they reached a locked gate and a strong fence and had to retreat. In her complaint, she lamented the loss of open space and the connection to nature. “There is no place to ride in Santa Barbara now,” she said, “and if the trails are to be taken away, it will be a tragedy.”
By the early 1970s, Santa Barbara Trail Riders, Inc. had begun petitioning the Board of Supervisors for easements to protect the Arroyo Burro Trail. It pledged to maintain the trail if the easements could be negotiated by the Board, a commitment the Trail Riders honored for many years well into the 21st century. (Hattie Beresford)
(Contemporary newspapers, Mexican Land grant charts, Neil Graffy, obits, maps, 2024 interview with Art Najera)