Romero Trail, filmed and reviewed by
Review Date: 4/1/2015
Trail Ratings
Fun Factor:4 Star Rating: Recommended Technical:4 Star Recommended

Santa Barbara has some great biking and hiking trails to go along with all of its other attractions such as shopping, restaurants and beaches. Finding the trails may take a little effort on your part but if you do the right type of search you can usually find a map or directions to the trailhead. Romero Trail is one of those popular weekend spots used by mountain bikers and hikers so keep in mind that it can get busy on nice days.

To ride the Romero Trail you can either do it as an up and back down the way you came ride or if you are up to the challenge you can ride up and take the short way down which is much faster and more technical. The 7 mile ride up will start as a fire road for a couple of miles or so and then turn into a singletrack climb and you will gain about 3000 feet of elevation. If you take the short and fast way down it will start with some fast switchbacks and then turn into a rock crawling run for the second half of the downhill that you can creep through or blast through depending on your mood... and skill level. Its only about 3 miles down so that should tell you that it's more of a direct way down. The ride will be sort of a figure 8 by the time you are done.

Romero Trail Video

Romero Trail Review

Romero Trail is definitely one you should try even if you do just the up and down method. It's a nice climb and not to steep and you get some great views of the ocean and surrounding area on the way up. You won't encounter too many hikers near the top so you just have to deal with them near the lower sections. Many people actually go up the downhill part so you need to watch for them on your way down. For the most part it's pretty smooth but you will encounter areas with loose rocks where it will take a little more effort to get up. Any intermediate rider should be able to do the climb no problem without any walking. There are also some nice overlooks to stop at and take a break while checking out the view.

Going down the first section is fun and it's pretty fast as well. There are a lot of switchbacks so you will need to make sure you slow down for them so you don't miss them. The terrain is pretty smooth but there will be some loose sections and some ruts depending on how recently it rained. The lower you get the more tree cover and shade you will encounter so it makes it hard to see if you are wearing sunglasses so you may want to take them off or use clear glasses on the way down.

Once you get past the first part you will cross the trail that you rode up and get into the rocky\technical section and this is where it gets fun and challenging. Some of the rock sections have some nice size boulders that you can try and ride over slow without crashing or ride over fast, without crashing! You may find yourself walking certain sections at least your first time until you get used to the trail. It's a good idea to wear some pads the first time because there are a lot of places on the rocky section that can take you down if you are not careful. It's this second half of the downhill section that gives this trail the 4 stars on the technical rating. If you like you can do the top half coming down and then take the way you rode up back down and skip the rocky section altogether. But if you do you are missing out on a good time! Once you are done with the rocky section you will end up on the trail that you rode up on so you simply take a right and head back down about a half mile or so to the gate.

Romero Trail Pictures

Directions to Romero Trail

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To get to the Romero trailhead you will need to find Romero Canyon fire Rd off Bella Vista Rd. If coming from the south on the 101 Freeway take the Padaro Ln exit towards Santa Claus Ln and turn right on to Padaro Ln. Then make a left on Via Real and a right on Toro Canyon Rd. Continue onto E Valley Rd (192) and make a right on Romero Canyon Rd. Then you will make a right on Bella Vista and as you take the first sweeping right curve you will see the fire road on the left and most likely a bunch of cars parked around the area. From the north you will take the same exit but then turn left onto Padoro Ln and then right onto Via Real. From there make a left onto Toro Canyon Rd and the directions are the same.

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