Arizona By The Pacific, Anyone?

March 2, 10:24 PMLA Hiking ExaminerJohn Hanssen

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A lovely trip to Arizona sounds really nice, especially after enduring yet another stress-filled week in Southern California.  Yet, the current state of the economy is making such a getaway rather difficult, especially when figuring in the fuel costs and hotel expenses.  What if, though, you knew of a place that contained many Arizona-type features and yet was not more than an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles?  Surely it would be something to at least take a look at for a day.  Well, such a place does exist and the name of this enchanted area is known as the Topatopa Mountains.

These fabulous mountains are located directly behind the peaceful town of Ojai, CA, and contain many breathtaking scenes, such as the snow covered Topatopa Bluff featured in the large photo here to the right.  Even without the snow, the Topatopa mountains contain many splendid scenes that are very reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, especially with their many layers of massive sedimentary rock.  What is more intriguing is that you get a perfect view of the sparkling waters of the Pacific Ocean from the top of these massive sedimentary walls, creating what can be described as an "Arizona By The Sea" type of scene.  

There are a number of hiking trails that lead up to these majestic mountains.  Perhaps the best  trail is known as the Middle Lion Canyon trail, which starts from behind the Topatopa Mountain range.  This trail begins at Middle Lion Creek in a place known as Rose Valley which is located directly behind Ojai.  The trail starts off by the rushing stream that is in the picture below and traverses through a number of thick forests of pine and alder trees.  After about a couple of miles, the trail then leads to a wide open area that contains many interesting desert scenes with a number of small waterfalls, such as the one seen in the very bottom photo of this page.  After this open area, the trail then begins to make its way straight up to the Topatopa Mountains.  Overall, the beginning of the hike is rather easy, with very little strain.  The more strenuous part comes at about half way through the hike, when the trail begins the upswing leading directly to the Topatopa Mountain range.  The entire hike roundtrip is about seventeen miles and can easily be done in one day.  The recommended time of starting at the initial trailhead is anywhere between eight and nine o'clock in the morning.  This gives the hiker plenty of time to not only enjoy the Topatopa Mountains themselves, but also provides plenty of viewing time for the many other sights along the way as well.

So, what are you waiting for?  This "Arizona by the Pacific" awaits you with great eagerness.  It is a wonderful place to visit, especially for the stressed out Southern Californian who may not exactly be able to take off for Arizona in order to get away from it all.  For hikers who are trying to save money and still enjoy gorgeous scenery, this hike is just the ticket!  For further information about the area and how to get there, you can either go the the US Forest Service website at www.fs.fed.us and click on "Los Padres National Forest", or go ahead and call the US Forest Service Station in Ojai at: 805-646-4348.

Have fun and be safe out there!