Saturday Morning Run Down Sycamore Canyon to Ranch Center Road
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For those of you who have walked, run or cycled down the paved Big Sycamore Canyon Road in Pt Mugu State Park from the Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa area, you may have noticed the fork in the road about a mile from the bottom of the steep hill.
Sycamore Canyon Road / Ranch Center Road juncture
Sycamore Canyon Road / Ranch Center Road junctureMost folks continue straight down Sycamore Canyon towards the beach. But if you veer right, you are headed down Ranch Center Road. I don't get up that way very often on my runs in the canyon. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I was up that way. But this past Saturday I decided to divert myself up that path.
In general, I don't see a lot of people down in Sycamore Canyon. As beautiful as it is, it is a lot of work getting down there and about five times tougher getting back out of it up the steep fire road to Newbury Park. I'd estimate easily two thirds of the folks I see down there are on bikes and the rest are hikers and runners.
But there are significantly less people on Ranch Center Road. This past Saturday, I was surprised to see two young teenage-looking gals jogging up the trail, chatting away, having a nice run. Otherwise, I saw about 8 cyclists as I made my way up Ranch Center Road to the dilapidated, burned down Ranch area structures where Ranch Center Road meets Wood Canyon Fire Road.
Wood Canyon Fire Road is more interesting to run than Ranch Center Road as it is all dirt trail and surrounded by trees.
Wood Canyon Fire Road is more interesting to run than Ranch Center Road as it is all dirt trail and surrounded by trees. I saw two cyclists rolling up this trail as I was coming down. Quite peaceful.
Trail runners' heaven is Wood Canyon Fire Road. I could run on trails like this any day.
Several miles downhill the trail links back up to Sycamore Canyon Road, where I ran up past the Danielson Multi-Use Area, where I saw a group of campers, then back up the canyon.
Less than a mile north of the Danielson Multi-use area is this well placed porta-john.
I was out there for about 1 1/2 hours. A good, mid-summer fun run.
