National forest order closes popular Central Coast camping, hiking and biking spots
All national forests in California will be closed for business starting at midnight Tuesday — and getting caught in one of them during the closure could lead to a hefty fine.
That’s bad news for anyone who was planning on exploring certain parts of the Central Coast during Labor Day weekend.
The closure includes a big portion of Los Padres National Forest that reaches to the edge of the Big Sur Coast and inland areas of San Luis Obispo County from the Cuesta Grade to the mountains along Highway 58.
The U.S. Forest Service announced Monday it would shutter all 20 million acres of California’s national forests to public access beginning at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
“By temporarily reducing the number of visitors during this extreme threat, this closure will minimize the likelihood that visitors could become trapped on national forest system lands during emergency circumstances, decrease the potential for new fire starts at a time of extremely limited firefighting resources and enhance firefighter and community safety by limiting exposure that occurs in public evacuation situations, especially as COVID-19 continues to impact human health and strain hospital resources,” read a news release Tuesday.
According to the forest service order, anyone found within any California national forest — including hiking on trails, driving on forest roads and camping at campgrounds — during the closure will face a fine of up to $5,000 for an individual, or $10,000 for an organization.
The closure is expected to last through Sept. 17 — leaving hundreds who planned to visit popular recreation areas over the Labor Day weekend scrambling to figure out new plans.
On the Central Coast, the closure means you will not be able to access some favorite hiking, camping or biking spots for the next two weeks.
Highway 1 is open, Los Padres National Forest closed
Headed north along Highway 1 through Los Padres National Forest?
You won’t able to camp in almost any of the spots north of Ragged Point until you hit Limekiln State Park in Big Sur. (California state parks are different from national forests, and they’re expected to remain open for the time being.)
Most trails, starting with the San Carpoforo Creek Trail and heading north along Highway 1, will also be closed since that is Forest Service land.
Among the heavily used areas included in the closure are Salmon Creek, Sand Dollar Beach and Jade Cove.
Popular campgrounds including Plaskett Creek and Kirk Creek also will be closed.
Although Highway 1 itself isn’t closed, turning off onto any number of the forest roads that lead deeper into Los Padres National Forest will be prohibited during the closure, unless you own property in the area, have a special permit or are engaged in firefighting activities.
Hiking, biking and driving prohibited in national forests in SLO County
Heading inland, mountain biking and hiking areas such as TV Tower Road along the Cuesta Ridge above San Luis Obispo will be shut down as part of the order as well.
According to the Forest Service, TV Tower Road’s closure begins at Highway 101 and extends out toward the end of the trail at Tassajara Peak. The nearby Cerro Alto campground off Highway 41 will also be closed.
The Forest Service closure extends inland into the Santa Lucia, Garcia and Machesna Mountain wildernesses, which include popular spots such as Big Falls Trail, Hi Mountain Campground, the Turkey Flat Off-Highway Vehicle Area and La Panza Campgrounds.
Further south, Los Padres National Forest land off Highway 166 is also closed off, meaning that no off-road riders can use the Rock Front Off-Highway Vehicle Area. There’s also no camping at the Buck Spring Campground and no hiking at the Gifford Trail.
For more information on which areas are closed, check out the U.S. Forest Service’s map at www.fs.fed.us/ivm.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 11:44 AM.
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