Grass Mountain, Is It Open or Closed? That is the question!

So, I followed the various sources for about a week, when both Broadcast Peak and Grass Mountain opened up for hiking. I then headed up to the Solvang area, about a 3.5 hour drive for me (without traffic). I arrived on a Thursday evening, hiked Broadcast Peak on Friday and planned to hike Grass Mountain and then head home on Saturday. Both, Alltrails and Google Maps showed these trails as being open. However, when I arrived at the Grass Mountain Trail Trailhead there was a “No Trespassing” sign posted. Indicating the trail was closed until further notice. Goes without saying, I was not happy. I did a lot of driving and preparation to get to where I was. Again, everything I read, reviewed, or pulled up on Google Maps said the trail was open. I wasn’t about to turn away at this point.

I started off on my hike at about 6:55am. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I was the only person on the trail all the way to the summit and then most of the way back down. With about a half mile left, I must have ran into or seen at least two dozen people hiking or walking along the trail. And, even more getting started when I got back to my truck. So, I didn’t feel bad about ignoring the No Trespassing sign.

Anyway, as I cruised along the trail, it became obvious to me that, if the trail was closed, why it was closed. I came up on my first of three-water crossing at about the ½ mile mark. The creek was flowing high and fast. There are rocks to hop across or make shift bridges (logs/trees) to walk across. Luckily, I brought my water shoes (I expected the crossings, based on what I had read in other reports). The crossings can be a little deep at some points, but I searched and found areas that ranged from calf deep to knee deep. Most of the trail along the creek has been washed out, so a little route finding is needed to get back on trial (upstream), which is about a tenth of a mile or so. Watch out for the poison oak in this area.

Once across the for the final time, the trail heads up and to the left of the creek and the Lover’s Loop Trail. It is a bit overgrown and a little soggy in places. The route up is pretty easy to follow, however there are large ruts and washed out portions of the trail. The final .7 miles to the summit is steep climbs up about 1400 feet. Along with the steepness, the ground is damp, has loose rock and large washouts, so be careful. Coming down was almost as challenging as going up. On another note, once I hit the overgrown portion of the trail and at the summit, I had four hitchhikers. Make sure you take the time to check yourself throughout the hike for ticks.

All in all, great hike. Lots of challenges along the way. Ranging from water crossings to long steep inclines and loose ground and large ruts. Did I mention TICKS? I finished with just under 6.4 miles (some of that around the water way looking for routes to cross) and about 2360 feet in elevation gain. Almost 1400 feet of that coming in the final .7 miles.