Los Padres National Forest · California

Fishbowls

7.2 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 21W05 · trail class 2 · typical grade 10-12% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Trailhead Fishbowls Trailhead - 21W05 Drive there

Fishbowls Trailhead - 21W05 the Forest Service's write-up

reservation required · season May to December

Open in Spring/Summer/Fall and is within the Winter seasonal closure between December 1 st and April 30 th . Hot and dry in the summer with low water levels. Best conditions in May and June.

Difficulty: easy to moderate

Length: 4.6 miles to Fishbowls Camp, 1.5 miles to the intersection of Cedar Creek Trail. Total miles: 6.1.

SESPE WILDERNESS - More information on the Sespe Wilderness

Maps: 7.5 minute USGS topographic maps (Lockwood Valley)

The Fishbowls Trailhead (elev. 5000 ft.) is located on the west side of Grade Valley Road (7N03) approximately 5.5 miles south of Lockwood Valley Road. There is a parking lot with 5 parking spurs, with hitching rails for horses, and a vault toilet at the trailhead. The signed trail starts from the west side of the parking lot. There is no overnight camping allowed at the trailhead, but camping is permitted at Halfmoon and Thorn Meadows Campgrounds further south on Grade Valley Road.

The Fishbowls Trail is a scenic 6 mile trail in the Sespe Wilderness in Ventura County County. The trailhead is located off Grade Valley Road (Mutau OHV Road (7N03.2). The trail connects the Grade Valley Road (Mutau OHV Road (7N03.2) to the Cedar Creek Trail (21W10). Once you arrive to the Cedar Creek Trail (21W10), you have two options, if you go left you can make a nice loop trip back to the road and then hike the road back to the car. If you take a right at the Cedar Creek Trail (21W10), you make for a longer exploration of the Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca Trail (22W03). The Fishbowls Trail follows the Upper most portions of Piru Creek, the canyon is heavily laden with pine trees. Fishbowls Trail is named after a series of bowl shaped pools in the upper part of Piru Creek.

Restrictions Contact the Mt. Pinos Ranger District at (661) 245-3731 ext. 0&nbsp;for fire restriction information or go to:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/lpnf/home/?cid=stelprdb5401877">www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf</a>.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Los Padres National Forest

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About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.