Los Padres National Forest · California
Howard Creek
2.9 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 22W26 · trail class 3 · typical grade 10-12% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike
Trailhead Howard Creek - 22W26 Drive there
Howard Creek - 22W26 the Forest Service's write-up
No fee for parking at the Howard Creek Trailhead
Howard Creek Trail (22W26)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Turn right on Rose Valley Road and drive .4 miles and park on the right. The trail starts on a dirt road behind a locked gate. This is one of the shortest hikes to Nordhoff Ridge where there are fantastic views of the coastline and the Ojai Valley.
Restrictions NO overnight camping allowed at trailhead - parking only for hiking.
This hike on fs.usda.gov
Every trail in Los Padres National Forest
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.
