Old Romero Road Is Open Again, Just Not the Way Montecito Remembers It

Old Romero Road reopened in mid-September 2026 after being closed since the storms of early 2023. The agreement that reopened it covered only part of the work. In August, crews brushed the road and cleared slides by hand. The section above mile four came back under a lower maintenance rating, with a major landslide near mile five still in place. The Forest Service has said that slide will affect bike use. In practice the reopened road is the first phase of a two-phase project, and the second phase belongs to the Forest Service.

Before 2023, the Santa Barbara News-Press described it as one of the most bike-friendly trails in Montecito. Andrew Madsen, public affairs officer for the Los Padres Forest Service, told the paper, "For Montecito folks that is their crown jewel of hiking." So the gap between the old road and the new one matters to a lot of regular users.

What reopened on September 16

The Santa Barbara Ranger District put a new storm-recovery closure order into effect on September 16, 2026. It is Order 05-07-54-26-09, and it runs through September 15, 2027. Old Romero Road is not on its list of closed trails. The Los Padres Forest Association announced on September 19 that five trails closed since early 2023 had reopened that week: Old Romero Road, Franklin Trail, Arroyo Burro Trail, Matias Connector Trail and North Tunnel Trail. Together they add up to more than 15 miles across the Santa Barbara front and mid-country.

The timing was tight. The previous closure on the road was set to end September 18, and the News-Press reported that the road would either be ready to open by then or face a renewed closure. The paper also reported that an on-schedule opening would be the first time the full loop had been open since 2019. Ashlee Mayfield, executive director of the Montecito Trails Foundation, told KEYT after the reopening, "It is really thrilling to have all these trails open for the first time since 2023, it has been a long three plus plus years waiting."

This is the road's second recovery in under a decade. The News-Press noted that the 2018 Montecito debris flow swept it away, and rain washed it down the mountain again on the same date five years later.

The road above mile four

The change is concentrated in the upper miles. Rachel Clancy, a Forest Service recreation officer, told the News-Press that the section connecting to East Camino Cielo would be reclassified from a "highly developed trail" to a "minimally developed trail." The Montecito Trails Foundation's status page describes the Romero Canyon Jeepway, the 7-mile route from the trailhead to East Camino Cielo, as restored in 2026 and rated "Trail Class 1: Minimally Developed" from mile four to Camino Cielo.

Clancy told the News-Press what that means for riders:

"That slide will impact bike usage." She added that the first phase focused on mitigating safety hazards, and "Users should expect changes since when they last used the trail."

The full loop is open. From mile four up to East Camino Cielo, the trail is now officially held to a lower standard than the one riders knew before 2023.

Why phase one stopped at basic maintenance

The scope of the reopening came out of three years of negotiation, which the News-Press laid out in detail.

1. 2023. The Montecito Trails Foundation offered the Forest Service a fully funded restoration plan. The Forest Service turned it down, along with several later versions, and chose to run its own technical reviews.
2. Spring 2026. With its third plan, the foundation set an end date. Mayfield told the paper, "if you don't accept our plan we are going to rescind the offer and the money." The Forest Service did not meet that date.
3. Later in 2026. The Forest Service split the project into two phases and let the foundation carry out the first.
4. August 2026. MTF hired the Los Padres Forest Association, a frequent partner, to do the work. In August alone, its crew spent about a month on the road, brushing and clearing slides by hand.
5. Mid-September 2026. LPFA reported that its crew finished the almost two months of trail work needed on Old Romero and Franklin combined, done in triple-digit heat on south-facing slopes, so the district could formally reopen Old Romero and Franklin under the new order.

Under the phased approach, the News-Press reported, the foundation was given permission to do basic maintenance ahead of the September reopening, with the mile-five slide left for later. Mayfield told the paper that not being able to treat the landslide was "a huge disappointment." On the Forest Service side, Clancy described the first phase as focused on mitigating safety hazards.

What phase two has to solve

The News-Press reported that phase one was projected to cost more than $50,000, with the final figure depending on weather. Maintenance continues through the winter ahead of the Forest Service's planned phase two, and the Forest Service's share is to come from the Thomas Fire restoration fund. None of the sources gives a start date for phase two.

Bryan Conant, executive director of the Los Padres Forest Association, told the News-Press in August that the initial work would focus on drainage to prevent erosion and on repairs to narrow sections. He told the paper, "The problem with Old Romero is that most of the trail damage is caused by falling rock or slide material covering the trail. There's not a lot of cost effective measures we can do to prevent that sort of damage." Mayfield told the paper that it isn't possible to install measures that fully prevent future damage.

The Montecito Journal reported in late September that local trail groups were shifting to maintenance, restoration and volunteer recruitment ahead of winter. On National Public Lands Day, September 26, volunteers joined the Los Padres National Forest team to clean and restore Hot Springs Canyon Trail, and the event was open to newcomers. A week earlier, on September 19, the foundation's annual BBQ fundraiser at 100 Innovation Place in Summerland honored longtime board members Kevin and Sheila Snow. Sheila joined the board in 1988 and helped start the BBQ in 1990. Kevin has worked on trail maintenance funding, easements, and coordination with neighbors and agencies.

Other ways up Romero Canyon this fall

MTF groups the road and the Romero Canyon singletrack under the same Romero Canyon Trailhead. Per the Forest Service trail listing, you get there from Highway 101 via Sheffield Drive, East Valley Road and then Romero Canyon Road. The trailhead sits a quarter-mile past a locked gate, and parking is limited. The same listing shows Romero Trail as open daily year-round, requires dogs on leashes no longer than six feet, and prohibits motorized use.

MTF describes the singletrack as a shadier, mostly riparian route up the canyon. After about 2 miles it reaches the four-way junction with the Jeepway, where hikers can switch to the Jeepway or stay on the singletrack for 1.7 more miles to Camino Cielo. That makes loops possible: up one route to the junction and down the other, without going into the minimally developed miles above it.

To the west, the Buena Vista Trail connects San Ysidro and Romero canyons. MTF oversaw its restoration in August 2017, and trail steward Paul Cronshaw looks after it. Just east of the Buena Vista Trailhead on Bella Vista Drive, the short Fearing Trail is a shaded option.

Farther out, parts of the district stay closed under the current order. These include Franklin Trail's backside, the Aliso Loop, the Santa Cruz Trail from 19 Oaks to the Santa Cruz Guard Station, and Tunnel Trail between Matias Potrero and Santa Ynez River Road. LPFA advises checking the official order for details before heading out.

For people who have walked Romero Canyon for years, phase two of Old Romero Road is worth following. Questions about how trail access, easements and the canyons behind East Valley Road affect life on a particular Montecito street can go to Marisa Garber. Let's Connect.