Figueroa Mountain
Santa Ynez Valley · near Los Olivos / Santa Ynez · Central Coast
Gravel & Bikepacking · Road Cycling
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Spring (wildflowers!) & fall; hot summers
- Distance
- long
- Best season
- Spring for wildflowers; hot in summer; cooler months best
What is here
- Terrain
- mountain
- Amenities
- Famous spring wildflowers · Santa Ynez wine-country base · Los Padres summit views · Mountain campgrounds
- Best for
- A wildflower summit climb above wine country
- Features
- Legendary spring wildflowers · Climb above Santa Ynez wine country · Oak-to-pine summit road · Los Padres backcountry links
- Scenery
- mountain
- Amenities
- Legendary spring wildflowers · Santa Ynez wine-country views · Quiet, remote mountain road · Oak savanna to pine forest
- Best for
- A wildflower-season wine-country climb
- Features
- Famous spring wildflower climb · Above Santa Ynez wine country · Oak savanna to pine summit · Quiet, remote & beautiful
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Big sustained climb · Summer heat, limited water · Remote upper sections · Poison oak, ticks
- Good for a first timer
- No
- Hazards
- Long, exposed climb — heat & sun · Remote — carry water & food · Narrow, rough sections; descend carefully · Wildfire-prone — check for closures
- Beginner friendly
- No
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · adventure
- Surface
- mixed
- Remoteness
- 3
- Riding
- A stunning climb above the Santa Ynez wine country — paved-and-dirt roads winding up through oak and pine to a 4,500-ft summit famed for spectacular spring wildflower displays
- Terrain note
- 1,000–4,500 ft; mixed roads into Los Padres; hot below, cool up top
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- A beautiful climb behind the Santa Ynez Valley wine country (near Los Olivos) — paved-and-dirt roads winding from vineyards up through oak and pine to a 4,500-ft Los Padres summit, famed statewide for spectacular SPRING WILDFLOWERS (poppies, lupine). A proper mountain effort with big valley views and backcountry links. Demanding: sustained climb, summer heat, limited water; best in spring bloom or fall. Summit campgrounds; wine-country base for refueling. A scenic Central Coast highlight.
- Trip lengths
- day
Road Cycling detail
- Ride types
- climb
- Road
- quiet
- Climbing
- 5
- Ride notes
- A long, beautiful climb above the Santa Ynez Valley wine country — up through oak savanna and pine to a ~4,000-ft summit, legendary for its spectacular spring wildflower displays of poppies and lupine
- Stats note
- ~10 mi climb to ~4,000 ft; oak savanna to pine; famous spring wildflowers
- Seasonal
- No
- Intl tip
- One of the most beautiful climbs on the Central Coast — a long ~10-mile ascent above the Santa Ynez Valley wine country near Los Olivos to a ~4,000-ft summit, from golden oak savanna into pine, with expanding vineyard views. Legendary in spring for spectacular poppy and lupine wildflower displays. Quiet and remote (no services — carry water and food); the exposed climb bakes in summer, so ride spring or cooler months. Narrow and rough in places — descend carefully. Fire-prone; check closures.
The guide
Figueroa Mountain, rising behind the Santa Ynez Valley wine country near Los Olivos, is one of Southern California's most beaut…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Figueroa Mountain — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.73, -119.98