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| West Fork Falls Lion Canyon |
Post Valentine's Day plans were in the works. I wanted to get the girls out on the trail and away from the city. I proposed a visit to the Chumash Wilderness and a Camp survey of Lily Meadows. With the clan all in agreeance we had our bags packed and ready. Saturday night before retiring to bed I decided to check NOAA. The spot forecast feature showed possible wind gusts of up to 40 mph. Surely my girls would not tolerate those kind of windy conditions so to play it safe a last minute change of plans would call for Lion Canyon instead where the winds had a much more favorable outlook.
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| Middle Lion Campground |
Lion Canyon Trail 22W06 departs from the very Southern end of Middle Lion Car Campground. Just before entering the Campground a sign on the West side of the road marks some day use parking for the trailhead. Sunday morning we found the Camp very busy with a full house, however by the time we returned to the car (late afternoon) the Camp had mostly cleared out.
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| While her mom stumbled across wet rocks Haylee quickly took advantage of a down tree for a nice dry crossing. |
After passing through the gate and onto 22W06 within 250 feet you will cross Lion Creek and make your way along the East bank. The next mile or so leads you high above the water before eventually dropping back down to meet with the Rose-Lion Connector Trail 22W16. Which as the name states is the trail that connects Rose Valley Campground with the Lion Canyon Trail.
This whole stretch of Canyon is still scarred from the Thomas Fire and has basically zero shade. The plus side though is the views down on the creek are still pretty and the trail is very easy to follow thanks to recent trail work from The Los Padres Forest Association and partners.
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| High on the East bank along 22W06 |
About .6 a mile beyond the Rose-Lion connector is the 4 points junction. Here one Can continue straight up Lion Canyon until reaching Nordhoff Ridge Road, make a left to East fork Camp and or Right to the West fork Camp. Both Camps were on our agenda for the day so we first choose the East. The source of all the horse manure we were dogging thus far was also revealed as a group of riders were stopped at the junction when we arrived.
After making a left at the junction within .3 of a mile on a large open flat is an overflow site for the Main East fork Camp. N34° 31' 48.0" W119° 08' 47.6" Here you find a few small fire rings, steel grill grate and pile of cut wood. I feel this is not a choice site, if available definitely continue on the .2 of a Mile further to the Main Camp nearer the falls.
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| East Fork Lion Overflow #1 |
As with Middle Lion again we arrived to a full house at the East fork Main Camp. I snapped a few photos with permission from the Campers but did not want to be disturbing them to much. East fork camp lies just inside the Sespe Wilderness the site is large and could easily accomodate a good sized group. There were at least 3 fire rings, an old Ice Can Stove and clear cool water was flowing from the creek. Camp Coordinates: N34° 31' 43.2" W119° 08' 39.5"
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| East Fork Lion Camp |
On the opposite side of the creek and just before the main camp hiding amongst debris is another overflow or secondary site that appears to be getting little use. While there is a big fire ring poodle dog is growing in the small flat area and all the brush and downed trees may be acting as a deterrent. For the sake of trying to be semi thorough I have labeled it on the map below as East Fork Lion Overflow #2. Site coordinates : N34° 31' 44.5" W119° 08' 41.8"
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| East Fork Lion Overflow #2 |
The main attraction for the Lion Canyon Camps are the set of nearby waterfalls. Continue past the main camp, after the trail ends follow the creek a shortest distance about .1 of a mile total to arrive at East Fork Lion falls, (formally referred to as Spruce Falls). Here an impressive series of small waterfalls cascade down over conglomerate rock forming nice pools for warmer weather wading.
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| East Fork Lion falls |
After a satisfying break on the East Lion Falls we made our way back to the four points junction and onto the West fork Lion. From here the trail mostly follows the east side of the creek about .4 of a mile to the West fork Lion Camp. The trail leading in was in far better condition than I expected and it appears recent clean up work has been done at the Camp.
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| West Fork Lion Camp Site #1 |
The Main site has a large flat with rock fire ring, steel cooking grate and a makeshift bench. Across the creek on the West bank the smaller site #2 has a similar setup minus the fancy bench. The Camp could definitely benefit from a bit more cleanup (encroaching brush/Fallen debris) especially the #2 site. While the creekside location near the falls here is nice the lack of shade may present a problem. Craig R Carey writes in his book Hiking & Backpacking Santa Barbara & Ventura of at one time a third island site and a "largely forgotten" fourth site along a game trail somewhere down stream. I didn't go looking but if Craig mentioned it I'm all but certain it's there or was.
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| West Fork Lion Site #2 |
After all the fun had on the East fork the girls were eager for the next waterfall. We quickly passed through the camp and scrambled our way about 400 feet upstream to the (in the my opinion) even more impressive West Fork Lion Falls.
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| West Fork Lion Falls |
Father Daughter shenanigans
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| Looking down from the West fork Falls my wife Suzanne in the distance |
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| Pool directly atop the Falls |
Haylee and I climbed to the top of the Falls and did a little exploring beyond, at some point I would like to return and go much farther back. As is always customary when my little girl joins me we stopped on our way back down Hwy 33 at the Wheeler Gorge Visitors center to pick up some goodies and check in on the interpretive display. The visitors center operates under a special use permit with the Los Padres National Forest and the Los Padres Forest Association. There is usually something cool going on so if your in the area drop on by they love the support.
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| New shirt for me, a crystal rock & Smokey The Bear coloring book for Haylee |
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| Wheeler Gorge Visitors Center |
With all our exploring the total mileage in and back out for the day was around 7.5 If Lion Canyon is on your shortlist now is definitely a great time to visit before the summer heat rolls in. While many of the Alders and sycamores were scorched in the fire there is still and good amount of Big Cone Douglas-firs. This area is quite popular with day hikers and local scouts and makes for a great introductory backpacking destination for the young ones.
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