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Highway 154 - Painted Cave Rd |
| Painted Cave Rd. is a short, 3.3 Mi. ride
through some very nice, tight twisties and some real nice scenery. It is also
the location of the Painted Cave, in which original Chumash Indian cave
paintings can be found and is somewhat of a tourist destination for that
reason. However, Painted Cave is not that well known and traffic is very light,
even on the weekends. I've even ridden it on a couple of Sundays without seeing
a single car on the road. You can make a nice little Hwy 154 detour route by using Painted Cave Rd to connect to the lower end of East Camino Cielo and then back to Hwy 154. I would recommend this ride to everyone. Yes it's short, but road conditions on the twisties are for the most part, excellent and traffic is usually very light. However, if your on a really big bike and say, travelling 2-up, this one will be a workout. It's a tight, skinny road 1/2 up. You could still make it to the Painted Cave and then back down without much problem, but it get's real tight after the Painted Cave. |
From Hwy 101 in Santa Barbara, the Painted Cave Rd is
approximately 5.50 miles north on Hwy 154:
3D Contour Map
Painted Cave Rd entrance heading north on Hwy 154:
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Heading up Painted Cave Rd. The first 2.0 miles offer
terrific road conditions.
Gentle twisties greet you soon...
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Followed by some tight hairpins:
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I just love roads like this. Careful on the blind corners,
every now and then you will catch some traffic.
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Typical Central California Chaparral, with some gorgeous
views along the way.
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Immediately after heading into the trees you come to The
Painted Cave. See that little "Cave ->" sign in the left hand
picture. There is also a plaque designating the spot, but it is not well placed
and easy to miss. Parking along the road is permitted so you can get to the
cave, although it will only allow for a few vehicles at most.
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The cave itself is actually locked up by gate to prevent it
from being vandalized and the decay of having people in it day after day.
However you can still see into the cave, although it is somewhat dark. You can
bring a flashlight to see into the cave, but are requested not to use flash
photos.
Just a few of the smaller paintings. You can find more information about the Painted Cave and the Chumash Indians at the Painted Cave Website.
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I love twisties through the trees! Road conditions are still
pretty good although once in the tree line it does deteriorate somewhat. No
potholes, just a little bumpy here and there.
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This road has some tight ones!
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Ok if you are coming down Painted Cave (from East Camino
Cielo) be on the lookout for this one corner. It is a very sharp drop and there
is always gravel right at the bottom, just were you don't need it. It's not a
problem coming up but if your on a big scooter coming down, be careful and take
it real slow. Road conditions deteriorate again at this spot, although it is
not that bad.
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Up through some nice little straights:
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Wow! Nice windmill! This thing is actually very large and is
quite a sight; it really sticks out compared to everything else you see on this
ride (I certainly did a double take the first time I rode by it).
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End of the line,
East Camino Cielo Rd.
You can make a left here and ride back down to Hwy 154, or make a right and go
up East Camino Cielo
and back down Gibralter
Rd to Hwy 192.
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