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Highway 154 - Sunset Valley Rd |
| Sunset Valley Rd. is a 5.7 mile ride starting
at the Figueroa Mountain junction. The only way you can get to it is by the
Figueroa Mountain Rd ride or
the Happy Canyon Rd ride.
This road offers a lot of good twisties, but road conditions are poor to fair.
The road itself is in descent condition, although a tad bumpy in spots. There
is often quite a bit of gravel buildup, which turns heavy towards the end of
the ride. The ride itself is a 1 way trip to the Nira Campground. If your a
dual-sport rider you will find an abundance of legal fireroad to explore from
here but if your a street rider that's it. You can also camp here with a park
permit; there are bathrooms, bbq pits and tables but no showers. Most mapping programs will show this road as being "Cachuma Rd", and in fact Microsoft Expedia will show Sunset Valley Rd and Cachuma Rd as the same road. However, this is not correct. Cachuma Rd is basically a dirt fire road that is a continuation of Figueroa Mountain Rd. If you cannot find Sunset Valley Rd on your mapping software, try looking for Cachuma Rd. Finally, because Sunset Valley Rd is in the Los Padres National Forest you may want to contact park officials about possible road closures, especially if you are making a long journey for the ride. You can do so at the Los Padres National Forest Webpage. |
| Sunset Valley Rd. begins at the Figueroa Mountain Rd
junction. The only way to get to this ride is by
Figueroa Mountain Rd or
Happy Canyon Rd. 3D Contour Map
Figueroa Mountain Rd junction.
As the sign clearly states, this is Sunset Valley Rd. to the left. I'm not sure why most mapping programs have this marked as Cachuma Rd. but the fact is, they do.
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Starting off into some tight twisties. The road is dry but
in fair condition.
Into the trees you go.....
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Soon you start down the backside of the mountain, into
Sunset Valley.
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Hmmmm....That looks fun! Traffic is near non-existent, with
only the occasional camper or bicyclist to be found.
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Into some of the tighter twisties, you can see the road
condition has deteriorated a bit. Some bumpiness, a few patches, and some loose
gravel and small rocks. Be cautious about this and slow down to accommodate for
the conditions.
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Down the main switchbacks the road improves a tad. Dry,
summer California Chaparral adorns the land.
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Now you head down into the tree line, ahhh shade. Road
conditions are still fair, and the scenery is quite nice.
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Twisties through the trees, my favorite!
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And then you hit the second round of switchbacks going
further down into Sunset Valley.
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The scenery gets real interesting. These rock formations are
just barren and harsh. In person is much better....
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And back into the tree-line we go.....Watch those blind
corners. While traffic is very light, you will see some now and again. This
road is skinny and will not accommodate for much....
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Into the red-rock canyons. While the scenery is really
interesting, the road condition is quite poor with gravel and medium size rocks
scattered in the center line. This is a moderate example and in some places it
gets a bit worse. There are not any potholes to speak of, just the gravel and
rocks. Use caution and take it easy...
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Some very interesting scenery in the valley. Quite a mixture
of trees and chaparral.
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Nira Campground, end of the line. There are picnic tables,
bbq pits and bathrooms. Camping is by permit only. Quite a bit of fire-road
hiking and riding starts at this campground (although there is no shortage
of that on any part of the mountain).
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| This website and all material contained within is © Copyright 2002 by Jeffrey Donovan. No portion of this website, or the material contained within the website, may be reproduced, cached, or stored on another computer or storage device in any way, shape or form without the expressed written permission of Jeffrey Donovan. |
