Hike South Ventana Cone Los Padres National Forest, CA

Apr 25, 2026 — The Ventana Wilderness is located within the wild Santa Lucia Mountains along California’s coast. The summits in this range rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean, creating a fantastic and unique aesthetic. The coastal moisture keeps the slopes blanketed in dense brush, and the extensive trail system is often overgrown, leaving much of the range periodically inaccessible except to those willing to bushwhack through poison oak.

Originally, Chris and I had planned to hike to Ventana Double Cone, a coveted summit that had remained unclimbed by us on this trip due to its lengthy approach along trails that have largely been reclaimed by nature. There seems to be a dedicated group of folks who regularly clear and maintain the trails, but we ultimately chickened out and opted for a hike with a much better chance of success at summitting a peak. Like Ventana Double Cone, South Ventana Cone is a remote summit located deep in the wilderness, but unlike the former, South Ventana Cone can be accessed using the Pine Ridge Trail, which serves as a well-traveled hiking highway through the Ventana Wilderness. This would lead us right to the peak’s base without the constant worry of thick brush forcing us to turn around.

The road to the Pine Ridge Trailhead was in great shape, with much of it paved except for the last few miles. Despite waking up to unmistakably poor weather, along with my cold-induced headache and Chris’ asthma-induced wheezing, we had driven all the way to the trailhead and were determined to hike South Ventana Cone.

We started out on the Pine Ridge Trail, following a pleasant path through grassy ridges and scrub-covered slopes with occasional glimpses into the deep canyons below. The trail first climbed toward Peak 4760, an unnamed summit just off the trail that required minimal effort to reach across brush-free terrain. After a couple of gentle undulations, the trail descended abruptly to a saddle known as Church Creek Divide.

While there would have been occasional views beyond Church Creek Divide, we were completely socked in for the remainder of the hike. The Pine Ridge Trail continued west along a forested slope, gradually ascending to its junction with the Black Cone Trail. This trail was more overgrown, but still perfectly reasonable. It was tempting to leave the trail and ascend directly to South Ventana Cone from the north to save some mileage, but the brush would have been prohibitively thick, and we knew there was a social trail on the southern slope.

We found the poorly marked turnoff from the Black Cone Trail, where the social trail began in a shallow gully. From there, the route followed a slope/ridge and was generally easy to follow, though we made a few minor navigational mistakes and had to backtrack to avoid especially thick brush. There were a couple of barely notable Class 2 scramble sections. It was raining, the vegetation had us thoroughly soaked, but at least we got a view at the top – oh wait, that’s right, no we didn’t.