Name of Hike: Cozy Dell Trail
Trail(s): Cozy Dell Trail
Location: Meiner’s Oaks, CA
Wilderness Area: Los Padres National Forest
Type of Hike: Out-and-back
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance/elevation: 3.75 miles, 886 ft elevation gain
Estimated Time Commitment: Hiking times can vary for a number of reasons, but we estimate most people would be able to complete this hike in 2-3 hours.
Views: Yes, there are some nice views looking towards Meiner’s Oaks and Ojai.
Popularity: The Cozy Dell Trail is pretty popular, and you can expect to encounter other hikers and potentially bikers and equestrians as well.
Facilities/restrooms: None
Directions: The Cozy Dell Trail starts on the Northbound side of the 33 just before Friend’s Ranch packing house (green/aqua building on the right). If you’re approaching Ojai from the west, take the 33 North towards Ojai. Take a left at the intersection with the Vons to stay on the 33 North. Stay on the 33 North for about 3.5 miles and the Cozy Dell Trailhead will be on the right. There was a sign on the lefthand side of the road indicating the trailhead, but it got scorched in the Thomas Fire and is unreadable (pictured below with Friend’s Ranch packing house in the background). If approaching Ojai from the east, take the 150 West through town and take a right on the 33 North at the intersection with the Vons. Continue according to the above directions to the trailhead. If you cross the bridge over Sheldon Canyon you’ve gone too far.
Parking: There is plenty of parking available in a dirt turnout along the Southbound side of the 33 directly across from the trailhead.
The Cozy Dell Trail is located in the Los Padres National Forest and is open to hikers, bikers, equestrians and dogs. More detailed and up-to-date information on the Los Padres National Forest available here.
Be careful crossing traffic across the 33 to get to the trail – cars go pretty fast along this small highway. The trailhead is pretty discrete and begins behind the guardrail on the northbound side of the highway. You won’t have to walk too far, though, for the sounds of the highway to start to die down in the background.
Not far along the trail, there is a sign posted indicating that this area was affected by the recent Thomas Fire (December, 2017). As a result, the landscape is more fragile and susceptible to the hazards mentioned: loose rock, falling trees and limbs, flash flooding, and debris flows. For some stats on the Thomas Fire visit the Cal Fire website here.
The trail begins its climb almost immediately from the trailhead. You’ll ascend up a series of switchbacks that are not too strenuous, but will definitely get your heart pumping right away. This first climb will last for approximately 0.9 miles and culminate at the top of one of the foothills affording you a nice view towards the Matilija Canyon and Meiner’s Oaks. This is a nice, spacious area with lots of rocks to sit and rest on. We saw several other groups during our hike and a few turned around at this spot.
From here the trail begins a gradual descent and then climbs again for a short stretch to the top of a second foothill. This stretch of trail is easily visible in its entirety from the first foothill and is only 0.25 miles in length.
The trail does not take you directly to a view point at the second foothill, but rather continues past on its way through the foothills behind Ojai. It’s worth a short jaunt up to the top, though, as it affords a slightly different view of the surrounding area.
From here the trail descends gradually deeper into the foothills until it crosses a creek bed and meets up with a Forest Service Road. The sign at this point is also burned and difficult to read. The creek bed, though dry, is a bit wide making it a little bit difficult to see where the road is on the other side. Follow the cairns (small stacks of rocks) across. While there was no water flowing in the larger creek at the time we hiked the Cozy Dell Trail, we did encounter a small creek crossing the trail a short ways before.
This trail is single track for the entire way. The condition of the trail during the time of our hike was remarkably good considering the recent fire. The trail felt solid underfoot and there was little to no erosion from the rain. There was, however, a tremendous amount of regrowth invading the trail. This will likely change with dryer weather since it was mostly grasses and mustard plants (pictured below).
The Cozy Dell is an out-and-back trail, so we turned around at the intersection with the Forest Service Road (about 1.8 miles). Because the Cozy Dell trail connects to a Forest Service road, you do have the option of continuing your hike further.
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