Cone Peak - Hiking and Backpacking Big Sur - page 345

Trip Description
From the turnout at Mile 3.7, you'll hike 0.2 mile farther along Cone Peak Road to
the trailhead at Mile 3.9—factor this out-and-back stretch into your overall mileage.
The unmarked trailhead (3290') is at an abandoned roadbed on the right-hand side of
the road. Hike 200 yards along the heavily overgrown trail past chamise, broom, and
wartleaf to a LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST sign at the Ventana Wilderness bound-
ary. To the southeast lie the headwaters of the Nacimiento River.
After 0.2 mile, you'll reach a saddle that offers sweeping views of the San An-
tonio River canyon. Along a series of switchbacks, the trail makes an easily missed
hairpin turn from east to west through head-high brush intermixed with poison oak,
then veers east to north through a dry gully (0.8 mile, 2710'). From here you'll leave
the roadbed and descend the fire-scarred slopes past thriving thickets of tanoak, mad-
rone, and live oak.
The trail soon arrives at the usually reliable headwaters of the San Antonio
River (1.3 miles, 2590'). You'll briefly parallel the drainage past a large fallen oak,
then switchback southwest to the lush canyon floor at Fresno Camp (1.5 miles,
2320'). The first site sits atop a boulder-strewn flat just past the confluence of the river
and the small creek your route paralleled. There's room for up to five tents in the
shade of large maples and sycamores. The second site lies 120 yards upstream atop
two large shady terraces.
Despite its proximity to Cone Peak Road, Fresno Camp remains one of Ventana's
least-visited camps, likely due to the overgrown trail and unmarked trailhead. Judging
from animal prints found along the flood plain, bears, bobcats, and cougars visit camp
more often than humans. Be aware that severe winter storms may flood the camp.