Montañon Ridge Loop Hike
in California · centroid 26 mi from Oxnard
Great views, for experienced hikers only. Trail From Potato Harbor Overlook to Montañon Ridge is not maintained. Carry a topographic map. This loop can be accessed via Smuggler's Road or via the North Bluff Trail near Potato Harbor.
Distance: 10 miles (round trip from Scorpion Beach) Difficulty: Strenuous
- States
- California
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Oxnard, CA · 26 mi · ~45 min drive
- Centroid coords
- 34.0290°, -119.5902°
About Channel Islands National Park
This trail is inside Channel Islands National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/montanon-ridge-loop-hike.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Montañon Ridge Loop Hike and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Scorpion Canyon Loop Hike
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Cavern Point Loop Hike
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Del Norte Trail Overlook Hike
5 miles from this trail's centroid
California Mission Trail - stage 06 Mission San Buenaventura, Ventura to Mission Santa Barbara
23 miles from this trail's centroid
Becher's Bay Coastal Trail Hike
26 miles from this trail's centroid
California Mission Trail - stage 07 Mission Santa Barbara to Mission Santa Inés
38 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.