McMenemy/Saddlerock/Girard Loop
This is a nice hike in the lower parts of the mountains above Montecito. There is an alternate route to go to Hot Springs, which is a nice natural hot spring that is very hot.
The hike is a loop, or more like a figure 9, that starts at the San Ysidro trailhead, branches off to the McMenemy trail, then forks over to the Saddlerock trail, the returns down the Girard trail back to McMenemy.
There are nice view spots along the way. You can choose to make your summit at the junction with the Girard trail for a 3 mile hike, or at Saddlerock for a 5.5 mile hike.
Begin the hike on San Ysidro Trail at the sign. Stay on the trail and off of private property.
At 2 tenths of a mile, join paved road. Turn left. The trail parallels the road in some spots, or you can follow the road. You may see a chain-link gate across the road. Find the trail to the left of the road rather than go through this gate.
The pavement ends and the dirt road begins with a heavy gate. There is also a trail junction here with the Old Pueblo Trail. Continue through the gate and follow the dirt road.
At 1/2 mile, you will see a junction with McMenemy Trail, marked by a sign. Take this trail.
Immediately cross the creek. Follow the trail and stay off private property.
At just under a mile, you start many shallow switchbacks.
At the 1.5 mile mark is the junction with the Girard trail. There is a nice rock bench and a hitching post. Makes a nice destination if all you wanted was a quick, short hike to a view point.
At this spot, McMenemy trail goes down hill a bit. At 1.5 miles you should see a water tank on the left if you went the right way.
At 2.5 miles there is another junction at a large oak tree. Turn left to go to the Hot Springs trail (which is not listed on this site) on a well-maintained trail. Turn right to go to Saddlerock.
At about 2.75 miles you'll reach the summit. There's a big boulder you can sit on and usually a giant peace sign or heart marked out with rocks on a flat area. Saddlerock is the name of the big rock. This is another good spot to turn around if this is as far as you wanted to go.
To continue on, take the trail to the left of Saddlerock (as you are looking toward the mountains) and head to a junction at some powerlines.
Alternate: Turn left at the power lines to go to the Hot Springs. The hot springs are very hot and it is a popular place for people to soak. The last time I was there it was an oasis of beautiful masonry pools, but I have not seen it after this year's (2023) torrential rains.
At the power lines, turn right onto the Edison Road to continue the loop back to the San Ysidro trail. Follow the Edison Road about half a mile and turn right on the Bud Girard trail at some more powerlines.
The Bud Girard trail will return you to the rock bench and hitching post on McMenemy Trail. You can then take a left to follow McMenemy Trail back to San Ysidro and back to your car.
This loop is about 5.5 to 6 miles total.