Mode:
For clarity, the 'Trail Conditions' map does not include less needed details
(such as dirt vs. paved roads, water sources, 'use' camps, scenic points, etc.) -
instead, such information is provided by the more detailed 'Big Sur Trailmap' mode.
| Clear - Wilderness Freeway |
| Passable - Clear |
| Difficult - Passable |
| Impassable - Difficult |
| Lately Lost (tread bits only) |
| Officially Closed to Hikers |
Trail Ratings:
use my distillation of
VWA (Ventana Wilderness Alliance) Trail Reports
and private reports, parsing out
different ratings for different trail sections -
use at your own discretion.
Ratings consider
"defined tread" more important than
"clear of brush",
since knowing where the route lies is more important than the ease of following it.
Clicking a trail line opens a window giving a summary and date for the latest reports, with links to the detailed trail report.
Trail ratings are limited by the date of the last trail report,.
A summary might describe only a single trail section, so reading individual reports is suggested -
and strongly suggested for "orange" or "red" trails.
Red means hikers are losing the trail and not getting through, or getting through only with great difficulty, with much brush and little tread to follow.
My color ratings use Ventana/SilverPeak wilderness norms, where brush grows quickly and trail maintenance is sporadic - a "passable" trail here might be considered "difficult" in other areas.
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Trail
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Usetrail
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Open Rd
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Gated Rd
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Thin Lines = unrated trails/roads, shown to supply context:
Dark green = unrated trail,
Orange = "use trail",
Violet = open public road (paved or dirt),
Turquoise = gated road (paved or dirt) closed to vehicles.
State Park trail
closures are indicated but otherwise are unrated
(since no VWA reports are available) - if open, they should be "passable" or better.
Hiking Closures:
Magenta lines = officially closed trails (hiking not permitted) or
roads officially closed to both hikers and vehicles.
Magenta icons = officially closed sites (campgrounds/camps/rec.areas)
Vehicle Closures:
Turquoise lines = gated roads or
roads officially closed to vehicles (but not closed to hikers).
For longer-term closures of roads normally open, a barrier
icon is also displayed.
Note:
due to road scraping budget limitations, Monterey County has been officially "closing" some dirt roads with a "soft" closure - they are still being driven (carefully with 4WD when dry, with the usual cautions) by residents and others - such are shown
in turquoise with a separated-barrier 
icon.
Gold Overlay
= USFS wilderness areas
Gray Overlay
= 2020/2021 wildfires burn area
SHOW⇄
HIDE
Show/Hide Button:
switches between 'show' vs. 'hide' of interactive buttons and legend,
to provide more map area when desired.
Trail Conditions⇄
Big Sur Trailmap
Mode Button:
displayed when interactive buttons are hidden, to quickly switch between 'conditions' vs. 'details' modes.
Search
Search Box:
(if not visible, click SHOW button) Partial word/name searches allowed - all matches containing the search phrase will be displayed.
Clicking on a found name will mark and move to that location.
If no Big Sur Trailmap match found, gives Google search results,
with location, for Big Sur region.
VERY USEFUL if unfamiliar with Big Sur but do know a (partial) trail or place name
If unsure of entire name or spelling, use a partial word/name - e.g. 'Bot' or 'chers' or 'Gap' will find 'Bottchers Gap'.
Also, inputting a latitude,longitude (e.g. 36.1,‑121.5) moves map to that location.
Map-only link:
For bookmarks, a map-only full-size display
(with controls initially hidden) is at:
https://bigsurtrailmap.net/trailconditionsmap.html
Legend: see
map legend link
Smartphone Usage Info:
The full-screen version of the trail conditions map
provides a much better small-screen experience than this map-in-a-window webpage!
Smartphone users should read info provided on this webpage once, then use the full-screen webpage for subsequent usage.
(Still, this is not a smartphone-intended slimmed-down app and its download has much data - so is susceptible to small-screen limitations and slow display times.)
For a better small-screen experience, use the following tips:
• SHOW⇄HIDE button gives less/more available map area by showing/hiding the interactive buttons - for small screens, the interactive buttons should hidden, displayed only when needed
• With interactive buttons hidden, a map title box appears - tapping it will switch between 'Trail Conditions' and 'Big Sur Trailmap' map modes
• Tapping the map, away from a trail or icon, removes any displayed pop-up bubble or highlighting
• Wait time can be reduced by zooming in, so fewer lines/icons are displayed
• Often works best in "landscape" orientation
FYI if a small-screen device is detected the following changes occur:
• Hides interactive buttons when pop-up bubble opens
• No mouse "hover" display of trail or icon names
• Uses larger fonts and buttons, narrower info bubbles
Note: Smartphone/Touchscreen display features depend upon user feedback reported to the
Trailmap Forum, since I rarely use my smartphone.
• Popup info bubbles can be closed by clicking on: the map or a provided bubble link or the bubble's top-right corner "X" or the "Escape" key
• Entering a lat/lon ala "36.78,-123.45" in the "Search" box will place a magenta marker
and center the map at that location
• Right-click/long-press on map gives more functionality, such as:
• Marker to display lat/lon of that location (can be moved with mouse drag)
• Ruler marker(s) to display distance from first marker (can be moved with mouse drag)
• URL link of current map for bookmarking or sharing (uses current map center, zoom, and mode - includes
currently displayed magenta trail/camp highlighting or lat/lon marker)
• Single-page-printable 5½x7½ mi Trailmap section for downloading More section map information
• Local 10-day weather forecast for surrounding 2x2km area
If you find an error (or for smartphone users something needing improvement) you can do your bit to help improve the map by reporting it:
