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Wilderness Trail Conditions
and State Park Closures
Interactive Map
Based on VWA Trail Reports forum, internal VWA trailcrew reports, & private reports.
This info provided as a service - my best guess can be flawed or reports may be out-dated.
(If your experience differs, file a Trail Report to help others!)
Closures (only) webpage

INTERACTIVE USE
•  Click/tap on a trail for conditions summary or to read/submit trail report
Also provides "Metrics" tab with trail distances+gain/loss
Note date of latest report - if old, its report may no longer be useful
Please contribute by submitting a trail report after your hike
•  For desktop, mouse hover over a trail gives trail name popup
•  Click/tap on an icon for additional feature information
•  Switch to 'Big Sur Trailmap' for more detailed map
Smartphone users should read
for a better experience !


Data updated:  Nov 6

Full-size interactive map


USAGE  INFO

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. 

   Trail   
 Usetrail 
 Open Rd 
 Gated Rd 
Thin Lines = unrated  trails/roads, shown to supply context:  Dark green = unrated trail Orange = "use trail"Violet = open public road (paved or dirt) Brown = gated road (paved or dirt) closed to vehicles.  State Park trail closures are indicated, but otherwise unrated - 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 vehiclesMagenta 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 Separated 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 Separated barrier icon. 

  Gold Overlay  = USFS wilderness areas 

  Gray Overlay  = wildfires burn area 

SHOWHIDE  Show/Hide Button:   switches between 'show' vs. 'hide' of interactive buttons and legend, to provide more map area when desired. 

Trail ConditionsBig Sur Trailmap  Mode Button:   displayed when interactive buttons are hidden, to quickly switch between 'conditions' vs. 'details' modes. 

 Place Name Search
  Place Name 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:

  • SHOWHIDE 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. 



Hidden features:  

• 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


Technical details:  

• Ratings are nominally for each section between intersections - sometimes more detailed information is available, allowing different ratings for different parts of a section

• Map is usually updated weekly based on latest reports

Zoom level maxima:  16 = "USGS Topo" & "USGS Quad"  ❘  18 = "Terrain"  ❘  20 = "Satellite"

• You can create a browser bookmark to initially display a full-screen interactive Big Sur Trailmap with customized values for the initial mode, lat/lon, zoom, and interactive button display - right-click/long-press at desired location and select 'Display Map-Specific Link URL' - for details, see link creation




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: Trailmap Forum

Disclaimer:  This information is provided 'as is', without warranty of any kind - It is believed the best available but can contain errors.