Gridley Trail is a 11.1 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Ojai, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
California Travel and Tourism Commision, P.O. Box 1499 , Sacramento, CA, 95812-1499, Phone: 800-862-2543
Directions from Ojai: This trail starts at the north end of Gridley Road and ends on top of Nordhoff Ridge.
Trail is in good shape. Good cool weather today. Steep incline in the beginning but get gradual in the middle amd if you decide to do the peak to the tower, the last mile is steep but well worth it! Overall 14.5 miles round trip if you do the peak. Will definitely do it again!
Great trail. And that hike for a month recovering from a Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Beautiful views of the Ojai Valley. Saw a small rattlesnake. I would not rate this trail “hard” but “moderate. “ Lots of bikers. Well-maintained. You can do this in shorts and not have to worry about poison oak
one of my favorites hikes so far in Ojai, long one, with beautiful mountains view, had the hike pretty much for myself
Great training hike. First mile and a half elevation gain then levels out a bit next couple miles then goes to switch backs. Go early morning in summer to beat the heat.
Love this trail. I’m an Ojai local and I love the different views it offers. Not a lot of shade but a few decent places to stop depending on the time of day. If you get to the top, it’s only another mile to Nordhoff Peak, where there is an observation tower offering an expansive 360° view. Worth the work to get up there, in my opinion.
A great trail! We started at 2:15 and got done by 7:30. It’s a little steep at first, but it’s no biggie after the first mile. Very little shade, so go on a cool day and bring water :)
Very green, constant, mild incline and overall a very pleasant hike. Went on an overcast day, but there'd be little to no shade of the sun was out. Plenty of parking on the road where the trail begins. Overall a really pleasant hike. I'd definitely go again but would do the full 14 mile loop as others have suggested.
By far the greenest trail I've ever done in Southern California, thanks to the April showers we've been getting this month. It's unfortunate that the fire tore through here because the charred remains of the chaparral plants are everywhere, you can imagine the trail was even more beautiful when they were alive. I had the pleasure of an overcast day with a bunch of fog on my trip which covered up this trail's most glaring flaw - the lack of great views, but gave a sort of otherworldly "jurassic park" sort of feel to the trail. Do this trail in the Spring, I think it's probably at its best from March-early May I did the Gridley Trail to Pratt Trail loop counterclockwise from the Gridley trailhead. Full loop using Nordhoff Ridge Road and Fuel Break Road to connect Gridley-Pratt is ~14 miles, 3,500ft elevation gain, but it's easier than it sounds because the grade is so consistent. Pratt is definitely steeper than Gridley, I would probably recommend going up going clockwise instead so it's easier on your knees on the way down. If hiking counterclockwise, it may look like there's a couple ways to get from Pratt to the Gridley trailhead but don't take ANYTHING other than Fuel Break road to get you back. Foothills Trail is not only private property, but the eastern section was heavily damaged by wildfires and never rebuilt or maintained after that.