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.
February 21, 2021February 20, 2021hard.. lots of steep hills but it was fun
February 20, 2021February 5, 2021Trail 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!
January 16, 2021January 6, 2021Great
December 29, 2020December 24, 2020Great trail, almost all is runable. Rocky and technical from the start but smooths out for the majority of the trail. Incredible landscape of old and new growth, plus the exposed mountains. Would recommend and will be returning!
November 4, 2020October 24, 2020Great 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
October 18, 2020one of my favorites hikes so far in Ojai, long one, with beautiful mountains view, had the hike pretty much for myself
October 12, 2020September 15, 2020Beautiful
September 2, 2020Great 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.
August 8, 2020The trail was a constant climb with little shade. It was a lot of fun, I just wish the views were better.
August 1, 2020July 28, 2020Love 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.
July 28, 2020June 20, 2020Best for mountain biking maybe.
June 5, 2020Love this trail! The first part is super steep but the view is amazing. Then as you round the mountain the wild flowers are in bloom, the butterflies are out, and it’s beautiful. I love this trail it’s an out and back so you can go as far and just turn around.
May 23, 2020Great hike! Pretty steady incline with switchbacks galore. Very exposed, so bring your sunscreen & plenty of water!
May 2, 2020A 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 :)
April 22, 2020Did this hike on a Wednesday, not that many hikers, but a fair number of mountain bikers. Nice views.
April 18, 2020Very 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.
April 18, 2020By 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.
