Best backpacking trips near Santa Maria, CA

Ranked by straight-line distance from Santa Maria (population ~109,707) to each trip's trailhead. Drive times are rough estimates — mountain roads are slower than they look.

Santa Maria backpacking at a glance

Matias Potrero Trail is the closest documented backpacking trip to Santa Maria — the Matias Potrero Trail Trailhead trailhead sits roughly 50 miles away, about 56 minutes by car. Of the 12 closest routes, 4 are within a two-hour drive of town, spanning Los Padres backcountry, Sespe Wilderness, Ventana Wilderness and Sequoia NF backcountryTrailheads for these trips sit between 300 and 7,726 feet, so you can pick a low, warm-season start or a high alpine route depending on the month.

9 of these 12 routes need no wilderness permit — useful for spontaneous weekends. Across the twelve closest trips, the months hikers rate best are May, October, March.If you want the gentlest introduction, Carmel River Trail climbs only 800 feet over 13 miles; the biggest single-trip climb nearby is Pine Ridge Trail (Ventana Wilderness) at 4,700 feet of total gain over 22.3 miles.

#	Trip	Miles away	Est. drive	Distance	Gain	Difficulty	Permit
1	Matias Potrero Trail Los Padres backcountry	50 mi	~56 min	9.5 mi	—	25	None
2	Gene Marshall–Piedra Blanca Trail Sespe Wilderness	67 mi	~74 min	18.6 mi	4,000 ft	36	None
3	Buck Creek Trail Los Padres backcountry	92 mi	~102 min	22.4 mi	—	45	None
4	Santa Lucia Trail Los Padres backcountry	107 mi	~118 min	29.2 mi	—	35	None
5	Big Sur Trail Ventana Wilderness	112 mi	~124 min	8.5 mi	1,800 ft	20	None
6	Pine Ridge Trail Los Padres backcountry	113 mi	~125 min	44.6 mi	—	55	None
7	Pine Ridge Trail (Ventana Wilderness) Ventana Wilderness	113 mi	~125 min	22.3 mi	4,700 ft	44	None
8	Carmel River Trail Ventana Wilderness	121 mi	~134 min	13 mi	800 ft	22	None
9	Liebel Peak Trail Sequoia NF backcountry	121 mi	~135 min	16.2 mi	—	40	Required
10	Freeman Creek Trail Sequoia NF backcountry	136 mi	~151 min	10.4 mi	—	25	Required
11	La Jolla Trail Los Padres backcountry	137 mi	~152 min	9 mi	—	10	None
12	Lewis Camp Trail Sequoia NF backcountry	137 mi	~153 min	43.6 mi	—	60	Required

Three ways to start backpacking from Santa Maria

Closest trailhead: Matias Potrero Trail — about 50 miles / 56 minutes from town.
Gentlest outing: La Jolla Trail — difficulty 10/100 (Easy), 2–2 days.
Biggest adventure: Pine Ridge Trail (Ventana Wilderness) — 22.3 miles and 4,700 ft of climbing.

Distances are great-circle miles from Santa Maria to trailhead coordinates; actual road distances will be longer. Town data: Wikidata SPARQL (CC0), population values derived from U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Backpacking near Santa Maria: common questions

What is the closest backpacking trip to Santa Maria?

Matias Potrero Trail is the closest documented trip to Santa Maria at roughly 50 miles (about 56 minutes of driving) from the Matias Potrero Trail Trailhead trailhead.

Do I need a permit to backpack near Santa Maria?

The closest documented trip, Matias Potrero Trail, does not require a wilderness permit — but many other California routes do, so always check.

When is the best season to backpack near Santa Maria?

For Matias Potrero Trail — the closest trip to Santa Maria — the best months are March, April, May, October, November.