Gridley Trail to Nordhoff Peak

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Features Historical Significance · Spring · Views · Wildflowers

The full hike is 14.3 miles to the summit of Nordhoff Peak and back. There are several good spots to rest along the way, and for a shorter hike any of these spots make good turn-around points.

From the trailhead, follow Gridley Trail north through overhanging California lilac to the intersection with Fuelbreak Road Trail (here there is a nice vista point near a grove of Ojai pixie tangerine trees). This section of trail crosses over private property, so please be courteous and stay on the trail.

The intersection is about 0.4 miles along the trail; turning around here would make for a very short and easy hike. At the intersection with Fuelbreak Road Trail, stay right and follow a dirt road paralleling avocado groves. As the trail enters the northwest side of Gridley Canyon, hikers are treated to cooler temperatures, and a path lined with ferns and maple trees.

Gridley Springs is about 2.8 miles along the trail and makes for a nice rest or is another good place to turn around if wishing for a shorter trip. There is a horse trough at the spring, but most of the former trail camp was burned during the "great Wheeler Fire of '85."

North of Gridley Springs, the trail narrows from a dirt road into a trail and enters an eastern fork of Gridley Canyon. It follows switchbacks past bay trees and the sedimentary rocks of the Topatopa Mountains. Gridley Trail ends at Gridley Saddle on Nordhoff Ridge Road about 5.9 miles into the hike. Turn left to head west down Nordhoff Ridge Road; at 6.9 miles turn right to head up to the fire lookout tower and the summit of Nordhoff Peak (4,426 feet).

Beautiful views reward those who make it to the top. To the west are the high peaks of the Topatopa Range; Pine Mountain Range is to the north, and Ojai Valley, Lake Casitas, and the Pacific Ocean all lay to the south. Getting all the way to this point, at the summit of Nordhoff Peak, makes a round trip of nearly fourteen and a half miles long.

Thanks to John McKinney, The Trailmaster, for sharing this trail description. To learn more about trails in California, check out his guides at The Trailmaster Store.

California lilac (ceanothus), pixie tangerines, ferns, maple and bay trees, and avocado groves.

The town of Ojai was originally named Nordhoff after German-born Charles Nordhoff, an editor with the New York Evening Post. Nordhoff traveled extensively throughout California, and in his book "California: for Health, Pleasure and Residence" he wrote about the valley; as a result the hamlet developed into a town. In 1874, the townsfolk named it Nordhoff in his honor. However, in 1916, due to anti-German sentiment as a result of World War I, the town name was changed to Ojai. The peak behind Ojai retains the name of Nordhoff.