Nordhoff Peak a hidden gem in California's Los Padres National Forest

Matstock4

New member
I wanted to share a hidden gem to the forum in Nordhoff Peak near Ojai, CA. It's in the Los Padres National Forest and would make for an awesome weekend trip. Here are some of my pics and the video showing how crazy the lack of visibility was getting up to the peak.

There's a free permit required so it keeps the trail free and clear of riff raff.
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Fog and visibility was something else... pretty sketchy to be honest. The video has the footage of 5-15ft of visibility coming up.
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Suddenly the cloud cover started to clear and the stars became more visible!
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Then BOOM the sky lit up with stars!
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My buddy creepin on the tower, lol
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The top of the tower had amazing views!
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The lights under the clouds was Ojai and the ones out in the distance we speculate was Ventura and Los Angeles. It was awesome regardless who's lights those were!
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And of course you got to get pics of the campsite and the rigs!
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Matstock4

New member
Thanks & no problem. All primitive campsites with maybe a fire ring. That being said there is a campground down below that you could stay at and take a day trip up to the peaks. That's the Rose Valley campground or even further downhill the Wheeler Gorge campground. Hope that helps!
 

Matstock4

New member
I didn't think the morning could top that night, but I was wrong! It was even more spectacular for the sunrise. Even with 3 hours of sleep I got up and got some amazing photos.
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It was pretty cold, but the shots were worth it all!
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Then when the sun finally peaked out from behind the mountain....
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Even the old Fire Lookout Tower glistened in the sun!!
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Quite possibly the best coffee I've ever had!
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On our way down there were still spots with 365 degree views... amazing
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You can see it in the left corner of the picture above... the picture below shows our campsite and tower still peaking through the ocean of clouds
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I wish we had spent a weekend at the peak and the surrounding trails, but the 18hrs we were there was priceless!
 

Matstock4

New member
The 2nd video shows the trail we came up on from the evening before and it was completely different with the parting of the clouds. You will also want to see all the time lapses of the clouds swirling around in the video. It's almost as mesmerizing as a watching a campfire. Well hope you all enjoy, thanks!
 

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