This area is accessed by crossing to the north side of the Santa Ynez River. If the river is flowing, boots are required to get across. If the river is in high flow, access might be forbidden - check for signage posted at the entrance gate. Realtime information on streamflow is available online for a nearby stream gauge.

A fee is required for admission to Live Oak Camp and Live Oak Trails, payable to Santa Barbara County Parks, which administers these sites.  One can pay by envelope at Live Oak Camp or at the Lake Cachuma entrance located a few miles west on Hwy 154.

A small population of Yellow-billed Magpies are towards the lakes edge (a long walk from the river crossing).  A Great Blue Heron and Great Egret rookery is nearly impossible to see immediately east of Live oak Camp, but their sounds are evident from April to July.  Prairie Falcons were frequently seen in 2021 and 2022.  This is also Black Bear and Mountain Lion country.

Restrooms are at Live Oak Camp on the south side of the river.  Horseback riding is popular here and this site was originally only available for equestrian use before hiking access was granted in the early 2020s.  Hiking is permitted; biking and dogs are not permitted. Grazing may still occur under an agreement with Rancho San Fernando Rey.  Verizon internet coverage is throughout. Access is occasionally constrained because the county leases Live Oak Camp and parts of Live Oak trails to large New Age gatherings.

A trails map is posted at Live Oak Camp; a photo of that may be your best map to the trails. There are lots of trails to explore.

There are two distinct settings here.  First, one encounters the river bottom and its oxbow beneath a cliff leading to the lake.  Or one can climb a steep hill that lead to an upland mesa on which there is an extensive trail system.  There are several seeps along the trails that, in wet years, persist beyond the rainy period.  A superb riparian wetland is a 400 meter section of Horse Creek as it joins the lake.  Other trails lead through chaparral and short grass Valley Oak Savannah.