With majestic views of the Gaviota Coast, Channel Islands, and Santa Ynez Valley, this rugged mountain range is proposed to become a National Scenic Area within the Los Padres National Forest.
Coastal wilderness is very rare in California and nonexistent south of the Monterey District of the Los Padres near Big Sur. Condor Ridge is within the Santa Ynez Mountains, an east-west oriented mountain range where cool northern climates meet with their warm southern counterparts and create an area high in biodiversity. The Santa Ynez false-lupine, a plant with yellow flowers, exists in the Condor Ridge area and nowhere else on earth.
Also located in this area are several headwaters for local coastal drainages that are designated critical habitat for southern steelhead. These creeks and tributaries also provide much needed water resources for local farming and ranching operations.
