Dough Flat to Haddock Mountain

At over 71 miles, this is a good-sized backpacking trip in the Sespe Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest. It is a long out-and-back, traveling from Dough Flat Trailhead to the Sespe River Area and on up the the Pine Mountain massif to climb Haddock Mountain. For the most part, this route travels along mostly well-defined trails, including Alder Creek Trail, Sespe River Trail, and Piedra Blanca Trail (also known as the Gene Marshall Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail). Note that the last few miles up to Haddock Mountain involves some route finding and a brief stretch of steep bushwhacking. Thus, this route is for experienced backpackers who are willing to endure some (moderate) hardship to make the summit of Haddock Mountain.
 

From Dough Flat Trailhead, the Alder Creek trail heads directly north, before turning northwest toward Cow Spring and the fascinating rock formations at Stone Corral. As of this writing (summer of 2025), Alder Creek Trail has been recently worked on thanks to hearty efforts from the folks at Los Padres Forest Association, and is in superb condition. After dropping into Alder Creek itself, the trail climbs to Sespe Saddle before making the descent to Sespe Creek. This section is known for the marvelous Sespe Hot Springs located north of our route and up Hot Springs Canyon. Another option for hot springs is at Willet Hot Spring, near Ten Sycamore Flat. We continue on along Sespe Creek, making numerous crossings (where the trail can sometimes seem to disappear). At the junction to the trailhead, we bypass the trail to the often crowded parking lot and continue on to climb toward and on top of the eponymous white rock. 

The route soon meets Piedra Blanca Creek, which we follow as the trail heads continuously up the Pine Mountain massif. This stretch of trail up until Pine Mountain Lodge Camp has also been recently worked on by LPFA and is in excellent shape. Despite this work, be wary of the poison oak along this climb, especially near creek crossings. This route climbs steeply up the Pine Mountain massif, eventually reaching over 7,400ft. at the mountain summit. Note that this elevation can make for extremely different weather conditions than those in the Sespe area. After reaching Haddock Camp, our route leaves the Piedra Blanca Trail to take the ridge to the southwest. This stretch is called Reyes Peak Trail on certain maps. The trail here is relatively easy to follow, but it does disappear at times, especially in one particular stretch on the climb where one is forced to push through a large stretch of buckthorn. The trail leads near the summit of Haddock, and though it continues on to Reyes Peak, this will be our turnaround point of the route.

It is extremely important to note that trail conditions in Los Padres vary drastically from season to season and year to year. Check hikelospadres.com for the most updated trail conditions and water reports, and please share your trip reports on the site upon your return so that everyone can safely explore this wonderful area. Poison oak is seemingly everywhere in Los Padres, including this route. This area can be extremely dry and hot, as well as extremely wet and cold. Be prepared! Additionally, check https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres for current information and important updates in Los Padres National Forest.

The road to Dough Flat closes during the winter, from approximately December 15-April 30. The gate closure adds around 2 1/2 miles one way to the trailhead.