Hines Peak & Topatopa Bluff ( Location : Ventura County , about 14 miles east - northeast of Ojai , 85 miles from Los Angeles ) Date : May 17 , 2017 10 : 39 ~ 15 : 58 ( 5 h 19 m ) Course : Parking Spot ( 10 : 39 ; 5 , 500 ’ ) ~ Topatopa Bluff Trail Junction ( 11 : 05 ; 1 . 0 Mile ; 6 , 040 ’ ) ~ Bottom of Hines Peak ( 11 : 47 ; 2 . 9 Miles ; 6 , 045 ’ ) ~ Knife - ridge ( 12 : 18 ) ~ Hines Peak Summit ( 12 : 57 ; 3 . 4 Miles ; 6 , 704 ’ ) ~ Group Photo ( 13 : 10 ) ~ Knife - ridge ( 13 : 50 ) ~ Topatopa Bluff Trail Junction ( 14 : 40 ; 5 . 8 Miles ; 6 , 040 ’ ) ~ Topatopa Bluff Summit ( 15 : 22 ; 6 . 8 Miles ; 6 , 367 ’ ) ~ Parking ( 15 : 58 ; 7 . 8 Miles ; 5 , 500 ’ ); Total Elevation Gain 2 , 410 ’ With : Sierra Club HPS Team ( Leader : Peter & Ignacia Doggett ; Jinoak Chung ) 7 Members ( Ojai Ranger Station for Permit Pick up : 08 : 30 ; Gate : 09 : 17 ; ParkingSpot : 10 : 21 ) DRIVING ROUTE 2 Take US 101 and SR 33 to the town of Ojai . From the intersection of SR 150 and SR 33 in Ojai , go north on SR 33 for 14 . 7 miles to a road on the right signed " Rose Valley - 4 ". Turn right . Go 3 . 1 miles to a fork on the right . Turn right . Drive into the campground . There is a road with a locked gate on the west side of the campground . Use the combination supplied with your permit to unlock the gate and lock it behind you . Note your odometer and go as follows : At 2 . 2 miles , junction with the Nordhoff Ridge Road ( 22 W 15 ) . Turn left ( east ) . At 3 . 7 miles , pass through a wire gate . At 3 . 9 miles a saddle with a duck on the south side . This is the parking spot for Chief Peak . At 7 . 2 miles , fork with a sign " Road Ends 3 Miles ". Keep left . At 8 . 4 miles , a sign " Trail 22 W 08 " and road forks . Take the main road ( right fork ) . At 10 . 3 miles , a permanent barrier and a sign " Trail 21 W 08 ". Park here ( limited parking ) . There is more parking available 0 . 1 mile back on bump 5479 '. HIKING ROUTE 2 From the parking area ( 5440 +'), hike past the gate east along the road up to saddle 6040 +' and over bump 6204 '. Go down to the next saddle 6040 +' at the end of the road . From here go southeast up the narrow ridge following a faint use trail up to the summit . The summit is marked by a sign " Hines Peak ". SPECIAL CONDITIONSThe Nordhoff Ridge Road isopen for driving ( 4 WD vehicles only ) under permit from the Forest Service . Contact the Forest Service Office in Ojai for information : ( 805 ) 646 - 4348 Hikers have had troublewith obtaining the correct gate combination . Below are some suggestions made bySandy Sperling , Byron Prinzmetal and the District Ranger : First of all you need to call ahead of time or visit the Ojai Ranger Station ahead of your planned hike date to obtain your permit and the gate combination . You can not , as of this writing , obtain the permit and gate combination by visiting the ranger station the day you want the permit . Call or visit the ranger station in Ojai Monday - Friday during business hours as close to your hiking date as possible to verify and re - verify the lock combinations . Make sure the combination ( s ) you are given are for the gate you intend to go through and not some other gate . Be aware that rain closes the gate entirely , and that the lock combinations will change more frequently in the case of rain . Ask for the previous and next combinations as the combination changes regularly . You may be fortunate if given the wrong combination to have someone let you in , but you will need to find someone with the correct combination who is willing to give it to you so you can get out . When you pick up your permit , check all the other permits and permit copies in the pickup box for other combinations . Write these down in case yours doesn ' t work . ***