View source for Chumash Wilderness

{{Short description|Protected wilderness area in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox protected area
 | name              = Chumash Wilderness
 | iucn_category     = Ib
 | iucn_ref          = <ref>[https://www.protectedplanet.net/11115292 Protected Planet Website]- Retrieved April 17, 2023</ref>
 | photo             = Chumash Wilderness trailhead.jpg
 | photo_alt         = 
 | photo_caption     = Trailhead into the Chumash Wilderness, immediately west of the summit of [[Mount Pinos]]
 | photo_width       = 
 | map               = California#USA
 | relief            = 1
 | map_caption       = Location in California##Location in United States
 | location          = [[Ventura County, California|Ventura]] / [[Kern County, California|Kern]] counties, [[California]], [[United States]]
 | nearest_city      = [[Bakersfield, California]]
 | coordinates       = {{coord|34|49|0|N|119|10|0|W|region:US|display=inline, title}}
 | area              = {{convert|38,150|acre|km2}}
 | established       = 1992
 | visitation_num    = 
 | visitation_year   = 
 | governing_body    = [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]]
}}

The '''Chumash Wilderness''' is a {{convert|38150|acres}} [[wilderness area]] within the southern [[Los Padres National Forest]]. It is located in the [[Transverse Ranges]], in northern [[Ventura County, California|Ventura County]] and southwestern [[Kern County, California|Kern County]] in [[California]].

The wilderness was created by the U.S. Congress as part of the [[Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act of 1992]] (Public Law 102–301). The same legislation also established the [[Garcia Wilderness|Garcia]], Machesna Mountain, [[Matilija Wilderness|Matilija]], [[Sespe Wilderness|Sespe]], and [[Silver Peak Wilderness|Silver Peak]] Wilderness areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=21118|title=George Bush: Statement on Signing the Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act|work=The American Presidency Project|access-date=20 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite act |title=Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act |date=June 19, 1992  |url= https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-106/pdf/STATUTE-106-Pg242.pdf|access-date= January 19, 2018}}</ref>

==Geography==
The Chumash Wilderness includes most of the highest terrain in Ventura County. The nearest towns are in the [[Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass]] region, including the unincorporated communities of [[Frazier Park, California|Frazier Park]] to the east, [[Lockwood Valley, California|Lockwood Valley]] and [[Cuddy Valley]] to the south,  [[Pine Mountain Club, California|Pine Mountain Club]] to the north. The [[Cuyama Valley]] region is to the west

The wilderness area extends from just west of the summit of [[Mount Pinos]] ({{convert|8,831|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}) to [[Cerro Noroeste]] (Mount Abel) to the west, and south into the badlands north of Lockwood Valley Road. Since Mount Pinos, Cerro Noroeste, and the [[Pine Mountain Club, California|Pine Mountain Club]] are developed with paved roads, they did not qualify for inclusion in the wilderness, which wraps partially around them. The highest point in the Chumash Wilderness is [[Sawmill Mountain]], at {{convert|8,818|ft|m|abbr=on}}.

Major trailheads into the wilderness can be found at Mount Pinos as well as Cerro Noroeste/Mount Abel.  From the Mount Pinos parking area, the wilderness trailhead is approximately 2 miles (3&nbsp;km) along a dirt road with a locked gate.

Vegetation within the wilderness includes [[chaparral]] at lower elevations, and conifers at higher elevations. Some of the badlands near the southern edge of the wilderness are almost barren of vegetation, and include steep slopes with knife-edge ridges. Snow is frequent from fall until late spring at the highest elevations. Rain is rare in the summer, and wildfires are natural in the [[fire ecology]] based [[habitat]]s.

Characteristic fauna of the wilderness include [[American black bear|black bear]], [[mountain lion]], [[bobcat]], as well as the endangered [[California condor]]. The wilderness is at the heart of the historic range of this large [[endangered species]] of scavengers.

==See also==
* [[Sespe Condor Sanctuary]]
* [[Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass]]
* {{C|Wilderness areas of California}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/recreation/wilderness/ Wildernesses within the Los Padres National Forest]
* [http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=wildView&WID=122 Description at Wilderness.net]
* [https://maps.usgs.gov/padus/#share=g-f2eb93191a2628569d06edb0f43cfac0 U.S. Geological Survey Map] at the U.S. Geological Survey Map Website. Retrieved April 17, 2023.

{{Protected Areas of California|NLCS}}
{{Ventura County, California|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Los Padres National Forest]]
[[Category:Mt. Pinos Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest]]
[[Category:Wilderness areas of California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Ventura County, California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Kern County, California]]
[[Category:Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1992]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in California]]