Camino Cielo Road is a road which traverses the ridge-line of the Santa Ynez Mountains of Southern California. Geographically, it is divided into eastern and western sections, and is an important passage for adjacent inholdings in the area, for fire prevention and firefighting purposes, access to communications facilities, and to various recreational areas. The majority of the road is within the boundaries of the Los Padres National Forest. It was built during the First World War.
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West Camino Cielo (U.S. Forest Service Route 5N19) originates near the summit of San Marcos Pass on California State Route 154 and proceeds west, following the ridgeline of the Santa Ynez Mountains and eventually terminating at Refugio Road, which leads either to the Gaviota coast by a single-lane paved road, or to the Santa Ynez Valley by a single-lane dirt road. Local residences in the area are mostly concentrated in a strip parallel to California State Route 154, though others dot the road heading west. The road provides access to locations such as the popular climbing area Lizard's Mouth, the Winchester Gun Club, and most notably Ronald Reagan's Rancho del Cielo. On a less pleasant note, the body of Nicholas Markowitz was buried in a shallow grave near Lizard's Mouth after his abduction and murder in August, 2000.
East Camino Cielo (U.S. Forest Service Route 5N12) climbs steeply after departing east from California State Route 154, proceeding to La Cumbre Peak, the highest mountain as viewed from Santa Barbara. It passes the terminus of Painted Cave Road, and serves as a back route to the substantial inholding around Laurel Springs Ranch. Gibraltar Road descends the front side of the mountain range, ending behind the Riviera section of Santa Barbara. East Camino Cielo continues east along the ridgeline above Montecito and Carpinteria, becoming a dirt road just past Romero Saddle, and providing access to the upper Santa Ynez Valley and the back country.
Both East and West Camino Cielo are keystones of the wildfire prevention effort in Santa Barbara County. Due to the nature of chaparral brushfires, fire breaks are often the only practical solution, and the road crucially serves to keep fires from jumping the ridge-line and moving down the canyons into Goleta and/or Santa Barbara. To this end, the local inholdings govern themselves through a Wildlands Resident's Association, which meets periodically to coordinate preparedness efforts. The local volunteer fire department, centered around the community of Painted Cave, has won local recognition for its rapid response time. During both the Tea Fire and the Gap Fire, the Painted Cave Volunteer Fire Department were first responders, using the road to rapidly move men and material through otherwise inaccessible backcountry.