Day Trip Ideas

Day trip · By car

Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas, then the Punch Bowl Hike

An early start. Mass in one of the most beautiful chapels in California, then a canyon hike behind the campus, done before the heat and the crowds, that ends at two cold spring-fed pools. It works on a Saturday, a Sunday or a weekday, because the chapel has an early Mass every day. Bring a change of clothes. You will want the swim.

Mass times checked September 16, 2026 against the college's own Mass calendar, which changes with the academic year. Trail facts from the Forest Service page for Santa Paula Canyon Trail and the college's own description of the hike. Check the Mass calendar the week you go.

1. 5:30AM

   Leave Los Angeles

   Yes, that early. The college puts itself 70 miles north of the city: the 5 to Highway 126 west, the 10th Street exit in Santa Paula, then 10th Street becomes Ojai Road and climbs to the gates. Allow an hour and a half with the roads empty. Pack a change of clothes, a towel, something to eat at the pools, sunscreen and more water than you think.

2. 7:15AM

   Mass in the chapel

   Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, at the head of the quadrangle, was designed by Duncan Stroik and dedicated in 2009. On a Saturday the 7:15 AM Mass is in the extraordinary form, in Latin. On a Sunday the early Mass is at 7:30 AM and on a weekday at 7 AM, both in the ordinary form.

3. 8:15AM

   To the trailhead

   The Santa Paula Canyon Trail starts off Highway 150 just north of the college entrance. Parking there is limited, so come in as few cars as you can. The first mile crosses private land on an easement: keep moving, follow the signs past an oil rig and through the avocado orchard to the red gate, and the national forest begins beyond the second rig.

4. 8:45AM

   Up the canyon while it is cool

   About three miles each way, with creek crossings and some scrambling over boulders. There is little shade later in the day, which is the whole reason for the early start. Go steady: the pools are the reward and there is no need to race them.

5. 10:30AM

   The Punch Bowls

   Two natural pools of spring water below a 25-foot waterfall, just past Big Cone Camp. The college's own word for them is cold. Swim, eat what you carried, and leave the rocks how you found them.

6. 12:00PM

   Back down

   Downhill is quicker, and you will pass the people who slept in on their way up. At the cars, the change of clothes earns its place in the bag.

7. 1:30PM

   Lunch in Santa Paula

   The old downtown is ten minutes back along Ojai Road, and you have earned a proper meal. Then the 126 home, with the whole afternoon still ahead of you.