Smith Spring Trail — Attraction in Carlsbad

Nice trail with some good views! We did this trail in the middle of the day which we would not recommend. While it does offer some shade, it was not enough for us. Definitely bring a good amount of water if you decide to try it out midday. It took us approximately an hour and a half to complete, including plenty of breaks. (For context, we are moderately in shape people and do not hike too often.)

We did the trail clockwise and while most people were doing it counterclockwise, I think clockwise is the way to go.

It cost $10 pp. This is minor, but we did have trouble with the provided envelopes and were concerned our cash would fall out. If you're doing a lot of other NPS trips you may want to consider getting the...

I did this trail in October 2020. We assumed it wouldn't be very long or hard, as it was marked as moderate. However, we did it in mid-afternoon, when it was in the Mid-80s. We had also already done 8 miles earlierin the day. I would recommend doing this trail clockwise, not in the afternoon, and not when you've already done a lot of hiking for the day. When you go counterclockwise, there is a lot if steps, straight up. It could be hard for some, in the heat. Despite all of this, it still was a nice trail. The spring comes out of nowhere, and is definitely a...

We hiked this trail in December and the weather was really pleasant. We started at the Frijole ranch museum and per recommendations from evereyone here, did the loop counter clockwise, covering Manzanita springs first. They were right, its really pretty that way. The trail slowly picks up some elevation (not so strenous), through bushes and some creeks and gets us to Smith springs.From there its completely downhill and we got to the bottom within a few mins. Very...