Widely available street parking at the trailhead on either side of the street

Cellphone coverage and Wi-Fi are not available

No bathroom no drinking water

Trailhead is at the end of the street on your right

Immediately after exiting the street, the trails split into three paths

Take the middle trail 
This trail will hug the side of a small mountain on the left and head towards the ocean. Trail will lean to the left

Come to a T and take the right

Trail will now head east 

Path goes over a bridge and an area shaded by oaks and sycamores

You will come to a place where two trails branch out making a Y. 
Veer to the one on the right (looks like the center of a peace sign.) Note a trail indicator

Trail heads into chaparral scrub and grasslands

Trail exits onto Santa Maria Road, a non-county maintained single track asphalt road for cars and trucks, frequented by people on horseback

Most important: 

• Trailhead starts up again on the other side of Santa Maria Road, but the trailhead is not located immediately across the way. 
Consider the path just taken as a wiggly stem.  The next part of the trail will make a lollipop loop and Santa Maria Road is the base of the circular part of the candy

Go right down Santa Maria Road, and walk about 300 yards and find a white gate and MRCA poster. Head up past this gate and back onto the trail. Trail heads upwards and and then gradually veers left around a hill on your left

• Across the distance is a large white house on a hilltop on the right

• Along the trail, there are three trail markers with a cute bench icon. Veer left at the first two

The last trail marker leads to the right 

The bench is very soon after that in full view on the trail on your right

To finish the lollipop, head up the hill behind the bench and veer left

Trail follows along a modest hill on the left

Telephone poles in the distance is an indicator that Santa Maria Road is near

Corrals and horse stables on the right is an indicator that Santa Maria Road is extremely near

Exit onto Santa Maria Road (asphalt)  

Turn left and walk down hill on Santa Maria Road to finish the (very rough) circle of the lollipop. Watch for traffic

Re-enter the park trail on the right side of Santa Maria Road

• Note: there are multiple trails that exit / enter Santa Maria on the right side. For confirmation of the correct return path, peek down Santa Maria  Road and look for that white gate where the entrance trailhead was located, then zip back to the correct trailhead on the north side of Santa Maria Road

• Follow the meandering lollipop stem back to Viewridge

Skill level 2.5; moderate, easy to wind up on the wrong path which increases length of trip

Hiking path with some uneven terrain

Bring water, a hat, sunscreen, extra jacket, closed toe shoes, portable cellphone charger and printed map

⅔ of the trail has no shade

No wheelchair accessibility

Be prepared for folks on mountain bikes or horses; for safety of everyone, step off the trail and wait quietly while they pass

Note plants and landscape features en route; look backwards at trail changes as this viewpoint; familiarity with specific placemarkers help for orientation on return trip