The southern end of the trail, known as the Ventura River Trail, follows the east side of the Ojai Freeway about 3 mi (4.8 km) through the industrialized Ventura Oil Field before crossing under the freeway adjacent to Crooked Palm Road.

[1] The trail then follows the west side of highway 33 another 3 mi (4.8 km) through the former Canet oil refinery and the Ventura water purification plant to Foster Park at the south edge of Casitas Springs.

From 2 mi (3.2 km) of two percent uphill grade, the trail emerges from the woodlands along the west side of Oak View to rejoin the highway from a high fill across Devils Gulch overlooking the river.

The northern end of the trail runs more than a mile easterly from the intersection through Ojai a few blocks south of highway 150.

The 15.8-mile trail (25.4 km), with the steady grade of the former Southern Pacific Railway right-of-way, is used by cyclists, walkers and horseback riders.