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A popular Ventura County hiking area will remain off-limits for the next two months as officials look to stave off potentially unsafe crowding conditions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Under an order from the Los Padres National Forest, part of Santa Paula Canyon — from the forest boundary to about three miles above the area known as the Punch Bowl — will remain closed until Sept. 30.

Also closed will be the Big Cone, Cross and Jackson Hole campgrounds and the Last Chance Trail.

“This extension was implemented due to the increasingly heavy vehicle traffic and large groups of visitors potentially creating conditions where recommended physical distancing protocol is not possible,” officials said of the new restrictions.

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