Hiking and walking trails are everywhere in San Luis Obispo County. There are manicured boardwalks (along Moonstone Beach in Cambria, in Morro Bay out to the Rock, for examples), easy trails (the peninsula south of Spooner Cove in Montana de Oro), and well-marked paths up local “hills” like Valencia Peak and Bishop’s Peak.
Local organizations like the Natural History Museum in Morro Bay offer naturalist guided hikes along many of these trails. Experts who know the local flora and fauna make even tough climbs a lot of fun with their knowledge.
For more unusual hikes, contact the local San Luis Obispo County chapter of the Sierra Club at where there is another calendar of local walks. The Sierra Club also sells a guide to trails in San Luis Obispo County if you want a better choice of self-guided hikes.
The website for the San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department also has descriptions of several popular hikes on public lands – Bishop Peak etc.
Just outside of the City of San Luis Obispo is a very large SLO City Park known as “Reservoir Canyon”, which also has the largest waterfall in SLO County (photo above right). Click here for downloadable PDF about this very popular hiking trail. This trail starts very easy, and then becomes more difficult as it begins to ascend the large hill overlooking the city of San Luis Obispo. So you can turn around if it becomes too difficult.
The walk through the Elfin Forest (middle photo above) is very easy, as there is a boardwalk through the park to prevent damage. Perfect for exploring with small children or people with limited mobility. Thre is a free, guided walk on the third Saturday of every month. Each walk has a different theme about this enchanting area.
There is also a book available for purchase “Day Hikes Around San Luis Obispo” by Robert Stone, listing 128 different hikes in SLO County.
