.jpg)
Central County Mountain Bike Trails:
~Cabrillo Peaks~
Cabrillo Peaks (SLO): Portola Point Singletrack Loop Trail at Cabrillo Peaks has miles of single track ranging from beginning to intermediate levels. There are many trails that seem to resemble a maze but it's hard to get lost because if you hit a dead end trail just turn around and go back. There are lots of challenging climbs with rewarding down hills and hardly any flat riding.
~Mountain biker coming down Cerro San Luis~
Cerro San Luis (SLO): The fire road is approximately two miles to the top of the hill with some tough climbs. From the peak of Cerro San Luis Mountain you can drop down the infamous Rock Garden Trail which is an advanced steep single track trail with lots of rocks and drops. This will ultimately connect with the lower Lemon Grove Trail which is very fun and technical singletrack. You can ride around the entire mountain on all singletrack with lots of different side trails and jumps to offer. Ultimately, you can get about 10 miles of great riding, but watch out for the multitude of users on the trails. The mountain is very popular to hiking as well as mountain biking. Also, stay clear of the poison oak plants when riding through the beautiful tree cover on the north side of the mountain.
~East Cuesta Grade~
East Cuesta Grade (SLO, top off the grade on highway 101): On a clear day you can see the Oceano Dunes and Pismo Beach to the south west, the Seven Sisters, and Morro Rock to the northwest. The road takes you up approximately 5 miles until your reach private property. There is a trail that drops down to Lopez Lake near the top, you'll see a large parking lot on the left, but is closed to bikes, but open to hikers. Take in the views and ride back down.
<No Photo at this time>
Irish Hills (SLO, near Prefumo Canyon Road.): You can access this trail from Madonna Road or the parking lot on Prefumo Canyon Road. It is a rather short ride but with challenging climbs and fast down hills. If you travel far enough you can find a couple of caves and maybe even a mine.
~New Johnson Ranch Trail~
Johnson Ranch (SLO): A new single track trail that was built for multiple users and has magnificent scenery. It is fairly easy and is only a couple miles to loop around. This is a great trail for beginning mountain bikers and for the experienced riders that are looking for a workout to loop around and around the trail. Watch out for joggers and walkers along the narrow single track. Johnson Ranch can be accessed at the intersection of South Higuera and Ontario Road alongside Hwy 101.
~MDO~
Montana De Oro State Park (West of Slo and South of Morro Bay): Montana De Oro or commonly known as "MDO" has multiple trails for all levels of riders. After riding, be sure to visit Spooner Cove to check out the tide pools. It is possible to ride around MDO on entirely just single track. There is also a new Ridge Trail, Hazzard Peak, which is a moderate level of difficulty trail. The new trail is more user friendly than the old trail that existed and should serve more riders now.
~Morning Glory cutting through the petrified forest~
Morning Glory (SLO): Accessing Morning Glory is easiest to exit off Hwy1 and either ride or drive up the Grade to TV Towers Road. You can also start at Stagecoach Road and ride up from the top of the grade. Originally, Morning Glory was built by the Central Coast Concerned Mountain Bikers as a trail between Shooters and Botanicals trails. Now, Morning Glory has developed to become one of the most popular single track rides in San Luis Obispo County. When you turn off of TV Tower Road you are actually on Botanicals for about a mile and then eventually you turn off onto Morning Glory. The first section of Morning Glory is very technical with lots of switchbacks and opens into fun single track. At the end of Morning Glory, you will run into Shooters and can either continue riding down through Poly Canyon or go up Shooters back to TV Tower Road.
~Riding up Poly Canyon~
Poly Canyon (SLO, Cal Poly): Poly Canyon is the base of many trails. Start at the campus of Cal Poly and jump onto the fire road carving through the hills. You will ride past many properties of Cal Poly and go through a gate. As you start to climb uphill you will notice a trail off to your left, which is Tough and Dirty Slide. You can either take Tough and Dirty Slide or continue along the fire road. Tough and Dirty Slide is single track but not to strenuous. After a few miles of climbing fire road, you will eventually reach the top of Poly Canyon. You can see Tough and Dirty Slide to the left. At the peak of Poly Canyon you can either turn around and ride Tough and Dirty Slide or ride the downhill fire road. You can also ride along the train tracks north and eventually run into shooters at about four miles into your ride. You can ride shooters down towards the poultry unit at Cal Poly and head back to campus.
~Start of Roller Coasters~
Roller Coasters (SLO): From the top of Shooters you will see the dirt area, often used as a parking lot, and a trail going south. This is the beginning section of Roller Coasters. The trail is pretty easy with many ups and downs, hence the name roller coasters. You can either turn right and ride down to the railroad tracks to poly canyon or loop around and ride back to the top of shooters.
~Shooters, with Hwy101 in the background~
Shooters (SLO): You can access Shooters from Poly Canyon, Stage Coach Road, or the top of West Cuesta Ridge (top of the grade on Hwy101). Shooters is full of single track with big switchbacks and loops. Shooters has a variety of terrain ranging from steep single track switchbacks to flat rolling hills. This trail is moderate difficulty and welcome to beginning riders or to veterans of the trade. You can take Shooters to Poly Canyon which has fire road and more single track, to Cerro Alto which is single track, or to Morning Glory which is also great single track.
~Top of West Cuesta Ridge~
West Cuesta Ridge (SLO): West Cuesta Ridge is a main hub for many trails. You can start at the parking lot off of Hwy101 and climb up the fire road and enjoy the spring wildflowers along the side of the road or drive up the fire road and park at the top of Grade and ride from there. You can ride this ridge all the way to Cerro Alto if you would like. When you reach TV Tower at the top of the Grade you'll see great views of both the Pacific Ocean and the Seven Sisters along the coast. Shooters, Morning Glory, Cerro Alto, and Roller Coasters can be accessed from the top of West Cuesta Ridge.
South County Mountain Bike Trails:
~Hi Mountain~
Hi Mountain Lookout Road (Arroyo Grande): The majority of the ride is fairly easy with a few brief climbs. After one of the brief climbs, you will drop down and be level with the creek. Continue on the road towards Pozo.
~Huasna Trail~
Huasna (Near Arroyo Grande): This is a long scenic ride on about 30 miles of road. Incredible views of Arroyo Grande and Huasna Valley. There are a lot of great rock formations and intriguing landscape to check out. Whenever you decide to turn around most of the ride back is downhill!
~Lopez Lake~
Lopez Lake (East of Arroyo Grande): Lopez Lake has really fun trails for every level of rider. The Two Waters Trail will take you to the top overlooking Lopez Lake. From here enjoy riding down some technical single track and don't miss the views of Pismo Beach if it is a clear and sunny day.
North County:
~Morro Bay~
Morro Bay State Park (Morro Bay): The terrain at the park consists of primarily twisting single track that is not too technical. There are about ten to fifteen miles of trails, which can be made into many different and interesting loops. These trails are great for training or simulating race like conditions with all of the loops, twists, and turns. Mostly for beginning to intermediate riders.
~Santa Margarita Lake~
Blinn Ranch Road (Santa Margarita): This is a fun fire road ride which is out near Pozo. There is a 6 mile single track that starts off the right side of the Blinn Ranch Road and you can ride a twelve mile ride out and back, and more if desired.
