San Luis Obispo County is a unique location geographically along the Central Coast. Getting from the beach to cattle land to wine country to hilltop vistas can be done on one long bike ride here. Our goal for this article is to list out some of our favorite bike trails in San Luis Obispo County.
Right now this list is not organized in any way. So if you want to mountain bike, road bike, or have some kids tagging along then look over the list.
San Luis Obispo is the perfect place for Scenic Bike Rides. Offering lots of different excellent views.
This will be an ever-growing list as we find new trails and expand out from where we are in the 5 cities and San Luis Obispo. In the near future, we will probably stretch out to Morro Bay, Cal Poly Canyon, Montana De Oro State Park, Highway 1, and the Santa Lucia Mountains.
Bike Trails In San Luis Obispo County
Bob Jones Trail
For families, it is hard to beat the Bob Jones trail. Mostly flat and easy going with the trail going from beautiful oak valleys around Ontario Road to a golf course all of the way to Avila Beach. An easy round trip that has places to stop along the way including a couple of markets. This trail is paved the entire way so any bike can make the journey through the Avila Valley.
Johnson Ranch Open Space Trail
Johnson Ranch is great for both hiking and biking. A moderate trail that gives great views out towards Edna valley. This is an all dirt trail with small sections of switchbacks. Just make sure that you put a bell on since this trail has lots of hikers too.
If you feel like going extra you can link Johnson Ranch Trail over to the Irish Hills and Froom Ranch. Then you could head out Los Osos Valley.
James Way Trail
A small trail that goes along James Way in Arroyo Grande. If you only have a little time then the James Way trail is a quick jump with some nice smooth downhill sections that run through the small oak forest. Near the bottom of the trail if you want to there are some nice bike jumps that have been developed. This is an all dirt trail with hikers on it so have your bell.
Lemon Grove Trail / Madonna Mountain Trail
A beautiful trail that you can access right outside of downtown San Luis Obispo that climbs steeply to the big M on the side of the mountain and then has switchbacks down the more lush side of the hill with great views. On the front side facing the freeway, you will also be able to look down onto the famous Madonna Inn and downtown San Luis Obispo. A steep dirt trail most of the way with some sections with wood planks. Definitely worth the views.
Pismo Preserve
One of the newer trails on the list this is a great addition to the biking and hiking trails in the area. Almost the entire trail has great views of the Pacific Ocean since the trails meander up the hills just east of the 101 which is right along the ocean.
Pismo Beach
Now usually we would not list a beach as a bike trail but Pismo Beach is an incredibly long beach. If you have a bike with slightly fatter tires then as long as you can get to the hard compact sand then you can ride for miles right along the shore.
Edna Valley
For a nice country road ride, we love cruising through Edna Valley. You feel transported to a different time and place. The beautiful grape vines roll along the soft hills and you can spot cattle upon the hills. If you are looking for an extra challenge we recommend heading all of the ways out to Lake Lopez and taking a right on High Mountain road right before the entrance to Lake Lopez park.
Thanks for visiting our EveryDetailSLO blog, now if you are a local or not after one of these hikes you might need a quick car wash or detail. Give us a call and we will come to clean you up really quick.