36 • STUDENT GUIDE 2011
The great outdoors Get out from your four walls and see nature BY SARAH PARR
T
here’s a pretty good chance you’ll hike Bishop Peak sometime during your stay in college. While the mountain is majestic, it’s not the only outdoor wonder the Central Coast has to offer. Home to waterfalls, rolling hills, bluffs. and abundant wildlife, this area offers trails that highlight its extensive beauty. Grab your best hiking gear and explore the land. You’ll be happy you did.
Elfin Forest Preserve
trail that loops around clusters of pygmy oak trees and coastal shrubbery while offering views of Morro Bay and an estuary. From the boardwalk, the trees look like jumbo bushes. Once you take a peek inside, however, you’ll realize the magic of the Elfin Forest. The trees bend and spiral around each other, and navigating between them can feel like traversing a maze. The 90-acre Elfin Forest is in Los Osos, off South Bay Boulevard.
Cerro Cabrillo
The inactive volcanic peaks in San Luis Obispo may help you get in touch with your inner primate. One of the more prominent peaks, Cerro Cabrillo, offers seven areas for rock climbing: Burial Grounds, Cabrillo Overhang,
If fairy tales were real, the Elfin Forest is where they’d take place. Located near Montaña De Oro and Morro Bay state parks, the Elfin Forest holds about a mile of boardwalk
El Dorado, Old Stone Face, Park Ridge Rock, Rock Land, and Wilderness Wall. One of the rock walls is known as a “tiki,” which resembles a Polynesian carving of a mythological creature. Cerro Cabrillo’s total elevation reaches 911 feet, and as hikers or climbers ascend the butte, they’re rewarded with a glorious, 360-degree view of San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Morro Bay Estuary, and Los Osos. Cerro Cabrillo is off South Bay Boulevard and North Highway 1.
Reservoir Canyon
Come springtime, locals find wildflowers and San Luis Obispo’s tallest waterfall on the Reservoir Canyon trail. Behind the waterfall, a 70-foot deep cave waits. Part of the trail runs parallel with a shaded, peaceful creek, and once the elevation begins to increase, photo-worthy views of the Cuesta Ridge appear. Farther up the trail sits a mysterious metal scrap junkyard—including a teepee and a garbage can flag. A eucalyptus tree with swings—wooden and rope—
stands nearby. The hike to the 1,710-foot summit is moderately strenuous, but the views are worth it. The trailhead is off of Highway 101, on Reservoir Canyon Road.
Lopez Lake Recreation Area
The drive to Lopez Lake, if you take Orcutt Road, is a scenic treasure in itself. Cutting through the Edna Valley, the road from southeast San Luis Obispo showcases acres after acres of beautiful vineyards. Once at Lopez Lake, the adventurer can go crazy: hike, bike, swim, sail, windsurf, camp, you name it. With nine trails ranging from easy to strenuous, a hiker or biker may stumble upon quail, deer, rattlesnakes, and turkeys. The trails lead over sandy, coastal areas, through oak woodlands, and along steep ridges. Vista Lago, a small, designated swimming area, provides a nice place to cool off at the end of the day. Lopez Lake is off of Lopez Drive near Arroyo Grande. OUTDOOR TREASURES continued on page 37
STUDENT GUIDE ’11
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