Montaña De Oro State Park - #MontañaDeOroStatePark

Socal - San Luis Obispo County - Morro Bay NickNames: #MontañaDeOroStatePark

Use Los Osos Valley Rd. exit off US 101, 3 miles south of San Luis Obispo. Travel 12 miles west on Los Osos Valley Rd. Los Osos Valley Rd. turns south and becomes Pecho Valley Rd. The trailhead is about 2.5 miles inside the park, just south of the park headquarters. Look for signage and parking lot. Thomas Guide page 651 B5

20 Review(s)13 Photo(s)Login

• Trail UpdateHazard Canyon Peak Trail-Trails are in great condition- Best I've ever seen them.
  New trail cut from Pecho valley road trail head near spooners cove. Ridge trail rom Hazard canyon peak is closed. Here is what I rode.
  -3 mile climbfrom tail head up to Hazard canyon peak.
  -Ridge trail to East boundry Junction.
  -Down Manzanita to East Boundry
  -East Boundry to Barranca
  -Down Barranca to Islay creek
  -Islay Creek to Easty Boundry
  -Up East Boundy, back to East boundry Ridge trail Junction.
  -Ridge trail to The peak and back downto the trail head.
  Check out the recent Photos.
  slobikerbrad a 48 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Specialized FSR from SLO

  Posted:05/04/2009

• Trail UpdateLooser Than ......-a bolt at a WD-40 convention.

  Trails are super loose.

  Picked off a few ticks, shed a few pounds on the steep loose climbs.

  Current paths taken:
  -Park at the bottom of the Ridge Trail head.
  -Bike back on the road you drove in on to the horse camp.
  -Up Manzanita
  -Down Barranca
  -Left on Islay
  -Up East Boundry
  -Over to Ridge then drop to your car
  -Finish off that ride with a "Tus Amigo" carna asada burrito across the street from the los osos skate park.

  I would like to hear if you can access these trails from Los Osos to add more miles..........
  Lag a 31 year old

  Posted:10/28/2005

• Trail UpdateRidge Trail-This trail is sick. My bro and i rode from the bottom to the top which is a very tough climb. Once you get to the top, you have a great view of the ocean. Going back down ridge trail is insaine. you have technical sections, rollers, berms, speed. I only went over the bars once.(don't try to jump the rollers because you wont' have enough time to react to the next turn)
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: Elevation change: 1000
  Singletrack=100%
  Logan Fiedler a 20 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Gt Lts-1-old school from san diego, ca

  Posted:02/19/2005

• Trail UpdateMontaña De Oro State Park-"the hiiiills are alive . . ." So-Cal-ers really need to get here. The San Luis Obispo area is my favorite place to ride. Pismo Beach is just 10 minutes south. I see it's been a while since the last post, so I'll do the honor and say the conditions were perfect. East Boundary was a little mucky, but the weather and scenery were awesome. My favorite rides: up Manzanita, a) down Ridge, b) East Boundary 'til the maintenance bench, back to Barranca, down Barranca.
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: miles Elevation change: 1000'
  big-D a 31 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a '04 Specialized Big Hit from Chino

  Posted:02/03/2005

• Trail UpdateWe went in all the way to the camp ground and road a fire road in for about 4 miles. I was hearing to much about the ticks in the area so we did not go on the single track.
  It would have been a better ride if we remenbered the bug repelant.
  Ride rating: Novice
  Ride distance: 6 miles Elevation change: not sure
  Dirt Road=100%
  Easy Rider a 40 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Santa Cruz Superlight from Lakewood

  Posted:08/23/2003

• Trail UpdateOMIGOD.-Ride here. OMIGOD. Find this place and ride.

  I got lucky and I took, IMO, the best route.

  The views were stunning. The hills were GREEN, and lush. and, OMGIOD. lol

  The trails were in great shape. Soil, not sand.

  Head up los osos valley road, head up to montana de oro. THE FIRST SIGN that you see, "Montana De Oro State Park", park in the FIRST turnout on your right.

  Head across the street, to an access road. Find manzanita on your right. Stay right, and head up to Ridge. Down ridge, Up Islay, Up East Bondary, Down Botanica. (you could go back up bontanica and towards manzanita to your ride, but I bailed at this point). I went back down islay, up the road to the car.

  OMGIOD. Views, technical. Singletrack. Good hill climbs. Good down hill. Cross country. Bit of free ride. Great downhill. LOL.. FOCK, just do it all.

  late.
  Ride distance: 17 miles Elevation change:
  Lagwagon a 28 year old riding a Endo Pro from 92656, 949

  Posted:02/11/2003

• Trail UpdateMontana De Oro-Great place to ride with lots of variety. Novices will enjoy the Bluffs trail with amazing views of the ocean going through caves in the cliffs. It's a flat trail in good shape. Beware it's also popular with hikers on weekends. Watch out for snakes and poison oak on the mountain trails...but they are worth the risk. Summer can get HOT even though right by the ocean. For non locals that want to save on lodging, the campground at Montana de Oro is nice but doesn't have showers. Morro bay state park is right next to Montana de Oro...and has campground with clean showers, flush toilets.
  Dirt Gurl a 29 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a My own creation with a Schwinn frame from Santa Barbara, CA

  Posted:02/19/2002

• Trail UpdateMontana De Oro-This was my first time riding here and I loved it! The views of the ocean and surrounding mountains are killer. I rode up Hazard Canyon and then down the Ridge trail. Great singletrack ups and downs. The last downhill on Ridge is a little beat up though. Then I rode up Islay Creek fireroad to the Boundary trail and descended Manzanita and Hazard Canyon. It looks like the locals really take good care of the place. The singletrack is prime. You could ride all day here and not get bored. SLO town offers great food and beer. A great place for a weekend trip. There are also a ton of other riding areas here that seem to be kept pretty secret. You just need to go there and ask.
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Ride distance: 10 miles Elevation change: lots
  Singletrack=80% Dirt Road=20%
  Donut a 28 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Surly Instigator from Hermosa Beach

  Posted:02/19/2002

• Trail UpdateMontana De Oro State Park-The Central Coast Concerned Mountain Bikers Association w/ a few Park Rangers were out in FULL FORCE doing trail work today. A handful of Volunteers had B.O.B. Yak trailers w/ the optional tool attachment. Great Job! The Manzanita Trail, Ridge Trail, East Boundary and Islay Creek are in Perfect condition! It seems gone are the old days of deteriorating conditions (5 yrs ago) My favorite is Barranca Trail, I loved it so much I did 2 loops. heh.I don't have any updates on the Bloody Nose Trail.
  Ride rating: Novice
  Ride distance: 5-12 miles Elevation change: 1,000+
  Singletrack=95% Dirt Road=5%
  Mr Superlight a 2 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a I don't gotta huck nothing, I ride XC :-)~ from Cambria, Ca 93428 URL: Sierra Club Info

  Posted:02/03/2002

• Trail UpdateMontana-no.
  it's too far south to be in the northern california section.

  Posted:06/29/2001

• Trail UpdateMontana....-isnt this park a lil to far north to be in the so cal section?
  nookie a 33 year old Cross-Country Rider

  Posted:06/29/2001

• Trail UpdateTo answer the last message: Manzanita/Bloody Nose.
  Yes, this connects the Manzanita Trail to the Bloody Nose Trail. I assume the trail has been closed due to the heavy erosion. Impossible to ride (I was hiking). If you stayed on it, it would have taken you down to Camp Keep and Pecho Valley Road.

  
  a Die-hard Enthusiast from Santa Barbara

  Posted:06/28/2001

• Trail UpdateManzanita/bloody Nose-i apologize if this shows up twice...
  i submitted it once yesterday, but it never showed up so i'm doing it again.
  i rode in montana de oro for the first time last weekend. a friend of mine who used to live in SLO gave me some directions for a figure 8 he used to do there.
  starting at manzanita. taking manzanita over to bloody nose. down bloody nose. over to islay creek road. up to east boundary. over east boundary. back down to manzanita and down bloody nose again.
  my question is...
  does manzanita actually connect to bloody nose, because on the official park map, it doesnt show that it does, but according to my friend and according to some of the trail reviews below, it does.
  here's where i went...
  up manzanita. came to a fork. left was east bounary, right was manzanita. i stayed right. no more than half a mile later, i came to another fork. left was east boundary, right was manzanita. there was also a bench here. i stayed right on manzanita. no more than 30 yards past the fork i sign reads "not a through trail".
  i continued on, despite the sign, believing that it probably would connect to bloody nose. after a short little climb, the trail began to descend somewhat. the trail was really overgrown and i saw not a single bike track. i was ducking branches. my shins were bleeding from getting whacked by branches. i was going too fast to tell, but with my luck, i'm sure i hit some poison oak (the rest of the park is infested with it). at this point, i decided to stop and turn around before i got too lost.
  anyway...
  my question is, does anybody know where i was and if i was heading in the right direction to get to bloody nose? and is that even possible to do from manzanita?
  thanks.
  erik a 30 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a bike from ventura county

  Posted:06/26/2001

• Trail UpdateMontana De Oro State Park-I really enjoyed riding here. Great scenery, varied terrain, some challenges. Do yourself a favor and pick up a free map at the visitor's center before riding; MTB trails are clearly marked. My wife and I first rode up Islay Creek Road (basically a fireroad). Just past the barn (around 3 miles), we climbed the East Boundary trail. Some sections are very steep, so keep up your momentum and watch for waterbars. We then took the Ridge Trail for the best part of the ride--roller-coastering along the ridge at speed, then a really fun downhill back to the trailhead. Portions of the trail are eroded down below ground level; these and the many banked turns caused my wife to call this "mountain bike luge-ing." Patches of poison oak can come up quickly, so keep your eyes peeled in the brushy sections. I also heard/saw a rattlesnake near the top of Hazard Peak.
  Singletrack=70% Dirt Road=30%
  Dave a 44 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Trek 8000 from Los Angeles

  Posted:08/06/1999

• Trail UpdateHi! Just to give you a little bit quicker trail photo album with 18 pics of some of these trails that everybody here is raving' about! The trails must be in better shape than last year since we had a lighter and spread out rainy season. Click on link:
  Chief Joseph Flys Like The Wind™ a Cross-Country Rider riding a Diamond Back Racing V Link 3.1 Dual Susp. from SLO County URL: Montaña de Oro Trail Ride Pic Viewer.

  Posted:06/08/1999

• Trail UpdateRidge Trail And Others-We rode this on Saturday: from the park headquarters, to the horse camp road, up to Ridge Trail, back to the headquarters. What a great ride! Some good climbing on singletrack, on clay, sand, and loose rock. Great singletrack downhills, especially from Hazard Peak. Beautiful views (the ocean from Hazard Peak is fantastic, with coastal canyons in the foreground). Great ride, in a bike-friendly state park. We rode the Bluff Trail as a cool-down: no challenge, but great views of rocky coves, blue waves, and sea otters! All together, an excellent two-wheeled dance through some of the loveliest of God's creation!
  Singletrack=70% Dirt Road=10% Truck Trail=20%
  sjb a Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Titus HCR from SoCal

  Posted:04/25/1999

• Trail UpdateRidge Trail-Start out on Islay Creek Rd. and ride to the old barn, which is a great place for a snack. Continue past the barn and the East Boundary Trail will branch off towards the left. Watch out for poison oak and bobcats (we saw two). Continue climbing until you reach the Ridge Trail, which will take you to the peak of the mountain at 1076 ft. elevation. Its a great view. After reaching the peak, start your descent. Look out for the water bars and the change of terrain as you descend down the mountain. Full suspension will definitely help you here. Watch for the sand patch about 2/3rds of the way down.Note: I rode this with Chris the Weekend Warrior this past Dec 31st
  Singletrack=70% Dirt Road=30%
  Nate a 16 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a '99 GT Ricochet from Stevenson Ranch, CA

  Posted:01/02/1999

• Trail UpdateStart out on Islay creek road and ride for about 3 miles and then turn onto a narrow single track just past the old barn. the trail is on the right. This single track is a long hard climb but I found it very fun to do. I rode it in June and there was lots of lose rock which made climbing very hard. Next take the Hazard Pk. trail. This trail rises for a while but the drops back down to the road. The downhill was very bumpy. Take it easy if you are new to these things. Once on the road turn left and ride for a while and you will see your car.
  Singletrack=60% Dirt Road=40%
  Chris a 15 year old Weekend Warrior from Santa Clarita, CA

  Posted:07/11/1998

• Trail UpdateMontaña De Oro-There are Montaña de Oro Trail ride photos of April 18, 1998 at Bike Shangri-la online. You will see bikers, a trail, hikers, a park docent, and horse rider, and views.
  Chief Joseph a Cross-Country Rider riding a Diamond Back Racing'97 V Link 3.1 dual suspension, from Atascadero, California, USA. URL: Bike View Heaven™

  Posted:06/22/1998

• Trail UpdateMontaña De Oro-There's some really tough climbs, switchbacks, and bumpy downhills after the rains of 1998. Really use caution if you're new to the trails here. But great views, flowers, greenery, seascapes, and other riders, hikers, & horse back riders on fire roads. Hope to have photos of our threesome mtb ride on my Bike View of Shangri-la soon. Come & see!
  Singletrack=90% Dirt Road=10%
  Chief Joseph a 51 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Diamond Back Racing'97, V Link 3.1-dual suspension from A Shangri-la (Central California) URL: Bike View Heaven™

  Posted:05/01/1998