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San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro http://dirttreaders.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=11396	Page 1 of 1

Author:	Cory M [ Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:23 pm ]
Post subject:	San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
Montana de Oro state preserve really is a jewel of the central coast. It’s about 15 minutes outside of SLO in Los Osos. There are miles and miles of beautiful trails right next to the Pacific Ocean. These are the trails I ride nearly every time I visit SLO. You can camp here and the surfing is good too. I could ride and hike here everyday for a month straight and never get bored. A friend of mine is a ranger at MDO and lives about a mile from the park, I wonder if I made the right career choice whenever I visit. MDO is a large preserve and it’s surrounded by open space. I’ve seen plenty of deer, bobcats, rattle snakes, and even wild pigs here. Several of the trails have changed in recent years and have been rerouted or replaced to help revegetation/erosion. Fortunately the new trails are excellent and still maintain the feel that makes this place so great. There are a lot of trails with different designations which helps reduce traffic but there are some hikers so it’s a good idea to pick up a bell at one of the boxes. A local advocacy group CCCMB has put up bell boxes and has good free maps online at cccmb.org My usual loop starts at the horse camp and goes up Manzanita to Hazard Peak and down, and then I take Islay Creek trail up East Boundary or Barranca back to the car. I noticed that since the trails have been changed most people start at the base of Hazard and go the other direction. I decided to change it up a bit and do an out and back from Manzanita to Hazard Peak. This route would be almost all single track and I wouldn’t have to climb up East Boundary from Islay which is steep and always kicks my butt. It would still be a good workout though at nearly 12 miles and 1700 feet of climbing. Here are a few pictures of Spooners Cove and a historic home where you can get info on trails and camping. There is a nice easy path along the cliffs that is legal for bikes, I didn't do it this time but now I wish I did... Attachment: 3jpeg.jpg [ 683.25 KiB \| Viewed 11739 times ] Attachment: 2jpeg.jpg [ 577.96 KiB \| Viewed 11739 times ] Attachment: 4jpeg.jpg [ 725.99 KiB \| Viewed 11739 times ] I parked at my usual spot on the road at the entrance to the horse camp, nice view of the sand dunes from here Attachment: 1jpeg.jpg [ 669.12 KiB \| Viewed 11739 times ]

Author:	Cory M [ Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
A short trip down the dirt road past the horse camp and I was onto Manzanita Trail Attachment: 5jpeg.jpg [ 853.68 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Attachment: 6jpeg.jpg [ 804.38 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Manzanita starts out easy enough but soon enough you are climbing up a long trail with waterbars every 10 or 15 feet. The waterbars are smooth dirt though so it's not too bad. Attachment: 7jpeg.jpg [ 727.42 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] At the top of Mazanita hang a right to the Hazard Peak trail, the nearby Pacific usually provides a nice cool breeze Attachment: 8jpeg.jpg [ 871.33 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Attachment: 9jpeg.jpg [ 667.3 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Attachment: 10jpeg.jpg [ 628.25 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ]

Author:	Cory M [ Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:35 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
Morro Bay to the North Attachment: 11jpeg.jpg [ 582.46 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Climbing to the top of Hazard Peak Attachment: 12jpeg.jpg [ 751.07 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Attachment: 13jpeg.jpg [ 556.15 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] At the top the views are spectacular Attachment: 14jpeg.jpg [ 818.42 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Attachment: 15jpeg.jpg [ 488.69 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ] Attachment: 16jpeg.jpg [ 623.99 KiB \| Viewed 11737 times ]

Author:	Cory M [ Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
Attachment: 17jpeg.jpg [ 712.39 KiB \| Viewed 11735 times ] Attachment: 18jpeg.jpg [ 708.51 KiB \| Viewed 11735 times ] Attachment: 19jpeg.jpg [ 576.36 KiB \| Viewed 11735 times ] The new single track trail to the bottom is really fun. It's narrow and there are lots of natural dirt waterbars to jump off of, so many that I found myself jumping every other one so I could get a good launch and landing. I was flying so no pics here. The old trail (now closed) went along the top of the ridge and was more rocky and technical, the new trail goes along the edge of the mountain and is pretty smooth. This should help erosion but one word of warning here, don't get too carried away jumping those waterbars and crash off the edge. In many places it is nearly vertical and drops several hundred feet. It looks like there is a lot of vegetation but much of it is short small shrubs so don't count on it slowing you down. Attachment: 24jpeg.jpg [ 712.96 KiB \| Viewed 11735 times ] Attachment: 20jpeg.jpg [ 585.52 KiB \| Viewed 11735 times ] Attachment: 22jpeg.jpg [ 729.63 KiB \| Viewed 11735 times ]

Author:	Cory M [ Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
here is a view of the Islay Creek fireroad I didn't take this time Attachment: 21islayjpeg.jpg [ 511.5 KiB \| Viewed 11731 times ] At the bottom now, where most riders seem to start these days. I almost collided with a rider on the way down, then he returned the favor on my way up! I guess we should have worn bells but it was a weekday and it wasn't busy, I didn't want to ruin such a peaceful day with that annoying ringing... Attachment: 23jpeg.jpg [ 750.52 KiB \| Viewed 11731 times ] I climbed back up Hazard. There were a couple of horses on Manzanita so I took East Boundary back down to the fireroad instead. It is fun with some tight dirt switchbacks. I really like this route because the trail character is different each way. Manzanita/East Boundary is steeper with more dirt and trees, Hazard is less steep and the soil is more sandy. Attachment: 25jpeg.jpg [ 679.38 KiB \| Viewed 11731 times ] Attachment: 26jpeg.jpg [ 734.56 KiB \| Viewed 11731 times ] Attachment: 27jpeg.jpg [ 804.73 KiB \| Viewed 11731 times ] Another word of warning: I have gotten my share of flats here. The rocks aren't big but there are a lot of them and they are kind of square with sharp edges. Jumping off off of all those waterbars and landing on rocks can kill a rear tire if you run low pressures. I recommend a few extra psi and 2 spare tubes just in case. I had to walk my bike down the Hazard Peak trail once and it sucked!

Author:	Cory M [ Sun Jan 08, 2012 12:01 am ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
After catching up with an old friend I went to Noi's in Los Osos for the freshest and best Thai food this side of Thailand, I parked across the street and enjoyed a bayside meal, nice way to end the day. Attachment: 29jpeg.jpg [ 502.76 KiB \| Viewed 11730 times ] Attachment: 28jpeg.jpg [ 424.24 KiB \| Viewed 11730 times ]

Author:	Chadster [ Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:37 am ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
Great trail report and pics! MDO is one of my favorite places in all of Cali. Been too long since I've been there. Thanks for reminding me.

Author:	EMFC [ Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
I was just there last week, the trails with all the water bars (aka jumps) is a blast. I ate here, one kick ass burger! http://www.sylvestersburgers.com/index.html

Author:	New2Gungho [ Fri Apr 27, 2018 12:50 am ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
Rely to old post but is Montana Del Oro a place I can pull up and position a tent in primitive manner?

Author:	Kimba [ Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:27 am ]
Post subject:	Re: San Luis Obispo - Day2 - Montana de Oro
There is a campground at Spooners Cove. Trailhead to Oats Peak, the best ride there in my opinion, is right there.

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