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Oats Peak Trail, filmed and reviewed by Preston Mason Review Date: 5/26/2020 |
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San Luis Obispo and its surrounding areas a well know for their exceptional mountain biking trails. Not only can you find great places to ride in San Luis Obispo itself, you don't need to venture too far out to find even more trails that you can have a great time riding. If you want to ever plan a weekend ride getaway then this is one place you should consider going.
Just outside of San Luis Obispo close to the ocean is an area called the Montana de Oro State Park in Los Osos where you will find beaches, trees, camping spots and lots of great trials for biking and hiking. There are many trails to choose from in this area and you can even do a two car shuttle and ride from the top to the bottom and vary your route based on what trails you wish to ride.
One of the better trails to ride in the park is called Oats Peak and it's an out and back type ride even though you can technically connect into it from a couple of other places. The best way to ride it though is to go up the trail and back down. This way you know what you are in store for on the descent and it will make it more enjoyable to ride.
One thing to keep in mind when riding this trail is that you will be doing a 5 mile climb that covers about 1500 feet of elevation gain. Since the grade is not that steep its not to difficult to climb and not too technical to descend.
Oats Peak Trail Video
Oats Peak Trail Review
If you are into fast and fun trails that don't require you to be a super skilled rider then Oats Peak is the trail for you. Like I mentioned you will have to do some climbing to get to the top but its more monotonous than it is difficult. The scenery is nice on the way up but kind of looks the same the entire time. There is no shade so be prepared to wear your sunblock if it's a sunny day.
There are a lot of twists and turns along the way and you can tell that this trail was created with mountain bikers in mind and the locals tend to keep up with the trail maintenance in the area since the trail always seems to be in pretty good shape. Its also shared with hikers and runners so make sure you use your bell so you don't run over someone while flying around a blind curve!
The descent is where Oats Peak really shines since it's a nice 20+ minutes of twisty-turny downhill fun. The trail starts out a little more on the straight side but once you get into it a little bit then it becomes turn after turn. The turns are not too sharp so you can really fly through them. There are the occasional switchback style turns which are a little sharper but many of them have built up berms to help you maintain your speed around them. For the most part the trail is pretty smooth with a few rocky sections here or there that you don't need to slow down for.
The Oats Peak trail is definitely one to do if you are in the San Luis Obispo area and if you are the shuttle type I would run Hazard's Peak to Canyon View to Oats Peak. There will be some climbing in between if you do it this way, especially at the start but it's not too bad.
Oats Peak Trail Pictures
Directions to Oats Peak Trail
To get to the Oats Peak trail simply find your way to the Montana de Oro State Park on Pecho Valley Road in Los Osos. You will drive to the bottom of the park and then drive uphill a little unto you get to the main parking area.
From there you will ride up Campground Rd just a little bit and the Oats Peak trail entrance will be on your right. From there simply follow the signs to stay on the trail and when you get to the top you will see a very steep climb that actually goes to the peak. You won't be able to ride up it so you can turn around and start your descent from there.
