The sprawling hills are bright green, the beaches are sparkling and covered with groups of excited college students and San Luis Obispo’s natural excursions are especially popular at this time of year. It’s almost spring in San Luis Obispo. The city has a major hiking culture and recently the City of San Luis Obispo Ranger Service established new trails.
The Ranger Service recently launched Trail Projects to inform the community about the changes in trail design and updates about current projects. The new webpage provides volunteers and community members with resources to track the status of current projects and follow along with updates.
Read below for the city’s new hiking trails and ones that are under construction.
Complete and open trails
Righetti Open Space: Bunny Hops trail
Back in November 2025, the Bunny Hops trail was established with multiple purposes in mind. Some of the different features include jumps, rock gardens and even a wooden roller coaster feature for people biking. Ultimately, the trail was designed for bikers to improve their skills.
Bikers can choose what features they are most comfortable with as they go through the trail. The Bunny Hops trail is the final installment of the larger Righetti Hill Open Space’s trail system. This system includes various bike routes including the Quarry Trail and Roadrunner Roundabout.
Laguna Lake bike park: Expert Line
The brand new Expert Line at theLaguna Lake Bike Park recently opened. This new addition to the bike park introduced 11 new jumps, including a mulch jump and 2 full jump lines.
Along with this expert line, the park is currently working on a beginner track. The beginner track is focused on allowing younger children the chance to build their mastery. The beginner track will include features that allow bikers to work on their airtime and tricks.
In-progress trails
Reservoir canyon open space: Blackburn trail
Bowden Ranch in Reservoir Canyon Open Space is working with rangers and volunteers to construct a hiking-only trail. The Blackburn Trail is two miles completed and connects to the Firefighter Trail. The Firefighter Trail starts at Lizzie Street Trailhead and allows people to make numerous loops.
People can sign up online at the City’s Volunteer portal to help build the trail each Saturday.
Maintenance trail work
Due to weather and other natural causes, some of the current trails are in renovation stages. In November, Summit Trail on Bishop Peak endured a landslide that rangers are currently working to fix.
The Filipponi Connector trail above Johnson Ranch, Cerro San Luis, Stenner Springs are also under construction to fix the existing design and ready these trails by the winter season.
People can expect for renewed features as the soil sets in, such as improved drainage and sustainability.
Strategic trail plan
The city is working to establish a strategic trail plan that meets the future goals of the hiking and biking communities. Alongside the Office of Sustainability and Natural Resources, “ranger trail staff are developing a Strategic Trails Plan to support the major city goal of expanding trail connectivity and accessibility to support biking, hiking, and outdoor enjoyment for all community members,” according to a press release from the City of San Luis Obispo.
Looking ahead, the city is planning on improving the Eucs hike in Stenner Springs Natural Reserve and changing the layout of the HiBar and Panorama trails at Miossi Open Space.