Oso Flaco Lake

 Oso Flaco Lake is situated about 3 miles north of Guadalupe. From Guadalupe, head north on Hwy 1 and turn left onto Oso Flaco Lake Rd. There is a small sign, but it is easy to miss. As you continue west on Oso Flaco Lake Rd, you might be surprised that there is a lake nearby, since almost the entire road is surrounded by agricultural fields. At the end of the road is a parking lot and the entrance.

Parking is $5 per car ($4 for seniors and $2.50 for disabled visitors) and be sure to bring the correct change since there is no ranger on duty and you must place the fee in an envelope and deliver it in a metal tube.

Upon entering, you travel down a dirt path as seen on the right, with trees on both sides and eventually come to a fork in the road. You can either continue on going straight, which I did not do, or turn left and cross a bridge over the beautiful lake full of ducks and other wildlife. I do not know what was up ahead on the straight path, but I am glad that I headed to the left and over the lake.

Once past the lake, the path continues past different plants and wildflowers, with occassional benches to take in the scenery.

Eventually you come to see sand dunes and the ocean peeking out above them. There is a path that leads right down to the beach, however, most of it is closed off to the public due to the conservation of the snowy plover bird that uses the area for its breeding and habitation. 

The beach is nice and more private than nearby Pismo Beach or Avila Beach, most likely due to Oso Flaco being a bit hidden and therefore harder to find.

Oso Flaco Lake
Guadalupe/Nipomo, CA
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center

Orcutt Community Park Trails

In May of this year (2012), the trail systems opened at Orcutt Community Park. The trails are open to hikers, bikers, and equestrians, and unlike Los Flores Ranch Park, which charges a fee for non-residents of the city of Santa Maria, Orcutt Community Park is free for all. It does not have as many trails as Los Flores Ranch, however, it is more conveniently located in Orcutt, at the south end of Bradley and the trails are a decent length, varying from easy to moderate in difficulty.

There are two main trails to choose from. One starts inside the park entrance and has a moderately steep climb at the beginning of the trail. This is my hike of preference due to more greenery and trees than the second trail. The picture above is a view from the top.                   

The picture on the left is another view from the top of the first trail. It is a very relaxing trail. I have seen a couple of cows, birds, bees, wildflowers, and lots of red ants. And how can I forget the flies. There are plenty of flies, and they're the kind that like to hover around you. This does not mean that the wildlife is not present. One hiker mentioned that there was a mountain lion sighting the day before and there are signs posted that mountain lions are in  the area.
                                                 

As for the traffic on the trails, there have been people every time I have gone, but just a few and everyone I have encountered has been very friendly.   

The second trail is also nice and is more open than the first. It seems to be a drier trail with not as many trees or covering. I should also mention that there are signs that say "Open Space Boundary" on both trails (as seen below), and from what I understand, visitors are not to go beyond these signs. Doing so would take visitors to private property or portions of the park that are prohibited. On this particular trail, I have seen deer, a horse that lives at a nearby house, and the insects that were on the first trail.

Here is a link to a map of the trails, courtesy of Santa Maria Valley Open Space, an organization that was instrumental in getting the park ready and opened to the public.



Orcutt Community Park

5800 S. Bradley Ave.

Orcutt, CA 93455

County of Santa Barbara Parks

               

Los Flores Ranch Park

There is plenty of "nature" surrounding Santa Maria, so I was excited to see something like this actually in Santa Maria (well, pretty close anyways). The park is located at 6721 Dominion Road, just southeast of Orcutt, CA and opened in June 2009 for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

There are around 8 miles of trails (Los Flores Ranch Trail Map) and plenty of wildlife, including cattle, snakes, lizards, squirrels, and I even saw a roadrunner and some jackrabbits. There are around 12 trails to choose from, some more strenuous than others and most with beautiful views of the surrounding area. There are also benches for you to rest or just enjoy the scenery(jugs of water provided too!) , and porta-potties throughout the park on some of the trails.

According to the City of Santa Maria park website, there is ongoing oil production operations on the site, however, besides a few pipes, I didn't really notice anything.

Visitors to the park must stop at the Visitor Center and sign in and out of the park.  New visitors must fill out registration forms and are given an access card upon completion of the registration, which is then used for future visits. Admission to the park is free for visitors residing within the Santa Maria city limits ( Santa Maria business owners also free), however, for Orcutt residents and other non-Santa Maria residents, the fee is $3.00 ($1.50 for seniors and children 15 and under are free).

For more information on Los Flores Ranch Park, visit the City of Santa Maria Recreation & Parks website.

Los Flores Ranch Park
6721 Dominion Road
Santa Maria, CA 93455
(805)-938-7618
http://www.ci.santa-maria.ca.us/LosFloresRanchPark.shtml

Pismo Beach Monarch Grove



Growing up on the Central Coast, I had never been or even heard about the Pismo Beach Monarch Grove, which is a little surprising, considering it attracts around 70,000 visitors each year during it's four month season (late October to February). There doesn't seem to be as many monarchs this year as in previous years. In the 1990-1991 season, there were as many as 230,000 monarchs. Besides the few monarchs seen fluttering down from the tall eucalyptus treetops, the only way to really view the monarchs up close is to use one of the telescopes placed along the trails. These telescopes will give you a view of just how many thousands of monarchs there really are, high up in the safety of the trees.
There are also  talks given twice a day. The history of this monarch grove as well as monarch facts are discussed. I was surprised to learn just how the monarchs are counted. A scientist from Cal Poly SLO comes early in the morning and uses a net with a really long pole to pull a cluster of monarchs from the trees (a little-known fact about butterflies is that they are unable to fly in temperatures less than 55 degees F). He then counts the number in the cluster and multiplies it by the number of clusters in the trees to get the estimated number of monarchs present. Not the most scientific method of counting monarchs, but I certainly do not have a better idea.

Another interesting fact is that monarchs do not need to eat during the entire winter season. They are able to store fat and only need water to sustain themselves during the entire season.
The Pismo Beach Monarch Grove is located on Hwy 1 at the very south end of Pismo Beach. There is no admission fee.  For more information about the Pismo Beach Monarch Grove, visit their website.

Pismo Beach Monarch Grove
Hwy 1  Pismo Beach, CA
http://www.monarchbutterfly.org