1
Montaña de Oro State Park
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
1,071 acres5.5 mi of trail
Rim Trail(steep)
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Los Osos
Los Osos, CA parks, trails & bike paths
About 21% of Los Osos is conserved land, roughly 1,724 acres. There are about 47 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Montaña de Oro State Park (5.5 mi), Morro Dunes Natural Preserve (3.8 mi), and Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve (2.2 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Los Osos, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Los Osos outdoors
Conserved land
21%
1,724 of 8,144 acres
Trails
47 mi
3.7 mi per sq mi · 20 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
10
122 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
4.1 mi
3.8 mi lanes · 0.3 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Morro Dunes Natural Preserve
Nature preserve
791 acres3.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
3
Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve
Nature preserve
84 acres2.2 mi of trail
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
4
El Moro Elfin Forest Preserve
Nature preserve
70 acres1.9 mi of trail
Park Ridge TrailOrchid Trail
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
5
Sweet Springs Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
31 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
6
Monarch Grove Natural Area
Park
16 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Montaña de Oro State Park1,071 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · California Department of Parks and Recreation
Morro Dunes Natural Preserve791 acres · 3.8 mi of trail
Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve84 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
El Moro Elfin Forest Preserve70 acres · 1.9 mi of trail
Sweet Springs Nature Preserve31 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Monarch Grove Natural Area16 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Morro Bay State Park173 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Pasadena Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Morro Bay State Marine Reserve27 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Scenic views in Los Osos
Showing 1–10 of 13 scenic views
Bay Street Viewing Platform
Bush Lupine PointIn El Moro Elfin Forest Preserve
Celestial MeadowIn El Moro Elfin Forest Preserve
Santa Lucia Overlook
Siena's ViewIn El Moro Elfin Forest Preserve
Unnamed scenic view in Montaña de Oro State Park
Unnamed scenic view in Montaña de Oro State Park
Unnamed scenic view in Montaña de Oro State Park
Unnamed scenic view in Montaña de Oro State Park
Unnamed scenic view in Sweet Springs Nature Preserve
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 2.0 miHorses 0.8 miUnpaved 12.4 mi
- Rim Trail1.8 mi
- Park Ridge Trail0.4 mi
- (steep)0.2 mi
- Orchid Trail0.2 mi
- Vista del Osos0.1 mi
Who protects the land
1,724 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 101 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes3.8 mi
- Off-road bike paths0.3 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball15
- Tennis6
- Baseball5
- Golf4
- Skate park1
- Soccer1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Los Osos
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Park 1,193 acState Conservation Area 339 acUnknown Easement 101 acConservation Easement 67 acLocal Conservation Area 53 ac
Showing 1–10 of 11 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montaña de Oro State ParkState Park | State parks | 1,018 | Open |
| Morro Dunes Ecological ReserveState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 236 | Open |
| Morro Bay State ParkState Park | State parks | 174 | Open |
| Los Osos Oaks State Natural ReserveState Conservation Area | State parks | 85 | Open |
| Elfin Forest Natural PreserveLocal Conservation Area | County | 35 | Open |
| Sweet Springs Nature PreservePrivate Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 22 | Open |
| Morro Bay Wildlife AreaState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 19 | Open |
| Monarch Grove Natural AreaLocal Conservation Area | County | 18 | Open |
| Ramona LotPrivate Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Closed |
| Los Osos Community ParkLocal Park | County | 7 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Jeff, Anne, and Siena Fairbanks MemorialIn El Moro Elfin Forest Preserve · Plaque
Los Osos Valley Memorial ParkCemetery
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Los Osos's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.