Bishop Peak hike, SLO

San Luis Obispo, CA Print   Leave a comment

Description

Bishop Peak is the most beautiful mountain in SLO, with its rocky outcroppings at the top. You can hike all the way up, which takes about two hours roundtrip (4 miles, 1053 feet). The beginning of the hike is open space and then lovely shady forest, and you can usually see rockclimbers enjoying the fairly easy climb along the side of the path. Next the hike becomes more exposed and sunny (come early in the day) and has quite a few rocks to climb over (hard on the knees). This continues for quite a while until you reach the top. There are great views of the empty spaces around the town of SLO, and the breezes are wonderfully cool. Along the way you encounter some cute rock formations straight out of the Flintstones! There are usually a lot of people on this trail, especially on the weekend.
Afterward, relax with a cup of tea at Scout Coffee in downtown SLO.
Other hikes in the area are the Lemon Grove Loop Trail which leads to many other hikes, and the Terrace Hill Open Space, a super short hike. If you're looking for a shady flat three mile walk, you'll love the Bob Jones Bike Path in Avila Beach.

Photo Gallery

Bishop Peak, as seen from the trailhead.	The beginning of the hike.	The forest area is the nicest part.
Awesome sheer rock faces.	A hiker walks through the shade.	Rock-climbers prepare to climb.
The hiking path goes through a boulder-strewn landscape.	View of empty spaces in SLO.	Flintstones-style boulders.

Directions

The trailhead is located at 1 Highland Drive. You can park along the road but the spots fill up early on the weekend.

This is an interactive map, you can zoom and move it.

Overall Visitor Rating: Unrated.