Eagle Rock Nature Trail, SLO
I don't know why Eagle Rock Nature Trail in SLO isn't more well-known! It's a wonderful uphill trail with 360 degree views almost the whole way! The trail is 1.6 miles out-and-back and steep the whole way (18% grade max- this hurt my knee!). This hike is best done in winter because it's located in a warm canyon that is too hot in summer. It starts at the back of El Chorro Park, past the botanical garden and dog park. First you walk through a gate and along a wide road until you arrive at the path. The path is a narrow, hard-packed dirt trail with hardly any gravel, so it's not scary coming back downhill. There is a short section of oak forest but mostly it's blissful wide open spaces like the Sound of Music! You can see the golf course with cypress trees, the Santa Lucia Mountains, a training ground for the military with interesting structures like a compound, the orange grove at Cal Poly, Cuesta College, Camp SLO military base, Cerro Romauldo Mountain, Eagle Rock (your destination!), and in the other direction Morro Rock and the three smoke stacks in Morro Bay! Eagle Rock looks so high up you can't imagine you'll reach it, but the trail is uphill the whole way, so you do make it there. It's a good workout! Eagle Rock looks interesting from the back as its flat and vertical on that side, and also has a hole you can see the sky through. Along the trail, you pass white wildflowers, lichen-covered rock, other fungi, flat boulders (where you can be kind of the mountain!), sage brush, and tree trunks. Something about this trail makes the whole family feel elated by the end, and it's a great feeling.
If you want a change, you can take a different trail back down, the Oak Woodland Trail, when you get to its sign. It leads back down to the road you started on, but drops you further down the road.
After, have something refreshing at Scout Coffee in University Square Shopping Center, a nine minute drive east.
For another steep but longer hike to enjoy, check out Bishop Peak.
The narrow path and Cerro Romauldo in the distance.
Beautiful light shining on the orange groves of Cal Poly.
Cerro Romauldo Mountain and Eagle Rock, straight ahead!
Eagle Rock is the property of the military, and is fenced off.
Eagle Rock.
The back of Eagle Rock is flat.
You can see through a hole in Eagle Rock.
Bench at the top!
Cream-colored flowers.
The winding path and boulders.
Boulders along the road.
A gnarled tree along the road.
The sign where the narrow trail starts.
Tree trunk beside the trail.
Looking toward the golf course and Hollister Peak.
The golf course and its cypress trees, and Cuesta College in the distance.
Looking toward the golf course and Cuesta College on the left. The mountains are lovely.
The golf course and Hollister Peak.
A winding path on the golf course.
The training area that looks like a compound.
You can see Morro Rock and the three smoke stacks far away!
Winding path and boulders.
A flat boulder you can stand on, and Eagle Rock way above you.
The training area.
You can take the Oak Woodland Trail on your way down, to vary things.
Golf course and wide open spaces. Looking toward Morro Bay and Hollister Peak.
Cerro Romauldo is a beautiful mountain.
The narrow path through wide open spaces makes you want to sing "the hills are alive..."
Cows on the rolling hills.
The parking lot for Eagle Rock Nature Trail is at the end of El Chorro Regional Park, past the botanical garden and past the dog park.
You have to pay to enter El Chorro Regional Park, but it is free until April 2025.
Last Updated: Mon, 03 Feb 2025 17:15:31 GMT
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