Los Osos Oaks State Reserve

Los Osos Oaks State Reserve

Los Osos Oaks State Reserve
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles39 reviews
Excellent
19
Very good
12
Average
6
Poor
2
Terrible
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Miriam S
Palo Alto, CA33 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023
Acres of oaks twining around each other. Went on a rainy day, and the black trunks set off the pale green hanging moss. Definitely worth a walk.
Written 1 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Harold W
Upland, CA545 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
Beautiful, gnarly oaks and mossy trees and shrubs; very few visitors; an exceptional place to walk. The reserve is not fenced and locals walk in the area, so there are "unofficial" trails and it is easy to get lost. I would recommend marking your car's location with your phone or using a hiking app. Also don't bump your head on low tree branches!
Written 6 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

chuttipen
central coast160 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2020 • Friends
Magical. The elfin preserve is better known, but Los Osos oaks is the greatest.
Doesn’t look like much from the road.

Once you get inside, you’ll find ancient twisted oaks covered with dripping moss.
Not a huge park, so just wander and get lost on the winding paths.

Popular with families and mostly flat so any easy walk. No services, but great fir a picnic.

I’ve told many children I’ve run into there that I just saw a fairy around the corner, and I just might have! Amazing place to let your imagination run wild.
Written 22 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Shane L
64 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
We Love Los Osos Parks they are amazing. If you like to be outside you will love it. Mountain Biking, Hiking, walking, or hanging at the beach. All available with lots of space. could use better parking, so I shouldn't be telling everyone how nice it is. But, it's great, just don't tell everyone you know......
Written 5 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ted Luehs
Pacifica, CA333 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Solo
Taking a couple.of loop trails takes care about an hour. Twisting and miss, funguses, etc. a rare experience. Parking for about 15 cars. No rest rooms or garbage cans.
Written 4 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Paul M
Pismo Beach, CA261 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Local Eval.: Mysterious ancient surreal "Dali-like" twisted Oaks, almost drowning in huge beards composed of Spanish Moss, in a dreamy moist microclimate, punctuated by the distant noise.

As with Dali's masterpiece of "The Persistence of Memory", the soothing, yet disturbing juxtaposition of the tortured twisted 800 year old Oaks covered with tons of ponderous Pseudo-moss is the stuff of surreal nightmares & fevered far future dreams....where man has long been forgotten. It reminds me of the imaginings of Robert Silverberg's best novel & my most treasure Sci-Fi book, titled, "The Son of Man".

While it seems straightforward at first, and the multiple short trails converge at points, it is quite easy to wind up following dead end paths. Since the road noise never really goes away, you can always head toward a direction where it gets louder.
Since the trail map & trail heads all indicated loops, I picked the Chumash loop. While one can always backtrack, the far ends of the trails do not obviously interconnect, nor are labelled, so I can see why people get lost. Fortunately, it is a rather small reserve, which is a mixed blessing. As you progress, you go through some interesting terrain changes...from sandy beach like brush to very moist Oak/Spanish Moss humid twisted tree dense surreal forrest. It is rather otherworldly and I have not seen anything quite like it before in my travels...so it is well worth a brief easy hike. The provided pamphlet is informative.

BUT BEWARE OF SOME STEEP HIDDEN SUDDEN DROPS TO A CREEK BED!

As many others have noted, it is a relatively unknown preserve, easy to pass by on the road unnoticed, and rather devoid of people. My wife became a bit scared when I reviewed some tips on what to do if we happened to encounter bigger mammals [which I doubt live here...but Los Osos means "Bears"]. The last thing one wants to do, is to run from either a Mountain Lion or a Bear. She was ultimately spooked by a human being! She was right....human beings are the most dangerous. She actually asked for me to buy her a Pepper Spray for the future.

Other than two other humans, I only saw a small lizard, and did not notice any Poison Oak/Ivy, nor Stinging Nettle [which I had a horrid very painful run in with at Arroyo Grande's creek].

While I may have seen "Pele's Hair" [AKA invasive Spanish Moss in Hawaii] while hiking in Oahu's Tantalus forested area, I had never before seen, nor really appreciated, overwhelming volumes of Moss. They are not a form of Lichen, as others have noted, but are relatives to other so-called "Air" plants, which get their nutrients from the air, and even leaching minerals from Oak trees.

According to Wikipedia: "...This plant's specific name usneoides means "resembling Usnea", and it indeed superficially resembles its namesake Usnea, also known as beard lichen, but in fact Spanish moss is neither a moss nor a lichen. Instead, it is a flowering plant (angiosperm) in the family Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) which grows hanging from tree branches in full sun through partial shade....Spanish-moss is an epiphyte which absorbs nutrients and water through its leaves from the air and rainfall.
While it rarely kills the tree upon which it grows, it can occasionally become so thick that it shades the tree's leaves and lowers its growth rate....the plant seems to show a preference for growth on southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) because of these trees' high rates of foliar mineral leaching (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus) providing an abundant supply of nutrients to the plant..."
Written 10 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gregory R
Beaumont, CA16 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Friends
Excellent place, and so amazing to explore. Really nice, and time is so well spent in this absolutely wonderful area.
Written 9 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JanN216
Los Osos, CA987 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Friends
Absolutely beautiful hike right off low Soso‘s Valley Road. Parking lot right at the trail head. Trail wanders through beautiful old oaks and the trail inclines are not strenuous. Depending on the time of year, watch out for poison oak and keep your eyes open for beautiful mushrooms during the wet winter months. Amazing vistas of the entire valley can be seen.
Written 12 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

2TravelersMn
Stillwater, MN565 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2018 • Couples
Los Osos Oak Reserve offers a step back in time. Ancient sand dunes and centuries-old coat live oaks are home to unique plant communities. 'Hike through the forest....
Written 15 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mark K
15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2018 • Family
We are so lucky to have this wonderful little reserve in our backyard. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon hike on the very easy flat trail with older relatives. It was nice to stroll under the magnificent oaks. The overall feel of the park is very clean and the trails are well maintained.
Written 9 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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LOS OSOS OAKS STATE RESERVE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Los Osos Oaks State Reserve


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