Hiking Challenge – Laguna Lake Park Trail

Laguna Lake Park is a nice 375-acre park in San Luis just south of Cerro San Luis Mountain. This park used to have a beautiful 25-acre lake that has now shrunken to look more like a pond, but the ducks are still there and like to be fed. There is also a very nice playground for the kids. We’ve taken school field trips here for a picnic and playtime and the kids loved it. There’s even a Frisbee Golf course and an off-leash dog park too. With several hiking trails available, Arleena and I went in search of an adventure.

We started off by the playground and traveled through he dog park then out to the “open spaces”. The majority of this hike is pretty flat with nicely maintained and wide pathway making it kid and stroller friendly. In fact a few years ago I took my kids up here for a hike. We didn’t get to the top, but they were good troupers. 

Arleena and I climbed up the hill and saw the passageway over the ridge to the top of Cerro San Luis. Due to time restraints we did not continue onto that path, but made our own little loop along the topside of the hill then back down through the Frisbee Gold course and back to the car.

This was a nice and pleasant hike. Not our typical exhausting “mountain climbing” hike, but every once in a while it’s nice to step out and slow things down to enjoy each other’s company.

My thoughts:

Difficulty: 3 (out of 10)

Beauty:   4 (out of 10)

Distance: 3.56 Miles

Time: 1:08:28

Elevation Gain: 389’

Worth It? Great for a family outing.

Rating:   3 Stars (out of 5)

To get to the trailhead: From the 101 Freeway in San Luis Obispo, exit on Madonna Road and head west for half a mile. Turn right on Dalidio Drive to enter Laguna Lake Park. Park at the end of the drive or turn left at the only intersection to find parking closer to the lakefront trail.