The City of San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Department’s Ranger Service reopened the King Trail in the Irish Hills Natural Reserve at the end of December, and some hikers are thrilled.
“I’m so excited about the King Trail being open,” said Jodi Isaacs, San Luis Obispo resident.
Isaacs is glad reconstruction was done on this trail after it was damaged during the January 2023 storms.
“You get to go through the trees and you get a nice switch back and you get more time to see the beautiful hills around here. It's awesome,” Isaacs said.
The beginning and the end of the King Trail were unchanged but the middle of the trail — a little more than a half-mile long — was redone.
Isaacs has already tried the hike.
“The way they built the trail, it's to better standards now so it's not a lot of erosion and it's just really easy to hike. It's great,” Isaacs said.
Other hikers are also enjoying the new trail.
“Thanks to the trail crews, they did a great job on all the bridges and everything felt great. It's impressive how quickly they bounce back,” said James Gregory, San Luis Obispo resident.
Monday was Gregory's first time running on the King Trail.
“It was very flowy, very nice. It’s nice to be able to get back there in the trees and such so close to town. Perfect for running,” Gregory said.
The 1.1-mile hike can be accessed from the Madonna Road trailhead.
