San Luis Obispo: Art, History and Hiking Trails

San Luis Obispo offers two clear focuses for planning a trip: cultural attractions and activities in designated open spaces. Cultural attractions include the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Museum, Dallidet Adobe and Bubblegum Alley. Outdoors, the focus is on challenging hiking trails and mountain biking. When looking for a hotel in San Luis Obispo, you can plan your stay around whether culture and history or outdoor activity matters more to you.

Art, History and Distinctive Places

The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art is in the heart of downtown SLO. Free docent-led public tours take place every Saturday at 11 a.m. Check the current schedule before your visit.

The Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Museum houses artifacts from the time of California’s Indigenous peoples, the mission era and the period of American settlement. The collection is therefore not limited to the mission era, but also covers the time of California’s Indigenous peoples and American settlement.

Dallidet Adobe was built by Pierre Hypolite Dallidet in the 1850s and is designated State Historical Landmark No. 720. Its construction dates it to the mid-19th century.

Dallidet Gardens are open on Saturdays and Sundays from April through October. If you would like to visit the gardens, plan your visit during this seasonal weekend period.

Bubblegum Alley is 15 feet high and 70 feet long. Visitors can create graffiti there using chewed gum. The alley is California’s only officially recognized gum wall and is located just off Higuera Street, between Broad Street and Garden Street.

Open Spaces and Hiking

San Luis Obispo has 7,000 acres of designated open space. These include challenging hiking trails and offer challenging mountain biking. Both hiking and mountain biking are therefore part of the outdoor focus; both activities are described as challenging. For specific hikes, you can also compare distance, route type and difficulty.

The trails in the Bishop Peak Natural Area are accessible via Patricia Avenue in San Luis Obispo.

The summit hike to Bishop Peak is about 4.0 miles long (round trip) and is rated moderate.

The Felsman Loop is a 1.7-mile loop hike rated easy to moderate.

By comparison, the Felsman Loop is shorter than the summit hike and is rated easy to moderate rather than moderate. The route types also differ: a loop versus an out-and-back. This lets you compare the two routes by distance, route type and difficulty.

Discover more destinations: Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Paso Robles, Cambria, San Simeon, Grover Beach, Nipomo, Morro Bay

For the broader travel overview: San Luis Obispo.