On Friday, November 21, 2025 we will hike the Bob Jones Trail to the Ontario Overlook at Avila Beach. We have done this hike a few times before but always started from the parking lot of the Woodstone Market which is now closed to hike parking. So we will start from the Bob Jones Trailhead close to the Avila Beach Road intersection with Hwy 101. This is right next the Avila Hot Springs mud baths. This is actually a good thing because it helps prepare you to enter the time warp that consumes this whole area which includes the Buddhist Temple, Yoga Dome, Massage Parlors and the Secret Garden "outdoor hangout spot". We will cross over a foot-bridge spanning Avila Beach Road. The whole hike is 4.7 miles long. The elevation change is 785 feet. The Avila Overlook provides great views of the ocean and the Avila Harbor.
​
It is worth mentioning that nearly two miles is on the Bob Jones Trail which would be more properly called the Bob Jones Walking path. It is completely flat, paved and suitable for baby buggies and wheel chairs. The potion that crosses over San Luis Obispo Creek to the foot bridge and through Sycamore Springs Resort to the former massage parlor now called the "Adventure Building" is also mostly flat. Most of the entire trek is shaded. So although the hardness algorithm puts this hike in the Medium hardness category, it is judged to be a Soft hike.
To Get There: You take Hwy 101 North or South and exit on Avila Beach Drive (See map below). You will pass through a new Roundabout and continue West past Avila Hot Springs. Turn Right onto Ontario Road to the Bob Jones Trail Parking lot on the right. A satellite picture of the parking lot is below. We will form up in the parking lot.