Our next hike is on Friday, July 3rd starting at 8:30 AM at the trailhead for the Old Stagecoach Trail at the base of Cuesta Grade.  From there we will hike West along the Panorama Trail.  From the top most point of the trail, shown on the map below, we will make a clockwise loop over what is called the Rollercoaster and then turn right and rejoin the Panorama Trail. The Coaster will add about half a mile to our hike making it about 4 miles.  There will be an additional 100 feet of elevation change bringing the total to 850 feet. The hike should take about 2 and a half hours to three hours.  The hike is right on the line between the Soft and Medium hardness level.  

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We pass through the tunnel under the RR tracks and get to see downtown San Luis Obispo sandwiched between Bishops Peak and Madonna Mountain.  They don't call it "panorama" for nothing.  As you may know, the construction of the RR over Cuesta Grade was a major engineering achievement that opened up San Luis Obispo to the larger outside world.  If you have the time, you should view the video at the following LINK.  Note that the narrator refers to downtown SLO as"quaint and beautiful".  In 1994 when it was recorded at the centennial celebration of the opening of the RR, the statement was true.  There were no tall buildings and narrow streets enclosed by barriers protecting bike paths that no one uses.  

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To Get There:  Take Hwy 101 North or South and look for the Stagecoach exit at the bottom of Cuesta Grade across from the marked 7SM building on the East side.   As you can see in the picture below, there is both a right turn-off lane when headed South and a left-turn lane available when headed North.  Be careful when turning left so as not to be hit by cars headed down the grade at 80+ MPH.

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