After six years of fundraising, design, permitting and construction, The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County is finally open!
Yes!Pismo Preserve Opened January 25th!
After six years of fundraising, design, permitting and construction, The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Pismo Preserve on Thursday, January 16th, and opened the trails to the public on Saturday, January 25th. The Preserve’s 11 miles of multi-use trail will be accessible to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians from 6am - 7pm daily (6am – 9:30pm March through October). The gated property will lock at closing time every evening and overnight parking or camping is prohibited.
The Pismo Preserve grand opening came almost six years after The Land Conservancy raised $12 million in a whirlwind campaign to purchase the 880-acre property. Despite some set-backs and unexpected delays, the theme at the ribbon-cutting event was a celebration of “doing things right the first time.”
Community leaders, state officials, local business owners, and volunteers braved the fast and intense storm that descended on the Central Coast just as speakers addressed the crowd. Everyone in attendance had contributed in different and significant ways to make the project possible. Speakers included representatives from the Northern Chumash, the Wildlife Conservation Board, State Coastal Conservancy, City of Pismo Beach, County Board of Supervisors, and children from The Land Conservancy’s Learning Among the Oaks Program.
As Kaila Dettman, Executive Director of The Land Conservancy spoke over howling winds and pelting rain, she noted “I think the storm is fitting – it will wash away the construction dust, water our grasslands, and welcome a new era for the land and for our community.”
PARKING INFORMATION: Three horse-trailer parking spaces will be reservable on a twice-daily basis through a free online reservation system. Equestrians are encouraged to visit http://lcslo.org/pismohorseparking for more details and a detailed explanation of your online form is here on the next page.
Equestrian parking at the Pismo Preserve is free. There are 3 parking spaces available in the morning and afternoon every day. All users must register for a designated equestrian parking space prior to arriving at the Preserve. Parking spots are available to reserve up to two months in advance. You can reserve multiple dates/times for a single vehicle. To reserve multiple vehicles for a single date/time, you must submit a separate form for each vehicle. Print your reservation confirmation email and clearly display it on your dashboard. The Land Conservancy will verify
reservations by the license plate number you provide.
Walk through the Preserve reservation form here.
Once you click on the parking link, a calendar (see below), will come up offering a choice of dates available. Dark grey dates have openings. Click on the date you wish to ride and choose either a morning or an afternoon time. Fill in the rest of the form with your name, email, license plate number and the number of horses you will bring in your trailer.
Print your reservation confirmation email and clearly display it on your dashboard. If you cannot print the email, write down all the information and display on your dash. Make sure you enter the correct license plate number for your truck at the time of reservation as this will be checked. For more information please visit our Frequently Asked Questions Page. Do go to that page! Questions about helmets, dogs, night riding among other things are addressed there.
“Horse Trailer Tuesdays at Pismo Preserve.
If you haven't heard, the Pismo Preserve parking lot will be available to horse trailers ONLY on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month! Anyone is welcome on the trails, but parking will only be available to equestrians. On these days reservations are not required! Some of the parking will be on asphalt.
A total of 14 rigs can be parked at one time on “Horse Trailer Tuesdays.” If we use the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays enough we may have more of them. If we do not use them we may lose some.
Hikers and bikers will still have access to the trails on these days, so let’s make this work and enjoy our parking days!