Cerro San Luis (aka Madonna Mountain)
Cerro San Luis, otherwise known as Madonna Mountain to locals, is located right in the heart of San Luis Obispo. The “M” which brands the side of the mountain stands for Mission. This ride offers both fire road and single track. Start the ride at the just off Marsh Road exit to highway 101 leaving downtown.
The fire road is approximately two miles to the top of the hill. Enjoy great views of the area. Morro Bay is WNW (west, northwest) from Cerro San Luis, and Pismo and the dunes are about due south. Just off the top you can drop down the infamous Rock Graden Trail (not for beginners – unless you like walking your bike). This will untimatley connect with the lower Lemon Grove Trail (killer single track) that can be accessed from the bottom parking lot at approximately the 1/4 mile mark.
Lots to explore with no chances of getting lost! If you ride the many various loops, you can easily squeeze ten miles out of this local favorite. Beware of increased foot traffic on the weekends.
Drop in on downtown for a cold one afterwards.
Hi J.G. :
Just discovered this site. Nice resource, and the GPS links are great. However, you need to bring a compass for when you’re talking compass directions. Morro Bay is WNW (west, northwest) from Cerro San Luis, and Pismo and the dunes are about due south.
Roger that, Bruce. Thanks for the assistance. Much appreciated.
Actually, Cerro San Luis, is really known as San Luis Mt. to the locals and not Madonna mountain. The “M” stands for Mission. Madonna was just a man with alot of money.
To be fair to the Madonnas they do own the Mtn and have been/are very generous in allowing basically FULL access to many different user groups. Not all of the 7 sisters have such generous access available.
Each time I see any of the Madonna family I try to let them know that I enjoy and appreciate the use of “The Mountain” Cerro San Luis Obispo.
Has the Rock Garden Trail gotten progressively more gravelly over the past couple years? I rode it today and it seems like there’s more loose gravel than when I first rode it about two years ago.
it actually is known to me and all my friends as madonna
Local for 20 years and rarely do I hear anyone call it anything other than Madonna mt.
Hey there. Yeah…I rarely hear anybody call it anything but Mnt. Madonna, too. Thanks for checking out my site. Happy riding.
Because of its proximity to Bishop’s Peak many people think it Madonna as in some Religious name…..the mountain near Cal Poly has a P…..the M stands for Mission School……and I wonder if the B on Bishops stands for Bishop Elementary, which is at the base?
The B on Bishops is actually a P, hence the popular climbing location “P-wall.”
According to “Central Coast Climbs” by Tom Slater, the P was originally painted right after WW2 by sailors with experience painting large ship hulls. The P stands for Poly, the nickname of the nearby university.