Tuesday, March 11, 2014

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Click here to watch a short video of today’s ride

Today’s ride goes along the wine tasting trails east of Hwy 101 and north of CA-46 on Hog Canyon and Ranchito Canyon to Cross Canyon Rd. The ride continues into San Miguel for lunch followed by a stop at Mission San Miguel. The return south includes a snack stop at Cider Creek Bakery; a local favorite known for their apple flips.

We exit the RV Park and head north on Airport Rd up towards the flat lands through the Municipal Airport, the Youth Correctional Facility and industrial businesses.

We make a stop at the Estrella Adobe Church; this was the first Protestant church to be constructed in northern San Luis Obispo County in 1878.

The Estrella Adobe Church Cemetery has magnificent views of the valley and its rolling vineyards.

Tower Rd runs along the north side of the airport through the vineyards and ranch homes to Jardine Rd. We continue north on Jardine and cross the Estrella River to Hog Canyon Rd.

The first mile or so on Hog Canyon Rd goes through a rural community with horse ranches and farms.

The gentle rolling terrain leads us out of the residential area to the neighboring wineries, vineyards and olive groves.

There is one short climb from Pozzuoli Winery up to Hog Heaven Vineyards.

Hog Canyon Rd continues east out along the canyon through acres and acres of rolling hill-side vineyards.

The road opens up to the expansive views of the soft contoured hills surrounding the valley.

This country back road has a scattering of cattle ranches with old barns and other farming structures.

We cross into Monterey County near the olive groves at C & G olive Farm & Ranch. There’s an abandoned trailer sitting off the side of the road along with a sighting of a camouflage hide used for hunting.

Hog Canyon continues into the canyon through few more farms and ranches and ends at Ranchito Canyon.

We head SW on Ranchito Canyon; this road takes us up and over the canyon with stunning views of the golden Chalome Hills.

The road drops us into the valley floor through a residential tract ranching community.  

This expansive area has multiple horse facilities and cattle ranches along with a sheep farm and agricultural lands.

We cross back into San Luis Obispo County and wind our way out of the canyon to the wine tasting trail at the south end of Ranchito Canyon.

We continue west on Cross Canyon Rd for the next 4.7 miles along the wine trail towards San Miguel. 

The rolling climbs take us up and around the gorgeous vineyards and orchards.

The upper valley has stunning views of the golden Chalome Hills and the Santa Lucia Mountains in the far distance.

At the bottom of Cross Canyon Rd, we head west on N River Rd into San Miguel.

Our lunch stop is at the Mission Market & Deli at the corner of 14th St & Mission. There is plenty of indoor seating along with a few outdoor picnic tables.

We head south on Mission St for a stop at Mission San Miguel Arcangel.

This is the front of Old Mission San Miguel:

Some of the colorful wooden doors:

Courtyard setting:

Inside the Old Mission Church:

Mission Cemetery:

Different types of grave markers:

The stone Bell Tower: 

Visiting tour group from Arizona:

Next time, we’ll have to drive out here to take the self-guided tour of the Museum-sans bikes. It’s a beautiful place to just walk around, there’s a lot to see!

We turn around on Mission St back to 14th St.

We cross the dry Salinas River and head south on N River Rd; this road is part of the wine tasting trail with miles and miles of vineyards and wineries.

This road runs along the wide open meadows with cattle ranches and stock ponds.

Olive groves, pumpkin farms and horse ranches fill in the wide spaces between the vineyards and wineries.

We hop onto the River Walk Trail off N River Rd; this trail takes us under and around to the other side at S River Rd.

We stay on S River Rd to the shopping centers off Niblick Rd for a snack stop at Cider Creek Bakery; they are known for their apple flips-it’s like a hand-held apple pie!

For the return to the RV Park, we stay on Niblick through the busy residential area and school districts to Creston Rd.

The short climb up and over Creston to Golden Hill Rd brings us to Union Rd. We take CA-46 E to Airport Rd back to the RV Park.

This is a very scenic route along the quiet back roads through Paso Robles wine country. The stop at Old Mission San Miguel is highly recommended! This route is short enough to be able to not just enjoy the country roads but to also stop and enjoy some of the history that surrounds these small towns. If we don’t ever take time, how can we ever have time? It’s all up to us.

Garmin Stats:
48 Miles with 2379′ of elevation gain
Max elevation: 1488′
Max grade: 9%
Terrain: Rolling hills

Weather: Sunny with partly cloudy skies. Temps ranged from the low 50’s to the mid 70’s. NE winds with 54% humidity

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Follow this route for today’s ride: