SLO extends night hiking for another winter season
Update:
SLO’s City Council voted 4-0 to extend the night hiking program for the 2020-2021 winter season, with Councilman Aaron Gomez absent.
Mayor Heidi Harmon cited the need for outdoor recreational opportunities amid the pandemic.
City officials said Cerro San Luis Natural Reserve is not in a primary wildlife corridor, compared to other open space areas in SLO.
SLO officials said that rangers monitor the night hiking and have turned away hikers, who don’t have city permits for evening open space use, during the first two years of the city’s pilot program.
Original story:
The San Luis Obispo City Council is considering extending its night hiking program for another winter.
The council will discuss whether to continue the two-year pilot program, which expired in March, through March 2021 at its regular Tuesday meeting.
The night hiking program allows members of the public to use of Cerro San Luis Natural Reserve from one hour before sunrise to 8:30 p.m. The program kicked off with the end of daylight savings time, typically running November through March.
The reserve features 4.9 miles of trails on 118 acres and overlooks the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. The access point is located on Fernandez Road at the end of Marsh Street just before the southbound Highway 101 on-ramp.
The night hiking program has drawn criticism from some who say nocturnal wildlife is disturbed by nighttime hikers and bikers. But it’s been popular with recreational users, who value the opportunity for nature excursions after traditional working hours.
Under the program, hikers and bikers must obtain a permit for the day they plan to use the trails, normally open to the public from dawn to dusk, according to the city’s website. The program limits the capacity to 65 people per night.
A total of 3,160 permits were issued during the 2018-2019 season and 2,770 permits were issued during the 2019-2020 season.
“At the conclusion of the pilot program, staff will prepare a summary report of the pilot program for (the) council’s consideration, and at that time would seek further guidance based on the levels of use during the pilot program and evaluation of the data collected,” San Luis Obispo officials noted in a staff report in 2018.
But city staff have not yet had time or the opportunity to prioritize the preparation of a concluding two-year summary report “due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated resource impacts while staff continue to serve in their capacity as disaster service workers.”
SLO residents differ on night hiking program
Some community members have sent letters to the city critiquing its plans to extend the program without a study.
“Council and the public were promised an objective, factual evaluation of the impact on wildlife before considering extending the program further,” wrote former San Luis Obispo mayor Jan Marx, who was recently elected to the City Council after an unofficial tally.
Marx wrote that the item should be addressed in a full hearing and not have been put on the council’s consent agenda, designed to move items along quickly with approval, often with minimal discussion.
“As a controversial matter, it should be a regular agenda item,” said Linden Nelson, a SLO resident.
But others would like to be able to use the space this winter as a stress reliever, and support the extension.
“When considering the mental health of residents in the San Luis Obispo area, there are very few opportunities to find active stress-relieving activities during the winter months,” wrote Sara von Schwind of San Luis Obispo. “One of the suggestions from mental health experts is to connect with nature.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 1:36 PM.
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