OUTINGS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY 



E. P. UNANGST 



OF mountain resorts as such, where hotel accommodations may be had, 

 there is none in San Luis Obispo County. Nevertheless the observer 

 will note that each year the knowing ones, loaded with provisions, 

 blankets, fishing-tackle, shotgun and rifle, disappear. For a time 

 lost to their friends and the world, in due season they reappear well 

 labeled with freckle and tan. Their exhaustless stories of trout, venison, 

 and small game, of good times had, of mountain trails explored, the visible 

 evidences of reinvigorated mind and body, all prove the fact that San Luis 

 Obispo County offers to the lover of Nature and Nature's ways some of the 

 choicest entertainments. 



At present we confine ourselves with two exceptions to those places 

 where hotel accommodations may be had. First among these is the little 

 city at the head of the Salinas Valley, Paso de Robles. The very name 

 "Pass of the Oaks," carries us back at once to the days of the "Camino 

 del Rey," when the weary traveler, journeying from the south after crossing 

 the Santa Lucia range, found himself in this great natural park, miles in 

 extent. Magnificent oaks in every direction, the undulating country inter- 

 spersed with rougher hills was a very paradise awaiting the coming of 

 civilization. But the chief attraction was the warm sulphur waters gushing 

 from the earth. These, with the adjoining warm mud-baths were already 

 famous among the Indians for their healing qualities. 



When the settlement began they furnished the nucleus for the present 

 thriving city. Here has since been erected the worldwide advertised Hotel 

 Paso de Robles, where every want that mortal man can have, whether in 

 search of health or amusement and relaxation, is promptly supplied. The 

 new bath-house, one of the most luxurious and best equipped of modern 

 times, built by the hotel company, the mud-baths in connection therewith, 

 and the completely equipped municipal bath-house recently built by the 

 city, afford every opportunity for enjoying the healing waters. It is not 

 only the contorted rheumatic cripple, who, literally throwing away his 

 crutches, arises and walks, that seeks this favored spot. The warm, 

 salubrious climate, the beautiful panorama of surrounding hill and valley 

 country, the attractions of game for the hunter and sportsman, the oppor- 

 tunity for riding and driving in valley, plain, and picturesque canon draw 

 thousands annually to this beautiful place. 



Newsome Springs must next be visited. Situate In the Arroyo Grande 

 Valley some five or six miles from the ocean, very different conditions 

 obtain. Removed from the ocean, surrounded by hills, a warm inland 

 climate is found. Family accommodations for a limited number may be 

 had, or one of the half-dozen or more old-fashioned quaint cottages, with 

 their rough rustic fireplaces may be rented. The sheltered seclusion in 

 the hills, the warm, mild climate, the salubrious sulphur baths, peculiarly 

 beneficial for certain troubles, the exclusion from the world at large, the 

 nearness of the base of supplies, the diversified surroundings of richest 

 farming, orchard, and garden, woodland scene and near-by mountain 

 range, all form a part of the charm of a summer vacation that will linger 

 In the memory long after the reality has passed. 



Sycamore Springs, within a few miles of San Luis Obispo, also offers 

 great attractions for an outing. Some years since, while exploring for oil, 

 a strong flow of warm white sulphur water was encountered. The search 

 for oil was abandoned. Commodious hotels, cottages, and bath-houses 

 were erected. Under the able management of the present owners, through- 

 out the year the springs are visited by a steady succession of pleasure or 

 health seekers to enjoy the luxurious and highly medicinal waters. Situate 

 on the inland side of a lofty wooded hill, surrounded by magnificent syca- 

 mores, beautiful cottonwoods, willows, and live-oaks, a sylvan scene, the 

 eye is pleased, and the mind and body of the tourist Is rested. Yet in a short 

 twenty minutes' ride you stand on the shores of the blue Pacific, and the 

 scene is changed from inland beauty to that of ocean grandeur. 



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