Eighty percent of funding has already been secured specifically for the trail connection

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — After decades of planning efforts by community members and county agencies, the Friends of the Bob Jones Trail advocacy group is calling on the San Luis Obispo County community to help close the funding gap on the much-anticipated Bob Jones Trail “City to the Sea” connection. This four-mile segment will connect the City of San Luis Obispo to Avila Beach and Pismo Beach, providing a safe, accessible, and sustainable transportation and recreation option for commuters, county residents, and visitors.

Eighty percent of funding has already been secured specifically for the trail connection, including $18 million from the California Transportation Commission (CTC), but there is still a deficit in project costs. To keep this allocated state funding intact and move this transformational project forward, the Friends of the Bob Jones Trail has launched a community-based fundraising effort to ensure the “City to the Sea Trail” is completed. The group aims to raise $1 million by Jan. 30, 2025, before the next meeting of the CTC, with a final funding goal of $5.5 million by fiscal year 2026-27.

“Finishing this project is incredibly important for our community, not only for visitors and residents of the adjacent towns of SLO, Avila, and Pismo Beach but because of what it means for the entire county,” said Jesse Dundon, Friends of the Bob Jones Trail member and community advocate. “Once we finish this final segment there’s no end to the safe, sustainable commuting and recreational trail network we can build. But without community support to make the City-to-the-Sea connection happen, that dream could die on the vine.”

The new trail segment will complete the vision of a seamless route along San Luis Obispo Creek, linking the existing trail sections, a 2.5-mile trail from Avila Beach to Highway 101 and a 1-mile section from Prado Road to Los Osos Valley Road in San Luis Obispo. Once completed, the extension will create a safe, multi-use path from the Octagon Barn in SLO to the Avila Beach trailhead on Ontario Drive, connecting with the Shell Beach path in Pismo Beach which recently received SB 1 grant funds.

In addition to $18 million in state grants, $8 million has been committed locally by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) and $6 million from Caltrans. SLO County District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said that completing the Bob Jones Trail is the one issue she hears most about in her district.  

“People care deeply about it and are concerned it may not be built,” she said. “I believe the community deserves to have a safe route between the city and the sea and I am excited that a public-private partnership has formed to help raise money to address the funding gap.”

With the launch of this fundraising campaign to save the Bob Jones Trail connection, the Friends of the Bob Jones Trail believe that “together, we can finish what we started.” 

For more information, visit The Bob Jones Trail Website at thebobjonestrail.com or contact thebobjonestrail@gmail.com

Feature Image: With the goal of raising $5.5 million in the coming years, the Friends of the Bob Jones Trail announce a community-based fundraiser to support the final “City to the Sea” connection of the Bob Jones Trail. Photo courtesy of SLO County