Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve is a

California State Park The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

in western

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Mission ...

, in the

Central Coast of California The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undeveloped ...

region. It preserves centuries-old coast live oaks (''Quercus agrifolia'') growing atop

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

. It is located in the

Los Osos Valley The Los Osos Valley is a valley within San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast of California region. Geography Los Osos Valley lies between southern San Luis Obispo and Baywood-Los Osos. The town of Los Osos is in the valley. The Irish ...

between

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

and Baywood Park-Los Osos, just outside the town of Los Osos. The park was established in 1972.

Area history

There are several prehistoric sites in the proximate vicinity of the Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve, in addition to

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

recovery within the reserve itself. A significant-sized

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...

site, Los Osos Back Bay, has been partially excavated on a stabilized sand dune slightly to the north of the reserve dating to at least as early as 1200 CE.

Proposed for closure

The reserve was one of several state parks threatened with closure in 2008. After the

2009 California state special elections The California state special elections, 2009 were held on May 19, 2009 throughout the state of California. The elections were authorized by the California State Legislature, State Legislature and Governor of California, Governor Arnold Schwarzen ...

, in which voters turned down a package of propositions dealing with California budget crisis, Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

proposed the temporary closure (for at least 2 years) of 220 parks. The closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide.

References

External links

Official website at California State Parks Hikespeak Blog: Los Osos Oaks State Natural Reserve
— ''images, info, map''. * {{Protected areas of California, SP California State Reserves Parks in San Luis Obispo County, California Morro Bay Protected areas established in 1972 1972 establishments in California