Santa Maria Increasing Public Access to Popular Park and Hiking Trail
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - The City of Santa Maria is increasing public access to one of its most popular recreation destinations.
On Saturday, the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department will hold a 16th anniversary celebration for Los Flores Ranch Park.
Located eight miles south of the city limits in the Solomon Hills, the 1,778 facility is owned and operation by the City of Santa Maria.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the community event will include family-friendly games, local food vendors, and a solar viewing experience with the Los Flores Ranch Mobile Observatory that features a telescope safely focused on the sun.
During the celebration, the city will also officially announce the trail system located within the park will have increased access beginning immediately.
Starting on Saturday, June 27th, the public will be able use the 24-mile trail system seven days a week.
Previously, the trails were only open from Thursday through Sunday.
"We're going from four days a week now to seven days a week," said Dennis Smitherman, Santa Maria Recreation Services Manager. "We surveyed the residents here of Santa Maria during our leisure needs assessment and trails were a top priority for our community," said Smitherman. "By allowing more space, more time for people to come out and utilize the park, we're really meeting the needs of the community."
The city describes the park as a facility that offers the public a rare mix of environmental education, land preservation and recreation, giving residents of a city that exceeds more than 100,000 people in population, a place to get away from the hustle and bustle, but remain close to home.
"It's a whole different environment out there," said Smitherman. "It's interesting dichotomy of the two environments, so we encourage people to get out, enjoy nature, nice quiet atmosphere, have a little exercise and enjoy what's all of Santa Maria Valley. It's a beautiful setting. We have this great open space, natural oaks in the environment. You'll see a variety of wildlife. We encourage people to sunscreen up, take a bottle of water, wear comfortable clothing and really just get out there and enjoy the hike."
"We surveyed the residents here of Santa Maria during our leisure needs assessment and trails were a top priority for our community," said Smitherman. "By allowing more space, more time for people to come out and utilize the park, we're really meeting the needs of the community."
In addition to hiking, the trails may also be used for mountain biking and horseback riding.
Los Flores Ranch Park summer operating hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with the last entry permitted at 6 p.m.
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