Touring * Fitness * Street * Slalom * Artistic *

From U.S. 101 just south of San Luis Obispo, take the Los Osos Valley Road exit, heading west. Follow the road beyond Madonna Road until you see a schoolyard on the right. Just opposite, on the left, is the small sign for Perfumo Canyon Road, which leads south from a housing development. Follow the road to the base of the hill, beyond the marked bike path (on pitted asphalt), to where the pavement becomes smooth enough for skating. Park on the roadside (it's a tight squeeze).

The pavement of this curvy, lightly trafficked road eventually dissipates to gravel, but what there is of it is in quite good repair, making this a good workout hill for experienced skaters. The tree-lined road creeps up a rather narrow canyon and gains quite a bit of vertical rise en route. Unfortunately, the climb does not culminate in much of a view, due to the dense forest. Keep your ears open for approaching cars because there's no paved shoulder and plenty of blind corners. And speed demons, beware on the curvy trip back down! If you don't bring along your best braking skills, you may find yourself hugging a patch of prickly pear by the road.