Central Coast California bike trips and outdoor trips in San Luis Obispo California. Central Coast Outdoors offer bike trips and outdoor trips on the Central Coast of California in San Luis Obispo.

A self professed outdoors junkie, John has hiked, ridden and paddled on five continents. He has hiked the entire John Muir Trail, bike toured in Patagonia and sea kayaked in New Zealand and Baja. John moved to the Central Coast in 1997 and immediately fell in love with the area. "The first time I did a ride in Montaña de Oro State Park, I almost fell off my bike - it was so beautiful. Ever since that moment, we have been looking for a way to translate our extensive experience in the active travel world into creating opportunities for people to experience the Central Coast."

As a guide and field manager with Backroads® for 13 years, John gained invaluable experience in designing and running first class active travel trips for people of all ability levels.What he loves most about guiding is being able to facilitate an incredible outdoors experience, "to take people to a place they might not find on their own and

Growing up in California, Virginia developed a passion for the outdoors at an early age. By age ten she was a veteran of many Sierra backpacking trips led by her father. "I remember feeling complete happiness at being outside backpacking with my dad. It was very special to be together in such a beautiful place." Virginia's family members are long time residents of the Central Coast.

Virginia is an accomplished world traveler, having spent part of her childhood in Germany and traveling to virtually every country in Europe. Since then she has also traveled to South America, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, the Himalayas and Indonesia. Virginia graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1985 with a B.A. in German Language and Literature and can still manage to hold a conversation in German. As a guide, hiring coordinator and European field manager for Backroads® for 15 years,

Marcos is fortunate to have lived on the Central Coast since age four. His current passion for the outdoors was built on his upbringing by his parents, who enjoyed hiking, camping, biking and wine tasting. By age twelve Marcos was addicted to the ocean's waves and wildlife. In his adult life, he has been a surf board maker among other things. When not guiding tours for Central Coast Outdoors, Marcos can often be found surfing on local beaches with his dog Elton or kayaking, fishing or hiking.

Rouvaishyana earned a certificate in Natural History and went through the Marine Science program at College of the Redwoods in Ft. Bragg, CA. He has been with California State Parks since 1989, and has managed the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History since 2005. He has also worked in ocean phytoplankton, marine fisheries, and as an educator for Audubon Society, California Native Plant Society, and Elderhostel (now Road Scholar). He has written guidebooks to fishing and diving sites, kayak and canoe sites, and native plants (all in Mendocino County, where he used to live) plus a children's book. He is an avid ocean kayaker, with nearly 200 ocean excursions. Besides SLO County, he has gone ocean kayaking in Mendocino County, San Francisco Bay, at the Channel Islands, and in conditions ranging from fog to night to rainstorms. Here in Morro Bay, he especially enjoys watching birds and wildlife. He has been a board member and event leader for the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival since 2006, and a naturalist on local whale watching boats since 2007.

Growing up in the foothills of Calaveras County provided the foundation for Cindi's love for the outdoors, nature, animals and natural history. This passion inspired Cindi to choose Recreation, Parks and Tourism with a concentration on Natural Resources Outdoor Management as her major at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She graduated from Cal Poly in June of 2005.

Cindi has traveled and volunteered in Costa Rica, as well as working as a naturalist at the Consumnes River Preserve and at the Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School in San Luis Obispo. She has been with the Central Coast Outdoors "family" (as she likes the describe it) since 2004, interning and guiding kayak tours on Morro Bay. Kinley (the owners' daughter) is also very fond of Cindi.

Karen has always had a passion for nature and the outdoors. Her first job was working on a horse ranch and giving tours on horseback in the Santa Monica Mountains. Later on she attended the Exotic Animal Training and Management program at Moorpark College where she worked with and trained everything from an African lion to a bald eagle. After completing the program, she went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to finish her Bachelors of Science in Animal Science as well as a minor in Equine Science. Karen also teaches elementary students about natural history and ecology in an outdoor school setting. When she is not kayaking on the bay, you can find her mountain biking, scuba diving, or snowboarding.

Spending her summers growing up on a small lake in Maine ten miles from the ocean and close to mountains, Rose has utilized the outdoors as her playground from a young age. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 2008 with a degree in Recreation Management and Sustainable Tourism in the Rubinstein School of Natural Resources.

Since then Rose has worked at an eco-resort in the Caribbean, worked on a farm and traveled in Patagonia, South America, and has worked as crew on sailboats in Maine, finding herself on a few boat deliveries to and from the Caribbean.

Since 2007, Rose has worked for various kayaking companies back east. In the spring of 2011 she became certified as a registered Maine Sea Kayak Guide, guiding

Growing up on a ranch on California's Central Coast provided an early and bountiful immersion into the natural world for guide Kyla Grafton. While attending Humboldt State University in the heart of the redwoods her love for the outdoors blossomed. College exposed Kyla to several outdoor recreational pursuits. She was able to combine her love of whitewater rafting and kayaking with her education in Natural Resources to work as a kayak and interpretive ranger for the National Park Service. She has also worked as a naturalist and guide in Alaska, a whitewater river guide in Northern California as well as a naturalist educating children in an outdoor school near Santa Barbara. Working as a guide and naturalist is often seasonal, which has given Kyla the opportunity for much global exploration.

Steve grew up in SLO County, where he developed a lifelong passion for the water. He went north to Humboldt State (where he met his wife) and Oregon State to study Fish Biology. After working for 12 years as a fisheries biologist in the Northwest, the rain finally got to Steve and his wife and they moved back to SLO County. For the past 6 years Steve has taught biology at Cuesta College and Hancock College. When he's not exploring the coast with his young daughter Zoe, Steve enjoys fishing, surfing, mountain biking, hiking, SCUBA diving and (of course) kayaking. He has been kayaking for over 25 years and loves sharing the beauty and wonders of the Morro Bay estuary with unsuspecting visitors!

If you could describe Mandy in a few words it is this... she possesses an adventuress spirit, a keen eye for the patterns in nature and a deep love for creatures and the ecosystems they live in. She has a strong background in biology, decades of coaching and environmental instruction, experience as a world-class competitive paddler, a lifetime relationship with the ocean, and has been an environmental activist, a poet, and a creative director of an advertising and marketing firm. All this background and passion gives her a unique ability to communicate her love for the earth and share it with others. After years of travel to and paddling in places as remote as Antarctica, the Galapagos, South Africa and Tasmania, Mandy firmly believes that the Morro Bay Estuary is an unsurpassed coastal jewel and one of the best locals for environmental education and unique wildlife experiences in the world. The Central Coast always

After graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 1979 with a Bachelors degree in Natural Resources Management, Ken founded an environmental education school for children 4 to 14 years old. He raised his two children and operated the school on a "wilderness" ranch in the mountains east of Cambria. In 1994, Ken bought his first open ocean kayaks and started giving open ocean tours leaving from the Cayucos Pier or San Simeon Cove. In 2008 he joined with the Central Coast Outdoors family to guide kayaks in Morro Bay. Ken loves to share his knowledge of the animals, birds and ecology of Morro Bay. When he is not guiding kayak tours, he still surfs, snow skis and likes to backpack in the Sierras with his daughters. Ken also volunteers his time with Pacific Wildlife Care capturing and transporting sick or injured wild animals.

Ross was born and raised on California's beautiful Central Coast. It was here that he discovered his passion for adventure, exploration and teaching others. A snapshot of the seasons for Ross would include skiing bottomless backcountry powder, climbing vertical ice and rock, paddling a raging whitewater river, exploring a hidden desert canyon, summiting a remote mountain peak, and paddling the waters of a quiet coastal bay. Ross has guided people on rock, ice and alpine climbs; rafting wild and scenic rivers, and kayaking on Morro Bay. He has developed skills as a group team building leader, a personal empowerment facilitator and as a ski instructor. A life long love of wildlife and ecology makes guiding trips with an emphasis on natural history especially rewarding for Ross. When not guiding outdoors trips, Ross enjoys still and video photography and editing as well as helping with his church youth group.

Dave has been a world traveler from birth by virtue of his father being in the navy. His family loved to boat, fish and camp when he was young and Dave credits these numerous trips for his love of the outdoors. Dave is most at home in the water and is an avid surfer. His adult travels have taken him to many Pacific Rim destinations including Guam, Costa Rica and Kauai. Dave currently resides a stones' throw from the ocean in the town of Morro Bay with his wife Margo and their young daughter Jessica. When not surfing or guiding kayak trips for Central Coast Outdoors, Dave can often be found working with young students at one of our local environmental schools or camps.

Since retiring as a Fire Captain in the California Department of Forestry in 2006, Paul has thrown himself into outdoors pursuits with a passion. He has become an accomplished docent for Morro Bay State Park, as well as for the Point San Luis Lighthouse, guiding numerous tours in both areas for all kinds of people. With 15 years of kayaking experience plus his naturalist training and an all round friendly demeanor, Paul is a great asset to the Central Coast Outdoors guide team.

Ed spent his early youth watching the Atlantic swells crash on England's west coast, his high school days learning to kayak whitewater and climb rocks further inland. A college internship in California introduced him to the joy of teaching and his lovely wife. Now living in Morro Bay, Ed teaches about the natural world at a local outdoor school. He can be found on his time off gliding over the Pacific in his homebuilt kayak or exploring the depths with SCUBA gear. For Ed, helping people explore and sharing knowledge about the fascinating non-human residents of the bay while kayaking is like gravy on top of gravy.

Steve attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and received a Master's degree in Field Biology. He taught high school biology and earth sciences for several years and presently teaches natural history courses for Community Programs at Cuesta College and works for a local residential outdoor school attended by 6th grade students. Steve served on the committee that recently published "Wildflowers of San Luis Obispo" and is the author of "The Peregrine Falcons of Morro Rock - A 40-year History", available at Amazon.com. He is past-President of Morro Coast Audubon Society and is the volunteer coordinator of the Hi Mountain Lookout Project, where volunteers and college interns radio track the movements of California Condors and conduct other biological field research projects. Steve enjoys kayaking, running, biking, hiking, playing basketball, and wildlife and landscape photography.

Katharina grew up in a small town in Austria where she and her siblings spent many memorable summer weekends hiking with her dad. In the winter he taught the family how to downhill and backcountry ski. Since childhood, Katharina has always had a love for the outdoors, adventure, and just being active. Wanting to combine her love of the outdoors with education led her to pursue a BS in Recreation Administration with an emphasis in outdoor education from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Katharina loves to kayak, hike, do yoga and Pilates, and to just explore this incredible place that she lives in. She also enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures. Katharina is curious by nature and loves learning about wildlife as well as sharing her discoveries with others.