By Teresa Mariani

Photo By Teresa Mariani
	The view of See Canyon in Spring

It's definitely a Julie Andrews kind of moment: standing at the top of the Irish Hills in spring, gazing out as the green mountains rolling steeply away from your feet, covered in wildflowers.

The hills are alive, all right - oak groves surrounded by emerald grass bursting with orange poppies, purple lupine and yellow buttercups. Peaceful dairy cows chomp nearby and hawks soar in the blue skies overhead.

These Irish Hills aren't in Ireland. They're the range of steep hills and narrow canyons that separate the towns of San Luis Obispo and Los Osos from nearby Avila Beach. The hills are the usual California gold in summer and fall. But in winter and spring, they're still a beautiful shade of emerald green. It's easy to see why the European settlers who came here in the mid to late 1800s named them the Irish Hills.

On the south side, near the town of Avila Beach, See Canyon cuts into the Irish Hills like a knife. The canyon is the path of meandering See Canyon Creek - a clear little stream that runs yearlong. The canyon widens out into a little river valley at the bottom, where See Canyon Road hits San Luis Bay Drive.

It's the perfect place for a springtime drive and picnic up one side of the Irish Hills and down the other - a 15-mile drive on See Canyon and Prefumo Canyon roads. Getting there is easy: take Highway 101 to the San Luis Bay Drive exit, and head up See Canyon Road (right across from Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School).

The base of See Canyon is thick with apple orchards. Over the past few decades the canyon has become a center for organic and heirloom apple orchards with names like Daisy Dell and Gopher Glen. It's the place to go in fall for crisp apples packed with taste and fresh-pressed cider. In spring, the orchards are closed but the trees are covered with snowy pink white apple blossoms.

The first three miles up from San Luis Bay Drive, See Canyon Road offers a wonderful bike ride (for teens and adults, not necessarily small children.) A sign at the start of the narrow country lane warns drivers to "Share the Road" with bicyclists.

Photo By Teresa Mariani
Cycling through See Canyon

After those first three miles, though, See Canyon Road climbs the backbone of the Irish Hills and becomes Olympic Cyclist territory. On a sunny day, you'll find whippet-thin cyclists in rainbow colors and alien helmets are all over the road (or panting in the shade off to the side during a water break). But it's still a perfect route for a motorcycle ride, or a weekend drive and tailgate picnic.

See Canyon Road snakes up to the top of the Irish Hills, unpaved in some stretches, before turning into Prefumo Canyon Road to wind down the north side of the hills into San Luis Obispo (still unpaved in some stretches).

From start to finish, the 15 miles of the See Canyon Road - Prefumo Canyon Road route takes about 50 minutes to drive at a nice slow speed and offers some breathtaking vistas. It also offers plenty of chances to veer off, roll downhill and crash. So make sure your driver pulls over to the side to take in the views, instead of trying to see the sights from behind the wheel.

Even though you're just minutes from Avila Beach and San Luis Obispo on those 15 miles, the rest of the world seems hours away.

Especially when you hit the cattle guard and Denning Cattle Company sign about five and a half miles in, and the asphalt gives way to dirt. You could find yourself sharing the road with grazing dairy cows at any moment.

Even though the country is beautiful, you can't get out and explore or hike. All of the property on either side of See Canyon and Prefumo Canyon roads is private property. And posted with "No Trespassing" signs. A lot of it is green and lush and covered with healthy poison oak as well. But you'll find plenty of places to pull to the side, stand on the road, and take some beautiful photos.

Photo By Teresa Mariani
	A picnic view of See Canyon

Especially at the top, when See Canyon Road crests the ridge and suddenly you can see twenty miles up the coast. It's enough to make you want to get out, twirl around and start singing "The Sound of Music."

OK, maybe not everyone out for a Sunday drive wants to do that. But I'd bet a significant portion do. Because at your feet you'll see emerald mountain slopes rolling down to the sea. Spread out before you will be all of the Seven Sisters - the volcanic peaks that run from Morro Rock to Islay Hill.

Below are the towns of Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo and the Cal Poly campus. Beyond them are the Santa Lucia Mountains. To the west are the cliffs and bluffs of the North Coast, the blue sea, and the sky. On a clear day, you'd swear you can almost see to Hearst Castle.

It's enough to take your breath away, especially if it's windy. A lucky few live up here; the ridge is dotted with cattle ranches and a few new view homes. Near the houses, on the downhill side, the road widens out a bit near a cattle fence and loading chute - the perfect place to pull to the side, pull down the tailgate, and picnic. (Beware of the wind, and don't let your trash go flying.)

The spot is only about 8 miles from San Luis Bay Drive, but it seems like a world away. Then it's downhill on Prefumo Canyon Road, which runs along Prefumo Creek. You'll hit the San Luis Obispo City Limits sign at 12 miles, and be back on Los Osos Valley Road just 15 miles from where you started on See Canyon Road at San Luis Bay Drive.

It may not be as famous or as long as Carmel's famed 17-mile-drive, but I'll take a tailgate picnic lunch on top of the Irish Hills anytime.

Writer Teresa Mariani lives on the Central Coast.

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