The Bob Jones Trail Is Being Built South From the Octagon Barn. When Will It Reach Avila?

"This was something my father had a vision for," Michele Smith told KEYT at the September 17 groundbreaking at the Octagon Barn. "And he was somebody that could get everybody talking." Her father was Bob Jones, the man the trail is named for. KEYT called the day "nearly fifty years in the making." KCBX reported that Helene Finger, president of Friends of the Bob Jones Trail, has worked on the project for 20 years.

If you drive South Higuera Street, you've probably seen the construction signs that went up on August 31. When this stretch is finished, though, it won't take you from San Luis Obispo to the ocean. It will give the city a new trailhead at the Octagon Barn, with a gap still open on each side. For the next few years, the barn is the main thing this project gives you.

A trailhead with a gap on each side

The County of San Luis Obispo's Public Works notice says work on Segment 1 began Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Segment 1 runs between the Octagon Barn and Clover Ridge Lane. Souza Construction of San Luis Obispo holds the $10.5 million contract. The work is paid for by a federal Active Transportation Program grant awarded through the California Transportation Commission, and the county expects construction to take up to 18 months. Counting from September 2026, that puts the finish in early 2028 at the latest.

A California Transportation Commission project memo describes Segment 1 as a 1.5-mile Class I path, fully separated from traffic. The same memo says it doesn't reach the city trail at its north end or the existing Avila trail at its south end, so at first it may work mainly as an out-and-back route.

Here's how the trail breaks down today, from the city to the sea:

The city segment starts at Higuera Street and Prado Road and currently ends at Los Osos Valley Road, as KEYT reported in July. TrailLink lists it at 1.3 miles, with footbridges at both ends. Between Los Osos Valley Road and the barn, SLOCOG transportation planner Stephen Hanamaikai told KEYT that "there's a pretty good connection with the existing bike lanes. But, you know, we want to complete that vision." According to the same report, that link still requires coordination between jurisdictions, right-of-way and property acquisition, and safety decisions.

At the south end, Segment 1 stops at Clover Ridge Lane, still 2.8 miles from the Ontario Road trailhead.

Why a path that stops short still matters

Even before it links up, the new path takes people off a road that was never designed for walking or biking. In a 2025 project document, Caltrans describes Ontario Road as squeezed between Highway 101 and the hillsides, with traffic volumes and speeds unsuitable for walking or biking. KSBY reported that the goal is a safe parallel route, so people walking and riding no longer have to use South Higuera.

The route of the next piece also explains why it's taking longer. The CTC memo says the revised Segment 2 alignment uses Caltrans right-of-way, follows the west side of San Luis Creek, and goes around a private parcel. The 2025 Caltrans document says that redesign moved Segment 2 to non-ATP funding, with SLOCOG and the county as funding partners.

Until Segment 2 is built, the trip to Avila still means getting to Ontario Road on your own. The existing southern trail starts across Ontario Road from a parking lot off Highway 101, according to Visit Avila Beach. TrailLink gives the lot as the Ontario Road Park & Ride at 7009 Ontario Road. From there, the path follows San Luis Obispo Creek behind the Avila Valley Barn fields into downtown Avila Beach. The county puts that stretch at about 2.5 miles. Visit Avila Beach measures 3.0 miles if you go all the way to the end of Avila Pier.

The money is lined up. The schedule runs to 2030.

The county's Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2026–27 through 2030–31 treats the whole Octagon Barn to Ontario Road extension as one project, estimated at $40,936,282. Of that total, $9,480,282 is approved. The other $31,456,000 is listed as "approved pending appropriation," made up of ATP, Senate Bill 125, SLOCOG local, SHOPP and STIP funds. In other words, about three of every four dollars are committed on paper but not yet appropriated.

The regional agency describes it more firmly. A project table in the SLOCOG board packet for October 7, 2026 labels Bob Jones Multi-Use Path Phase 2 "Fully funded." The next steps it lists are to complete final design, monitor cost and schedule, and preserve contingency.

Taken together, the county plan gives this calendar:

1. Fall 2026: Segment 1 construction is underway. Hanamaikai told KEYT that utility work comes first, before "real construction" can begin.
2. Early 2028 at the latest: Segment 1 should be complete, based on the county's up-to-18-month estimate.
3. Fiscal year 2028–29, July 2028 through June 2029: Construction is planned to start on the southern section.
4. Fiscal year 2029–30: The county estimates the full extension will be complete.

So between Segment 1 opening and Segment 2 being finished, the barn will probably spend at least a year or two as the north end of a path that doesn't connect to anything yet.

The barn got ready first

The Octagon Barn was built in 1906 by William Mighell, a dairyman and sea captain, and the Pereira family ran the property as a local dairy hub after 1920, as The Tribune reported for the barn's 120th anniversary this summer. The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County acquired the ranch in 1997. Volunteers and local carpenters rebuilt the roof and stabilized the barn between 1998 and 2008. The calf barn now holds a museum, and the milking parlor has been restored.

As part of the trail project, the barn recently added public restrooms and a bike repair station. The grounds are open to the public, with picnic tables and the history museum. Christa Stoll, the conservancy's community engagement coordinator, told The Tribune that the trail is "a great opportunity to engage more of a community out here, connect them to the history of the barn, and then also connect them to local conservation." Parking was already in place before this phase. A 2017 county announcement listed a parking lot and a left-turn lane on South Higuera among the site improvements at 4400 Octagon Way.

Two things at the barn don't depend on the construction schedule:

• Docent-led history tours cover the barn's dairy history and the restoration that saved it from collapse. The Octagon Barn events page lists them as free, with donations appreciated.
• The Land Conservancy's Holiday Market and Barn Lighting is Thursday, December 3. The market runs 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., and the barn lights up at 7:00 p.m. The conservancy promises California-made goods, local food trucks, hot cocoa and live music.

Proceeds from private events at the barn, such as weddings, corporate gatherings and fundraisers, go back to the conservancy for preservation and upkeep, according to The Tribune. For questions or comments about the construction itself, the county notice lists Public Works at (805) 781-4644.

Construction on South Higuera is scheduled to continue into 2028, with the southern segment to follow. If you'd like to talk through what that means for a home near this part of town, Gena Isaacson is glad to share what she's seeing. Let's Connect.