Lake San Antonio is a hiker’s hidden jewel – if you know where to look.

You can find day hike trails, solitude, wildlife viewing, wildlife photography, fishing, boating and more at this popular recreation site. Home of the Wildflower Triathlon, hiking abounds at this lake. Lake San Antonio offers some of San Luis Obispo County’s best hikes, as well as some rugged hiking in Paso Robles trails’ systems being in the outlying area.

Interlake hiking in Nacimiento/San Antonio area is mostly limited to vast, private ranches that dot the underdeveloped landscapes between these relatively remote lakes.

You can hike to see blacktail deer, Lake San Antonio watershed and more. Although the lake is pretty low, there’s still a chance to get off the beaten path. Monterey County Parks Department runs the show here. Boating dock-in and launch days are subject to change, somewhat finicky and mostly only a weekends-only boating site. Quagga mussel restrictions remain in place.

As a Paso Robles hiker, expect to find mostly flat areas with short day hikes in/around the campsites areas. Well-marked, these Lake San Antonio hiking trails offer solitude. Springtime arrives, and with it the arrival of wildflowers. Some of the most unique aspects of this lake are its remoteness, the abundant acreage and spaced-out feel that offers campsites that remain mostly vacant.

In its heyday, Lake San Antonio was a recreational boaters paradise, replete with lodges, hotels, inns and accompanying businesses in and around the Lake San Antonio/Nacimiento Lakes interlakes region. This vast geographic area is somewhat blighted now, and several of these tourism amenities including the nearby Bee Rock General Store, remain closed.

Heritage Ranch is a nearby development – as well as Oak Shores and the Lake San Antonio ranches that abut this vast lanscape.