The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center will host a holiday hike on December 29th at Oso Flaco Lake, which sits just north of Guadalupe and offers visitors one of the most scenic — and definitely well hidden — natural areas along the state’s coastline.

The easy hike starts at 9:00 a.m., and participants are asked to meet at the trail head, located inside the white gate inside the parking lot area. Hikers will begin their adventure walking through a wooded area of arroyo willows and wax myrtle, where numerous species of songbirds make their homes, as they head to a bridge that crosses the lake.

Once across the lake, Ray will lead the group into the stabilized area of the dunes complex, where silver dune lupine, coyote bush, deer weed and dunes paintbrush flourish, and a wide variety of birds, reptiles, mammals and other plants also live and thrive.

Finally, hikers will make their way along a 1 1⁄2-mile wood boardwalk that winds through the sand dunes and ends at the foredunes — the area of the dunes closest to the ocean — where a viewing platform allows visitors to take in sweeping views of Point San Luis to the north and Mussel Rock to the south.