Start from 32 curated places around Pismo Beach, CA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Ember
A wood-fired, open-kitchen restaurant in Arroyo Grande that has held Michelin recognition for its Central Coast cooking, and it stays the most ambitious table in the area. Nearly everything touches the fire, from the kale and sausage pizza to the seasonal vegetables. The reason locals drive in from all over the county.
The Oyster Loft
An upstairs, white-tablecloth seafood room overlooking the pier, this is the special-occasion dinner in downtown Pismo. Plates run toward composed and elegant, with scallops, black cod, and seafood towers. Come for the windows facing the water as much as the food.
Trails & outdoors
Pismo Preserve
An 880-acre coastal preserve in the hills above town with roughly eleven miles of multi-use trails open to hikers, bikers, and horses. The Discovery Trail loop climbs from oak woodland to ridgeline views stretching across the coast. The signature inland hike of the area and a complete change of scenery from the beach.
Cave Landing and Pirate's Cove from Shell Beach Bluff Trail
A two-mile out-and-back from the Shell Beach bluffs out to Cave Landing, a sandstone promontory with a sea cave, and down to the hidden Pirate's Cove beach below. Moderate with some loose footing, and the views of the coast are the best in the immediate area. Note the cove beach is clothing-optional.
Things to do
Avila Valley Barn
A working farm stand just up the coast that grew into a full family outing: petting animals, seasonal hayrides and pony rides, a bakery, and a sweet shop with house ice cream. U-pick fruit and a pumpkin patch run in season. The default rainy-day-alternative when the beach is not happening with kids.
Steve's ATV Rentals
One of the established outfitters renting ATVs, UTVs, and dune buggies for the Oceano Dunes, the only stretch of California coast where you can legally drive on the sand. Staff walk first-timers through the basics before you head out. The signature adrenaline activity of the area.
Landmarks & sights
Pismo Beach Pier Plaza
The 1920s wooden pier and its plaza are the closest thing this town has to a square, where the boardwalk, beach, and downtown meet. Walk out to the end for surf and pelican watching, or come down at dusk when the whole western sky lights up. It anchors the Downtown/Pier neighborhood and most evening foot traffic.
Monarch Butterfly Grove
A stand of eucalyptus just off Highway 1 where tens of thousands of monarchs cluster from late fall through late winter, one of the largest overwintering sites in California. Volunteer docents set up spotting scopes so you can actually see the butterflies bunched in the branches. Worth timing your trip around if you visit in the cooler months.