If you are visiting or a native to California visiting Pismo beach is an absolute must! I cannot believe it has taken me this long to visit! Before I ventured out to the Pismo town I did a bit of research as to what I really wanted to see as we just had a short weekend to see it all. We were able to visit 5 amazing locations within Pismo beach or very close by.

By the time we wrapped up our weekend getaway I was left feeling like a had a real vacation! This area has it all from beaches, restaurants and near by farms and even otters! Below I have listed our 5 must see locations at or around Pismo Beach!

STOP #1: Grover Beach

Ok Guys, this beach is sooooo cool! Have you ever wanted to drive on a beach? Well at Grover Beach you can! I would highly recommend a 4×4 but I did see some others on the beach that were in little cars and they did ok. Make sure you get here early as they only allow so many cars on the beach and once they are sold out of permits they dont allow any other cars out. We paid $5 to enter this area!

If you want to be extra adventurous at the end of the beach you can rent ATV’s. We did not do this as it was a bit expensive… but it did look like a good time!

I loved walking the beach after we found a good place to park. SO many sand dollars!

STOP #2: Pismo State beach

Just a quick drive down you will hit Pismo State beach. Beware, this area is more crowded than the previous beach and parking can be a nightmare! Once we parked we grabbed a delicious warm cinnamon roll and tea from Old West Cinnamon Rolls and headed for the famous Pismo Pier. Here you can grab some clam chowder and watch the surfers. Dont forget to take your photo at the Pismo Beach sign too!

STOP #3: Avila Valley Barn

Avila Valley Barn was my favorite stop! If you love Pie and all things baked goods, this is a must! They even have a little farm and you can feed the animals. This was Mateo’s favorite thing! Depending how you split your trip this is also a good place to grab some lunch before heading to the next places on my list!

STOP #4 : Oceano Sand Dunes

DISCLAIMER: To get to these part of the Sand Dunes does require you to walk through a residential area of Pacific Dunes RV resort. Please be polite! Please clean up after yourself should you decide to bring anything in. I was disturbed to see so much trash left behind on the these pretty dunes. Now that I got that out of the way, visiting the dunes at Sunset is an absolute must! It is truly magical. It does get cold so bring a blanket!

STOP #5 : Morro Rock Beach:

Luck was not on our side when we set off to visit the Morro beach rock…. It was incredibly foggy to the point you could not see anything. However, I am including this on my list because this beach looks amazing and if you walk allllll the way to the marina ( up and over the beach) there is a small bay with OTTERS! You are so close, and watching them play in their natural habitat is so special. Did you know otters wrap themselves in the kelp so when they take a nap they do not float away… That’s just adorable!

I hope I have convinced you to visit this area. Its seriously so much fun!

XOXO

The Pea Crew