Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach is a small beach town on California's Central Coast, a resort famous for surfing and clams.
Photo Courtesy of Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau
Everybody loves Pismo Beach. It has the feel of one of the
surf towns south of LA, but moved north: it sits about midway between Santa
Barbara and Monterey.
If you're driving the Pacific Coast Highway then you can't
miss Pismo Beach as Highway-101 and Highway-1 merge here and run right through
it, and the small town of fewer than 10,000 people just begs you to stop. You
have the ocean on one side and rolling California hills on the other.
Both are
good reasons to spend a few days here. The ocean's attractions are obvious and
the hills contain the Pismo Preserve, hiking and cycling trails, and lead to
some excellent vineyards where you can enjoy wine-tastings.
Our Pick of the California Guides
Pismo Beach Clams
If you've heard of Pismo Beach it might well be because of the famous Pismo Beach Clams. The town's motto used to be 'Clam Capital of the World', and the clams here are the largest you'll find along the California coast, as they grow to up to seven inches.
If you want to go looking for clams then first you'll need a permit, and be aware of the limit of ten clams per person. You'll also need a lot of patience as the clams have been over-harvested and there are very few left these days.
If you see clams or clam chowder on a menu here it's very likely the clams have come from elsewhere along the coast - but they'll still be tasty and may still be Pismo clams, as the clams are found in several places along the coast, not just in Pismo Beach.
Photo Courtesy of Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau
The city still has its clam festival in October, which is lots of fun - and lots of clam chowder!
Incidentally, a recent winner of the People's Choice award for best clam
chowder was the Splash Café.
You can learn more about the situation on clamming at Pismo Beach here:
Pismo Beach Pier
A good marker point is Pismo Beach Pier. If you're passing
through and want to stop then head for the pier as you'll find restrooms,
parking… and more clam chowder! If you're driving PCH then look for the west turn
onto Pomeroy Avenue, a one-way street that will take you down to the pier and
the parking. You get back to the highway by going east on Hinds Avenue.
Monarch Butterflies at Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach Monarch
Butterfly Grove
Just south of the town and off Highway-1 at Pismo State
Beach is one of Pismo Beach's most popular and unusual attractions, the Pismo
Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. From late October through February thousands of
beautiful orange and black monarch butterflies can be found here. They migrate
south to escape winter further north, and who can blame them for wanting to
spend a few winter months in Pismo Beach? We'd love to do that!
These days you might get anywhere from 25,000-35,000 butterflies wintering in Pismo Beach, although as recently as 1990-91 there were 230,000 of them. What a job, counting those. There is a trick to it, though. You count the wings and divide by two.
Take a look at this video to see the butterflies:
Vineyards near Pismo Beach
Courtesy of Pismo Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau
Pismo Beach
Wine-Tasting
There are several wineries inland from Pismo Beach, and wine-tasting opportunities in the town itself. South on Highway-101 is the Laetitia Vineyard and Winery, whose vineyard has a walking trail with great ocean views. The tasting room is open daily.
In the town center on Price Street is the tasting room for San Liege Wines. Also on Price Street is Puffers of Pismo, where you can taste local wines and beers and also enjoy live music and good food. Still on Price Street, Tastes of the Valleys is both a wine shop and tasting room which has over 1,000 selections, including of course many wines from the local area.
Pismo Beach Surf Shop
Courtesy of Pismo Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau
Pismo Beach Surfing
As you can see from the photos, Pismo Beach is good for surfing too. Don't miss the Pismo Beach Surf Shop, which claims to be the oldest surf shop on the Central Coast. Pismo Beach also has several surf camps including one from the Association of Amputee Surfers.
Surfers at Pismo Beach
Photos Courtesy of Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau
Driving Times and Distances
If you drive the Pacific Coast Highway route then Pismo Beach is:
From Los Angeles: 4-5 hours/210 miles
From Santa Barbara: 2 hours/106 miles
From Monterey: 2-3 hours/150 miles
From San Francisco International Airport: 7-9 hours/275 miles
If you want to get there more quickly then there are faster routes avoiding the coast.
Other California coast pages
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Mendocino in Mendocino County is a small but pretty California coastal town, popular with artists and with travelers. It has featured in many songs and movies.
One of the best California coast guides is the California Coastal Access Guide, describing the coast’s beaches, National Parks, State Parks, with many maps.
For a Moss Beach hotel just off the Pacific Coast Highway, the Seal Cove Inn offers good accommodation north of Half Moon Bay, minutes from the ocean.
The Lighthouse Inn at Point Cabrillo is a romantic, historic guesthouse on the Mendocino California coast, on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Historic and romantic Vagabond's House Inn Bed and Breakfast in Carmel is a great place to stay with free wine and cheese and generous breakfast.
The Point Reyes National Seashore is an hour’s drive northwest of San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway and is maintained by the National Park Service.
Dana Point in California is the official start or end of the Pacific Coast Highway, and its attractions include whale watching, and Doheny State Beach.
Santa Monica Pier is just off the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica near Los Angeles, with an amusement park, an aquarium and many other attractions.
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's guide to the most scenic spots on the Pacific Coast Highway in California with Big Sur, Bixby Bridge and Pfeiffer Beach.
This Visiting Hearst Castle page gives all the practicalities including location, types of tour, length of tours, how long to allow, and much more information.
Santa Monica in California is famous for its pier, and beaches, and is one of the best west coast vacation spots, with hotels, restaurants, surfing, museums.
San Luis Obispo in California is half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on the Pacific Coast Highway and with lots of things to do and see.
Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.
Drive the Pacific Coast Highway and you have to cross Bixby Bridge in California, ten miles north of Big Sur and 30 minutes south of Monterey.
A walk around the Point Lobos State Reserve near Monterey and Carmel provides lots of photo opportunities, especially of the Harbor Seal Birthing Area.
Encinitas is a beach city in Southern California, famous for surfing, and regularly chosen as one of the best places to live in both California and the USA.
San Clemente in California is a small city on the Pacific Coast Highway midway between San Diego and Los Angeles, noted for its beaches and surfing.
Of all Eureka inns, The Carter House Inns are the most romantic and historic, with one of the best restaurants in Northern California.
San Simeon is a tiny town of a few hundred people close to Hearst Castle on the California coast midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Whale watching in California is one of the most popular things to do along the Pacific Coast Highway, in places like San Diego, San Francisco and many more.
Pacific Grove is a small city on the California coast, next to Monterey and close to Carmel, with attractions including its historic Victorian houses.
Monterey in California is off the Pacific Coast Highway and home to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Monterey State Historic Park.
La Jolla in southern California is north of San Diego off the Pacific Coast Highway and has museums, restaurants, hotels, beaches, and the Birch Aquarium.
Unique Inns on the Pacific Coast Highway include some of the best independently-owned boutique hotels, spas, and lodges in California, Oregon and Washington.
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