Experience the best of Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach sits on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, about 116 km north-west of Santa Barbara, with a long sandy beach below low bluffs. A pier stretches over the surf, and the town calls itself the clam capital of the world, after the large Pismo clams once dug here. Streets of beach cafés, ice-cream shops and motels run behind the seafront.

From October to February, monarch butterflies cluster in the eucalyptus trees of the Monarch Butterfly Grove. South of town the Oceano Dunes and the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes form one of the largest coastal dune systems on the West Coast. San Luis Obispo, with its Spanish mission, lies about 17 km to the north, the beaches of Avila lie a short way up the coast, and Hearst Castle, at San Simeon, lies further up the coast.

Clam chowder served in a bread bowl is the classic order, along with fish tacos and Santa Maria-style tri-tip, beef grilled over oak. The nearby Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Mornings are often foggy in late spring and early summer; warm, clear days arrive in September and October, and winters are mild with occasional rain.