San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles have train stations with
multiple passenger trains heading north and south. There is also an airport
in San Luis Obispo with connections to anywhere in the world.
(From the SLO Chamber of Commerce) San Luis Obispo County is the heart of
California's Central Coast where you can spend your day exploring miles of
white, sandy beaches, browsing through unique stores and museums, wine
tasting or hiking or bicycling in and around the rolling hills – the
choices are endless.
Located midway between San Francisco and LA on the
California Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County is an easy to reach
destination by car, train, or air. Just 2 or 3 hours by car away from most
of California's 35 million people, San Luis Obispo is California's Natural
Escape. The centrally located San Luis Obispo airport offers excellent
connections to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las
Vegas. Visiting by rail is so popular that Amtrak recently added a third
daily train to the county.
About 250,000 people call San Luis Obispo County home. Over
a dozen delightful towns and cities, including the city of San Luis Obispo,
plus Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Avila Beach, Cambria, Cayucos, Grover
Beach, Los Osos - Baywood Park, Morro Bay, Nipomo, Paso Robles, Pismo
Beach, San Miguel, San Simeon near Hearst Castle, Templeton and others
create a single extended community.
Spread across the beaches, mountains, and valleys of this special part of
the California Central Coast, these distinctive cities and the
unincorporated areas between them provide an incredible variety of
recreational and cultural opportunities. All of these places can be reached
by an easy 30 minute drive or less from the city of San Luis Obispo,
through some of the most beautiful country you will ever see.
The strong local economy is dominated by Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo with its 18,000 students, viticulture and agriculture, fishing,
tourism and a growing sector of information and technology businesses.
The world-renowned California wine country of the Paso
Robles wine country in north county and San Luis Obispo wine country in the
south county provide a California wine country tour experience that may
remind you of Tuscany.
The local food and wine producers are just two reasons for the many
excellent restaurants in the county. The large student base, many visitors
and supportive local population has also allowed many nightclubs and
restaurants to offer first class local and visiting live entertainment.
Outdoor options also abound, including wonderful hiking and biking. Whale
watching, sport fishing and charter fishing out of Morro Bay or Port San
Luis are rewarding ways to spend a day. Eco tours supply pleasure and
education about some of America's most distinctive ecological niches such
as the Morro Bay National Estuary and the Carrizo Plain.
The arts flourish throughout the county at an exceptional level of quality.
Layers of history, including the Spanish mission of Mission San Luis Obispo
de Tolosa and Mission San Miguel Arcangel, are at
hand everywhere you go.
San Luis Obispo County is California's Natural Escape because it is the SLO
alternative to hyperactive urban congestion and 'hurry up and wait'
frustrations. SLO is a magical and precious piece of old California you can
visit again and again, with new experiences every time.
The population of San Luis Obispo County is about 250,000.
San Luis Obispo county is a coastal county. The Pacific Ocean is about 10
miles from San Luis Obispo.
Some of our favorite things
Food:
Restaurants- There are a ton of great restaurants in town. Here are some of our favorites but there
are many more.
·
The Range in
Santa Margarita Great food. Pricey. They do not take reservations and
they do not accept credit cards, cash or checks only. 8 miles from San Luis Obispo in Santa
Margarita
·
Chiopinot’s Great Sea food and California Cuisine
·
Café Roma Italian
food
·
Sushi - We have many very good sushi restaurants all of the
county. They are all good.
·
Nucci’s Great place for pizza and salads. It is close to the house.
·
Novo Sit on the patio out back
·
Luna Red Tapas
·
Big Sky Interesting food at good prices
·
Jockos The best
steak in California. Located in Nipomo.
·
Madonna Inn Good café and pricy restaurant. Even if you don’t eat there you need to go
there just to see the place. Make
sure to go into the restrooms.
·
Taco Temple – Our favorite for Mexican food. I like the Carnitas. It is big enough to share. Located in Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo
·
Petra Café - A great places
for middle eastern food.
·
Windows on the Water Good seafood.
It is in Morro Bay and there are a lot of good options for seafood
out there.
For a sandwich-
·
Lincoln Market
·
Gus’s
Grocery
·
Splash Café- Good clam chowder
·
Bliss Café – Great location on the creek
Things to do
Go for a hike
·
Google “hiking in San Luis Obispo” and you will find a bunch of
wonderful trails.
·
Bishops
Peak is right out our front door. You don’t have to go all the way to the
top unless you want to.
·
Trails in
the city of San Luis Obispo There are many wonderful hikes right
here in the city.
·
Montana
de Oro Great hiking and
beaching at the Pacific Ocean
·
Estero Bluffs
·
Santa Margarita Lake
·
Walk around Cal Poly
·
Oso Flaco Lake is a wonderful hike across the sand dunes to the ocean
More things to do
·
Walk around downtown. Go to a museum downtown. See bubble gum alley.
·
Go to a Farmers
Market. Thursday night farmers market is
the biggest in the county
·
Make sure to go wine tasting. We have world class wines in our area.
May favorites are Castoro Cellars, Sweetwater and
Windward Winery But there are many other wonderful wines all over the
place.
·
Go out to the Pacific Ocean and enjoy a day there.
·
Go up Highway 1 to Hearst Castle and while you are up there make sure
to see the Elephant Seals just north of the castle.
·
Go to the melodrama in Oceano
·
Take in a play at Cal Poly, the Little Theatre or the Clark Center.
·
Pick up a copy of the free New Times newspaper to see what is going
on around town.
·
Go for a bike ride around town
·
Watch a movie at the Palm Theatre
·
Find a free concert someplace in the county. Lots of good music at the bars.
·
Take a drive up towards Big Sur and have lunch at Ragged Point, Gorda, Tree Bones or Nepenthe.
·
Go fishing out of Morro Bay
·
Kayak in Morro Bay or where ever
·
If the whales are in the area take a boat out to see them
·
We have some wonderful micro breweries. Take a tour of Firestone brewery in Paso
Robles.
·
Sit on our back porch and have a bbq and a
beer
·
I have fishing gear in the garage and the fishing is good at Santa
Margarita Lake. The catching is not that good.
·
Take a drive out to - Carrizo
Plains National Monument, Pozo, or Parkfield
·
Go to the Leaning Pines Arboretum
at Cal Poly
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San Luis Obispo County Links
San Luis Obispo Visitor
Information
San
Luis Obispo Visitor and Conference Bureau
San Luis
Obispo Wikipedia
Wikitravel
San Luis Obispo
Hearst Castle
Cal Poly
San
Luis Obispo Golf
San Luis
Obispo County
Paso Wine Country
Lake San
Antonio
County Farm and
Craft Markets
Paso Robles
Chamber of Commerce
Mid
State Fair
Mission San
Miguel
Santa
Margarita Lake - Santa Margarita Lake is a real gem. It is a beautiful
lake with great fishing and boating. They do not allow water skiing and jet
skis on the lake so that makes it very nice. It is a great place to hike
and picnic. If you want to water ski go to Lake Naciemento
or Lake Lopez.
Lake Nacimento
Elephant Seals -
This is a must see in San Luis Obispo
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