Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach (population 8,000 in 2020) is in San Luis Obispo County in the Central Coast region of California. It is part of the Five Cities Metropolitan Area which also includes Shell Beach (within the northern part of the Pismo Beach city limits), and Grover Beach, Oceano and Arroyo Grande, all to the south and south-east of Pismo Beach.

Get in

By car

Pismo Beach is off Highway 101 south of San Luis Obispo.

By train

The nearest train station is a quarter mile (400 m) away in Grover Beach, served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. South County Transit's bus #21 can be used to reach downtown Pismo.

San Luis Obispo also has an Amtrak station, served by the Surfliner as well as the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Los Angeles. Taking public transportation from there is more difficult, so Uber is recommended.

By plane

The closest commercial airports are San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria. SLO's airport has service to several western U.S. hubs. Santa Barbara Airport is 80 miles (130 km) south, with more departures than SLO. The nearest major international airport is Los Angeles International Airport, about 175 miles southeast of Pismo Beach. To reach Pismo, take the Central Coast Shuttle to Santa Maria, then Uber. Alternatively, take the Flyaway Bus and then Amtrak to Grover Beach.

A small general aviation airport exists in Oceano.

By bus

San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority provides bus service on Route 10 along Highway 101 between San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, and Santa Maria.

Flixbus stops in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria.

Orange Belt Stages provides service between Santa Maria, Paso Robles, and Visalia/Hanford in the Central Valley. Transfer from Amtrak in Hanford or Greyhound in Visalia.

Greyhound stops in Santa Maria.

Get around

By car

Car travel is fairly easy, but parking can be challenging on weekends and in summer.

By bus

SLO RTA provides service within the city on Route 21 and 24, which generally run in opposite directions.

By trolley

A free beach trolley runs between hourly between Port San Luis, Avila Beach, Shell Beach and the Pismo Beach Outlets on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, April to October.

See

• 1 Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove (parking is off Highway 1 at the extreme southern end of the City of Pismo Beach, just south of North Beach Campground). Each year thousands of beautiful butterflies migrate to stay in Pismo Beach. Between 2010-2014 an average of 25,000 butterflies spent the winter in the grove. Butterflies arrive in the winter months, starting in late October and ending in February. Docents are onsite to answer questions. (updated Oct 2015)

Do

• 1 Pismo Beach. A fun place to go to the beach for all kinds of tourists. They offer beach bike rentals, surf board rentals, and ATV rentals for the Pismo Beach dunes.  
• Pismo Beach Clam Festival. During the 1950s Pismo Beach billed itself as the "clam capital of the world", with clams so abundant that they were harvested with plows on the beach. Over-harvesting led to a massive decline, but the town still celebrates its yearly clam festival every year in mid-October. The weekend festival includes live music, a clam dig, clam bake, parade, chowder cook-off, and other festivities. (updated Oct 2015)

Buy

• Pismo Beach Premium Outlets Major shopping center.

Eat

• 1 Splash Café, 197 Pomeroy Ave, ☏ +1 805-773-4653. Wildly famous clam chowder dive, with more awards to their name than Donald Trump has buildings. Burgers, chicken strips, and other assorted staples accompany the world-famous chowder. Perfect lunch spot. Get there early, or get in line. 
• Ada's Fish House, 558 Price St, ☏ +1 805-556-3077. Su-Th 11:30AM-9:30PM, F Sa 11:30AM-10PM, Happy Hour everyday 3-6PM. Family-owned restaurant, boasting fresh fish and seafood in a relaxed atmosphere. Classic coastal dishes such as steamed clams, lobster rolls, specialties of Pacific Coast halibut, grilled swordfish, and seafood pasta. Features a mostly-local wine list and full bar. (updated Jul 2020)
• 2 Old West Cinnamon Rolls, 861 Dolliver St, ☏ +1 805 773-1428. 6:30AM–6PM daily. Known for their soft, buttery cinnamon rolls, which some people will drive hundreds of miles for, or stand in long lines to buy these. The plain cinnamon roll is their original (and the owner's favorite), and the most popular topping is cream cheese frosting. Other variations have nuts, bacon, or chocolate. In addition to thousands of cinnamon rolls each day, they also sell baking mixes and other souvenirs for home bakers. $4 coffee, $5 cinnamon roll; toppings extra. (updated Sep 2024)

Drink

• Hot Shots, 250 Pomeroy Ave, ☏ +1 805-773-4542. Large family friendly pool hall. 

Sleep

• Inn at the Cove, 2651 Price St, ☏ +1 805-773-3511, fax: +1 805-773-0368. 
• Shore Cliff Lodge, 2555 Price St, ☏ +1 805-773-4671, toll-free: +1-800-441-8885, fax: +1 805-773-2341. 
• Cottage Inn by the Sea, 2351 Price St, toll-free: +1-888-440-8400. 93449. 
• Dolphin Bay Inn
• Motel 6, 860 4th St, ☏ +1 805-773-2665, fax: +1 805-773-0723. 
• Oxford Suites Pismo Beach, 651 Five Cities Dr, ☏ +1 805-773-3773. 
• 1 Pismo Lighthouse Suites, 2411 Price Street, ☏ +1 805-773-2411, info@PismoLighthouseSuites.com. A family-friendly beachfront hotel, featuring an on-site spa. $129. (updated Feb 2017)
• 2 The Grove at Pismo Beach, 230 Five Cities Dr (Off of 101 Fwy.), ☏ +1 805-773-1841. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Amenities include high quality furnishings, heated swimming pool, complimentary wireless internet access, free deluxe Continental breakfast, microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers, irons, hair dryers and satellite TV in every room. 100% non-smoking. $89.00. 
• SeaCrest Resort, 2241 Price St, ☏ +1 805-773-4608. 
• SeaVenture Resort Hotel (on the beach), toll-free: +1-800-760-0664, fax: +1 805-773-0924, info@seaventure.com. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: noon. The SeaVenture offers upscale resort hotel amenities. There SeaVenture Restaurant is on site. 
• Spyglass Inn, 2705 Spyglass Dr, toll-free: +1-800-824-2612. Features include heated pool and spa, banquet facilities and a conference room for meetings, the Spyglass Restaurant, a heated ocean view deck, free parking, and complimentary high-speed wireless Internet. 
• The Cliffs

Go next

• Grover Beach, Oceano and Arroyo Grande to the south and south-east
• Avila Beach - Avila Beach is a small coastal community located seven miles northwest of Pismo Beach that offers a number of quaint inns, spas and resorts. Point San Luis, accessible via a scenic docent-led hike or by trolley, is home to a lighthouse that dates back to 1890 and is the only surviving Prairie Victorian on the West Coast. Visitors looking for relaxation can soak in nearby mineral hot springs or lounge on the sandy beach that gives the town its name.
• San Luis Obispo - 13 miles (20 km) north of Pismo Beach and almost exactly half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, this small college town and its neighboring communities boast extraordinary resources for hiking, mountain biking, sea kayaking, swimming and surfing, outstanding natural beauty, a carefully preserved and thriving 19th-century downtown centered around a meticulously restored 18th-century mission, a small but thriving art gallery scene, and a large and growing collection of top-quality wineries.

Routes through Pismo Beach

Salinas ← San Luis Obispo ←	N  S	→ Grover Beach → Santa Barbara
Monterey ← San Luis Obispo ←	N  S	→ Grover Beach → Santa Barbara