My first visit to California is a bit of a blur. I was a teenager on a summer road trip with my family, driving a couple of thousand miles in our station wagon from suburban Chicago to the West Coast.
One thing I do remember is really liking the area around San Luis Obispo, about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The SLO CAL region, as it’s called, encapsulates classic California: beaches, mountains, iconic Highway 1, and wine (discovered that later).
SLO County has all the good stuff that makes California catnip for tourists, who spent a record $150.4 billion in the Golden State in 2023.
Since that initial road trip a few years — OK, decades — ago, I’ve been back multiple times to this scenic stretch of the central California coast. Visiting is admittedly easier now that I live in California. Chicago winters: You beat me. Chicago summers: I miss you. But summer is pretty sweet in these parts, too. If you want to see for yourself, here’s some inspo for a SLO CAL getaway.
Water and wildlife
A curious sea otter watched as my husband and I gingerly settled into our tandem kayak on San Luis Obispo Bay. Getting a close-up look at the cute kelp-bed dweller was the first of many highlights of a morning spent cruising around this paddler’s paradise.
We made our way across the pancake-flat water to a floating platform packed with barking sea lions. Low tide uncovered bright red sea stars clinging to the columns of Harford Pier, where laid-back Mersea’s seafood restaurant makes an ideal spot to linger over a post-paddle lunch.
Avila Beach Paddlesports rents kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, aka SUPs, for self-guided tours around the tranquil bay. Pro tip: Go early before the afternoon winds pick up. You can — and should — paddle to the secluded beach by Point San Luis Lighthouse. Leave your kayak on the sand while you walk around the grounds of the 19th century light station.
Wine time
San Luis Obispo County boasts nearly 300 wine tasting rooms. Narrowing down which ones to visit isn’t easy. It’s also hard to go wrong.
The mountain-top vistas at Daou Family Estates are just as intoxicating as the full-bodied cabernets coming out of this part of SLO CAL’s Paso Robles wine region.
Head farther inland to sample some more Bordeaux and Rhone varietals at Cass Winery, where shipping containers have been converted into cozy overnight accommodations tucked among the vines. We spent an extremely fun weekend here a few years ago at Cass’s annual Grape Harvest Retreat, which had us picking the juicy berries by hand and stomping them with our bare feet. Turns out I’m much better at drinking wine than making it.
Pair a wine tasting with a tasty lunch at Niner Wine Estates. Niner’s chef sources ingredients from local farms and its on-site garden. A heart-shaped grove of oak trees clings to Niner’s vine-covered hillside — the backdrop for countless selfies and probably quite a few marriage proposals.
Some of Niner’s wines come from one of California’s newest designated grape-growing regions, the SLO Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area). Chardonnay, pinot noir and other cool-climate varietals thrive in this 15-mile corridor flanked by the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Lucia Mountains. Try some at Stolo Vineyards, whose bucolic Parr Collective Tasting Lounge in Cambria hosts free concerts in the summer.
At the Sinor-LaVallee tasting room in the tiny town of Avila Beach, you can sip SLO Coast wine while slurping oysters plucked from nearby Morro Bay.
Light it up
Picture a California “super bloom,” but instead of wildflowers blanketing the hills, thousands of stemmed spheres glow under a dark sky in Paso Robles, washing the undulating landscape in waves of ever-changing colors. It’s the main attraction at Sensorio, where visitors can stroll through the “Field of Light” exhibit by artist Bruce Munro.
The immersive display struck me as pretty special when I first saw it on a chilly night in 2021. Since then, Munro has nearly doubled the number of these solar-powered orbs, bringing the total to 100,000. And Sensorio keeps growing. The audiovisual exhibit “Dimensions” debuted in May, featuring large metal sculptures that radiate colorful patterns. Go ahead and spin the structures and watch your own shadow become part of the show.
Crash the castle
After two years of being closed, Hearst Castle in San Simeon reopened in 2022. Don’t pass up the chance to poke around this absurdly lavish estate.
Tours are led by California State Parks. The agency took over the property after Hearst Corp. donated the castle to the state in 1958. You’ll learn about media tycoon William Randolph Hearst and architect Julia Morgan’s nearly 30-year quest to bring this improbable project to life. Admire the ancient artwork, legendary swimming pools and lush landscaping — along with sweeping views of the coast far below.
Hearst, being Hearst, had a private zoo. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot some of the descendants of his zebras. More than 100 of the striped animals still roam the surrounding cattle ranch.
For a more reliable wildlife sighting, drive a few miles north on Highway 1 to the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery. From the free-to-access boardwalk, you can watch these pinnipeds lounging on the beach, casually flipping sand on their corpulent bodies. Depending on the time of year, they might be nursing pups, molting fur or sticking their big noses in each other’s faces as they jockey for dominance.
More than a market
On Thursday nights, downtown San Luis Obispo is the place to be. More than 100 vendors set up their tents along Higuera Street for the SLO Farmers’ Market, which feels more like a festival. Long before the market’s opening bell rings at 6 p.m., the line starts forming at F. McLintocks for ribs, grilled artichokes and sandwiches stuffed with tri-tip beef, a triangular cut of lean sirloin that’s a Central Coast specialty. If school’s in session, you’ll be rubbing elbows with Cal Poly students as you eat, shop and listen to live music.
I could go on about SLO CAL. About foggy walks among the driftwood at Moonstone Beach in Cambria, and the need to try a slice of olallieberry pie at Linn’s. Or the evolution of Paso’s Tin City, an industrial area turned artisan enclave, full of boutique wineries and buzzy restaurants. And the hiking. And the biking.
Maybe what I like most about this part of the state is that no matter how many times I visit, there’s always something new to discover. I’ll always have a reason to come back.
Lori Rackl is a freelancer.
