If you’re looking for things to do in San Luis Obispo, get ready because I took a novella worth of notes on my last visit. California is one of my go-to spots for a quick weekend trip when I’m craving a change of scenery from the PNW, and SLO is safely on the top of my list to visit again.
SLO is located right between Los Angeles and San Francisco off the historic Pacific Coast Highway 1. This puts you minutes from the ocean, but the city is also surrounded on by mountains. This diverse landscape means there’s a little something for everyone, including wineries, breweries, restaurants, shopping, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
This youthful, fun-loving town doesn’t get nearly enough attention as it deserves. If you’re curious about all there is to do, you’re in luck because I’ve come up with a lengthy list of everything there is to do in San Luis Obispo, California!
Things to Do in San Luis Obispo
Save this list to Pinterest for later, as I’ll update it as I discover more activities in San Luis Obispo, California!
Overwhelmed by trip planning? Delegate it to me. I’ll make you a custom trip itinerary so all you have to do is show up.
Ready to plan an itinerary yourself? Here are all my favorite things to do in San Luis Obispo County!
Walk around downtown SLO
One of my favorite things to do when I get to a new place is explore its downtown area by foot. Luckily downtown SLO is very pedestrian friendly and has tons of unique shops, restaurants, cafes, and tasting rooms to easily keep you busy for hours.
Once you drop your bags at the hotel, you’ll want to head straight to Higuera Street. It’s the main street that runs across downtown and has the highest concentration of shops. Here are some of my favorites to keep an eye out for:
- Len Collective – Fine jewelry shop featuring over 150 artists
- Humankind Fair Trade – Ethically sourced and often locally-made gifts
- Buen Dia – Cool shop with colorful art prints
When you’re ready for a break from shopping, grab a coffee at Scout Coffee, then walk over to the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. It’s a historic Spanish mission founded in 1772 that offers free tours of the mission and the surrounding gardens. Unfortunately, missions have a dark past of forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples, but this historical marker is a somber reminder of what took place.
Downtown SLO’s Farmers Market
website | get directions | best for: local produce and gifts
A trip to SLO wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the weekly farmers market. It’s held every Thursday at 6 PM and stretches along Higuera Street. You’ll find five blocks of over 100 vendors with fresh produce, BBQ, crafts, baked goods, and live entertainment.
SLO Public Market
website | get directions | best for: indoor food & drink market
While not technically downtown, the SLO Public Market is a spot worth checking out. It’s essentially an indoor market with a central courtyard surrounded by local food and drink merchants. Your group can divide and conquer to grab a few bao buns, charcuterie boards, tacos, and beers before meeting in the middle to dive into your feast.
Eat at SLO’s best restaurants
Being centrally located between two mega foodie destinations (LA and San Francisco), it’s not surprising SLO is home to some seriously good restaurants. Here are a few of my favorites.
Bear & Wren
website | get directions | best for: wood-fired pizzas
The Bear & Wren is located in the Creamery Marketplace off Higuera and features wood-fired pizzas, which you can get either Detroit or Neapolitan style. They also have small bites like wood-fired artichokes or meatballs and an extensive locally-driven beer and wine list.
The vibe is lowkey upscale, with moody lighting and intimate seating offset by a retractable garage door and dogs snoozing on the patio. My go-to pizza is the Bee Stang with spicy calabrese salami and Calabrian hot honey. I recommend the Detroit style because it comes with ricotta cheese, but don’t skip the Neapolitan. Get one of those too in another flavor!
High Street Market
website | get directions | best for: classic deli sandwiches with a twist
High Street Market is a casual deli serving classic sandwiches with a twist like the Nashville Club, which comes with smoked turkey, ham, bacon, smoked gouda, BBQ sauce, ranch, and jalapeño, all piled high on toasted and buttery sliced sourdough.
You can order your sandwiches with “the works,” which comes with all the usual sandwich players. Or you can make your sandwich “Stoney,” which essentially gives your sandwich maker the right to trick out your sandwich by any means necessary.
My go-to is the classic Italian sub with artichoke added on. It brings me back to my roots growing up on the east coast.
Madonna Inn
website | get directions | best for: cake
The Madonna Inn is an eccentric, flamboyant inn with pink plush seating, giant filigree mirrors, sparkling chandeliers, and pink marble floors. As pretty as it is, what really caught my attention was their bakery.
The bakery inside the Madonna Inn offers French and Danish pastries, dinner rolls, specialty breads, cookies, and, my absolute favorite, their freshly-baked cakes. I’m partial to the pink champagne cake, but there’s not a bad option on the menu.
Pro tip: You can order online to pick up, but keep in mind a minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required for all orders. If that doesn’t suit you, grab a slice to-go at the counter to your left when you enter.
Seeds
website | get directions | best for: smoothies
Seeds is a perfect spot for a pitstop when you’re craving a smoothie bowl or light lunch to hold you over until dinner. They have a great selection of toasts, flatbreads, salads, and always freshly made coffee. My go-to order is their Smoothie #2, which comes with OJ, pitaya, banana, berries, pineapple, bee pollen, and chia seeds.
Splash Cafe
website | get directions | best for: clam chowder
Splash Cafe is a fun, beachy seafood joint most well known for their clam chowder that you can order by the cup, quart, or in a bread bowl. I’ll be honest, it was some of the best clam chowder I’ve had in Cali, which says a lot because I could pretty much write a book on the best Seattle clam chowders.
If you’re not a chowder fan, that breaks my heart, but you should still visit Splash Cafe for their killer lobster rolls, fish and chips, or their all-day breakfast featuring freshly baked pastries. There are two locations, one in SLO and one at Pismo Beach, so it’s easy to fit into your itinerary.
Avila Valley Barn
website | get directions | best for: fried chicken & smoked meat sandwiches
A little off the beaten track, Avila Valley Barn is worth a stop if you’re looking to branch out of the downtown scene. It’s a small family-run farm with a produce and flower stand, a hay maze, u-pick berries, and summer concerts.
Their chicken shack and smokehouse is open every day from 11 AM – 5 PM and serves up mouthwatering Nashville chicken, smoked tri-tip beef, and smoked pulled pork, all piled high on buttery garlic bread with a side of pickles. They also have chili dogs, mac and cheese, and smoked artichokes, just in case you weren’t already in a food coma just thinking about it.
Check out SLO’s wineries and breweries
San Luis Obispo is a part of Central California’s wine country with vineyards just 5 miles from downtown in the Edna Valley and nearby Arroyo Granda. SLO’s cool weather and ample ocean breeze make it a perfect spot for growing pinot and chardonnay, though it’s not uncommon to see wineries play around with grapes from other regions.
Because of its proximity to vineyards, there are a ton of tasting rooms sprinkled throughout SLO, along with excellent craft breweries. You can find ones to visit here or via my map below!
I absolutely love Oak & Otter Brewing if you can only prioritize one stop. They’re a small-batch craft brewery making a range of beers from light lagers to double IPAs and porters.
Get outside
One of the perks of visiting California is the year-round access to outdoor activities. If you’re like me, you mostly just want to stretch your legs and get some fresh air between gift shopping and wine tasting, so you’ll find plenty of easy trails with rewarding scenery. If you want to break a sweat and conquer some mountains, you can do that too!
Bob Jones Trail
website | get directions | best for: paved walking & biking path
The Bone Jones Trail follows the Pacific Coast Railroad along the San Luis Obispo Creek and ends at Avila Beach. It’s about 2 ½ miles one way and is great for walkers, joggers, and bikers alike. The trail is totally paved and there’s minimal incline, so it’s doable for all skill levels.
Avila Beach
website | get directions | best for: pristine beach
Avila Beach is an adorable beach town with pristine waters and a mini boardwalk lined with restaurants, bars, tasting rooms, and cafes. Parking can be a bit of a hassle, so consider e-biking the Bob Jones Trail instead.
Bishop Peak
website | get directions | best for: moderate hiking
Bishop Peak, named for its resemblance to a bishop’s hat, is the tallest of the Nine Sisters mountain range stretching to Morro Bay. The hike is about 4 miles round trip and gets a fair bit of traffic from families, birders, and hikers. Luckily the trail is wide enough that everyone can go their own speed without feeling mowed over. The summit gives you a full 360° view of SLO and the surrounding mountain ranges.
Check out Pismo Beach
website | get directions | best for: surfing & sunset
Pismo Beach is a popular surfing spot just 15 minutes from SLO. It has a quaint beach town vibe and tons of cute shops and restaurants to keep you busy for at least an hour or two. It’s a lot bigger than Avila Beach and has more attractions, like the sand dunes which are some of the most expansive, well-preserved dunes in California.
Here are some spots not to miss as you stroll:
- Pismo Beach Pier – Don’t forget to snap a picture of the famous sign
- Sunsets – This food truck is great for breakfast and watching surfers
- Old West Cinnamon Roll – A perfect stop for a sweet treat
- Cacti Coffee Roasters – This is great for quirky drinks like smoked lattes
- El Pizmo Fish Co – A fish market with great fried seafood
Explore Paso Robles
About 40 minutes northeast of SLO is the uber-popular wine region of Paso Robles. It’s a warmer climate compared to SLO so you can expect to find more robust reds like zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. The downtown is small so you won’t need to dedicate much time to exploring. Instead, you’ll want to plan on branching out and visiting the wineries.
Wineries
Some of my favorite wineries when I went were Adelaida, an organic winery making the classics and some lesser-known styles, Tablas Creek, the world’s first regenerative organic winery, and Daou Estates, one of the biggest and baddest cab makers in the valley.
Tablas Creek is a good intro to Paso Robles wine because most of the area’s wineries use their grape clones. Adelaida is similar in style. Think small, casual, and hyper focused on sustainable farming and winemaking.
Daou is where you go for ambiance. It has one of the most stunning tasting rooms I’ve ever seen perched on top of a hill. You actually need to take a shuttle from the parking lot to get to it. There is also a full restaurant which is surprisingly good.
However, prepare to spend a ton of money here because it ain’t cheap. I spent $100 for a salad, bread basket, and wine flight. Also know that a lot of the area wineries don’t love how commercial Daou has become, so if you want a smaller producer feel prioritize other wineries instead.
Tin City
website | get directions | best for: tons of craft wineries, breweries, distilleries, and restaurants
Tin City is a Paso hub where small, artisanal producers set up shop in repurposed industrial buildings. It reminds me a lot of the Industrial District where you’ll find the best Woodinville wineries or The Barlow in Sebastpol near San Francisco.
Tin City is home to over 40 businesses, including craft breweries, distilleries, wineries, and restaurants. My favorite stops here are Etto Pasta Bar for their larger-than-life pasta bowls and Hubba Wines for their minimal intervention, fruit-forward wines.
Sensorio
website | get directions | best for: whimsical outdoor light exhibit
Sensorio is a 15-acre immersive walk-through outdoor exhibit. It features rolling hilltops covered with fiber-optic stemmed spheres that change colors synchronized to music. It was originally a temporary installation but is not permanent and has even had two exhibits added. One is called Fireflies and composes over 10,000 flickering points of light!
Fish Gaucho
website | get directions | best for: top shelf tequila & upscale Mexican food
Fish Gaucho is a lively cantina serving up upscale modern Mexican food, craft cocktails, and a tequila list a mile long. It’s a bit on the pricey side with two tacos and a cocktail setting you back around 40 bucks. That said, if you’re a tequila snob craving fancy tacos, this is your best bet. Don’t miss the short rib enchiladas.
Paso Market Walk
website | get directions | best for: restaurants, cafes & bars under one roof
The Paso Market Walk is another fun spot for checking out multiple businesses under the same roof. They have everything from a vegan creamery to an electric bike tour company. The real winner for me, Just Baked, is a boutique bakery specializing in cute-as-a-button cakes and macaroons. Don’t miss the cake pops!
More to explore around San Luis Obispo
Here are some more spots I didn’t get to explore, but are high on my list. I’ll be sure to update this guide once I get a chance to visit them!
- Morro Bay – Coastal town known for oysters and a picturesque haystacks
- Hearst Castle – Impressive historic castle built by the newspaper giant
- Montaña de Oro State Park – Oceanside park I’ve heard is a mini Big Sur
- Polytech Architectural Graveyard – Park located on the Cal Poly campus with tons of student-built architecture projects
- Carrizo Plain National Monument – Hiking area known for stunning wildflowers in the spring
SLO attractions map
Want even more ideas of things to do in San Luis Obispo? Here’s the map I curated of places to visit. Check the pin details for notes about each stop!
Nearby destinations
After you make your itinerary of all the fun things to do in San Luis Obispo (or have me do it), consider adding on one of these nearby destinations to your trip!
