Things to do in  Pismo Beach

It's all in the name—Pismo Beach is beloved for its beaches where you can swim, surf, paddle, fish, and stroll. To try the clams the town is famous for, head to Splash Café. Part of the 5 Cities Metropolitan Area, day trips to Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, Hearst Castle, and Morro Bay are always possibilities, along with a visit or two to the multiple world-renowned wine regions nearby.

Once the self-proclaimed Clam Capital of the World, Pismo Beach celebrates its favorite shellfish with an annual clam festival (although the population is unstable). Beyond its excellent seafood (definitely try the clam chowder), there are dozens of things to do in Pismo Beach, which is home to sandy shorelines, a seasonal monarch butterfly population, and plenty of nearby wineries, and Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove where you’ll find as many as 25,000 migrating butterflies seeking refuge from the cold up north.

Yes, there is a reason that Pismo State Beach sees roughly 2 million tourists each year—it's a fun, accessible, and beautiful corner of California. Whether you want to take long walks on the beach, sip your way through local wineries, or use the city as a base for exploring up and down California’s Central Coast, everyone will find something to love about this classic beach community.

This is always a tough question, but it all depends on what you like to do while travelling. Known for its excellent kayaking, Morro Bay is more of a fishing village with a rugged, wild coast. Pismo Beach, on the other hand, feels more like your classic California beach town, with its wide-open beaches, laid-back attitude, and outlet mall.

If you want to experience pleasant temperatures, the best time to go to Pismo Beach is from September through November. In the winter, you can also witness the spectacular clouds of monarch butterflies overwintering and several whale species passing through on their Baja-bound migration. However, many Californian beaches experience unfortunate “May Gray” and “June Gloom” phenomena that tend to blanket the shore with fog, so you may want to skip a late spring or early summer visit.

It would be a pretty disappointing trip if you couldn’t! Yes, you can swim in the ocean at Pismo Beach. In addition to swimming along the 6-mile (9.7-kilometer) shoreline, beachgoers can surf, kayak, and even go paddleboarding. The water quality around Pismo State Beach is also stellar - in the past few years, local waters have scored an “A” grade in terms of quality.