Food destinations within easy reach of San Luis Obispo. worth the train, the rental car or the early start.

Worth the trip

Edna Valley ★ 4.7

10 minutes by carDrive south on Broad Street, which becomes Highway 227 through the vines

Famous for: Cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay tastings

Edna Valley starts where San Luis Obispo's Broad Street ends, a cool-climate wine valley of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sun-dappled tasting patios.

Edna Valley

Paso Robles ★ 4.6

30 miles north, about 35 minutes by carUS-101 north; Amtrak's Coast Starlight also stops in Paso Robles

Famous for: Bold red wines across 200+ tasting rooms and Michelin-starred dining

Paso Robles stacks more than 200 tasting rooms, distilleries and Michelin-level kitchens barely half an hour north of San Luis Obispo on US-101.

Paso Robles

Pismo Beach ★ 4.3

13 miles south, about 15 minutes by carUS-101 south to Price Street

Famous for: Clam chowder in bread bowls and pier-front seafood

Pismo Beach means chowder in a bread bowl by the pier, fifteen minutes from San Luis Obispo, in the town that still calls itself the Clam Capital.

Pismo Beach

Avila Beach ★ 4.2

10 miles southwest, about 15 minutes by carUS-101 south to Avila Beach Drive, past the See Canyon apple farms

Famous for: Harbour-front seafood, oysters and apple-stand stops in See Canyon

Avila Beach pairs a warm cove with harbour seafood shacks and local wine, and the See Canyon apple stands line the drive from San Luis Obispo.

Avila Beach

Morro Bay ★ 4.4

13 miles northwest, about 20 minutes by carHighway 1 north to the Embarcadero

Famous for: Oysters, fish and chips and working-harbour seafood

Morro Bay lands its catch under the great rock twenty minutes from San Luis Obispo, with oyster farms in the estuary and chowder along the Embarcadero.

Morro Bay

Cayucos ★ 4.0

19 miles northwest, about 25 minutes by carHighway 1 north past Morro Bay

Famous for: Sea-salted brown butter cookies and smokehouse seafood

Cayucos keeps an 1872 pier, Old West storefronts and two cult food stops, its brown butter cookie bakers and smokehouse, near San Luis Obispo.

Cayucos

Cambria ★ 4.1

35 miles northwest, about 40 minutes by carHighway 1 north through Cayucos and Harmony

Famous for: Olallieberry pie and pines-to-sea village dining

Cambria made the olallieberry its calling card, baking the tart berry into pies in a pine-shaded seaside village up Highway 1 from San Luis Obispo.

Cambria

Santa Maria Valley ★ 4.3

30 miles south, about 35 minutes by carUS-101 south past Arroyo Grande and Nipomo

Famous for: Santa Maria-style barbecue over red oak

Santa Maria Valley is the home fire of Santa Maria-style barbecue, red oak pits and no sauce, a 35-minute pilgrimage south of San Luis Obispo.

Santa Maria Valley
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