Some beach towns try too hard; Avila Beach never does. Tucked into a warm, south-facing cove on San Luis Obispo Bay, this half-mile stretch of golden sand pairs calm water with a walkable promenade, a Read more…
If you’ve driven the Central Coast without stopping at Montana de Oro State Park, you’ve missed one of the most varied stretches of coastline in California. This is a park where you can walk a Read more…
There’s a moment, driving Highway 1 into Morro Bay, when the 576-foot volcanic plug of Morro Rock rises out of the marine layer and the whole trip suddenly feels worth it. Sea otters bob in Read more…
Ojai has a way of slowing you down the moment you arrive. Tucked into a valley about 15 miles inland from Ventura and roughly 90 minutes northwest of Los Angeles, this small town sits in Read more…
San Luis Obispo might just be the easiest city in California to fall for. Tucked about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Central Coast, SLO pairs a historic mission-era downtown with lively Read more…
Carmel-by-the-Sea is a storybook village on the Monterey Peninsula: a white-sand beach, fairy-tale cottages, more than 100 art galleries, and a historic Spanish mission, all edged by some of the most photographed coastline in California. Read more…
Eureka is the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon — a working seaport with a handsomely restored Victorian-era Old Town, and the natural hub for redwood country in every direction. In one Read more…
This Mendocino village guide is for first-timers heading to the bluffs of California’s North Coast: the best things to do in the village itself, the state parks that wrap around it, and a simple 1-day Read more…
Pacifica is the Bay Area’s closest true coast town — about 15 miles south of San Francisco, where Highway 1 drops onto a foggy, cliff-edged shoreline. It’s not one destination so much as six miles Read more…