102 Best Sights in The Central Coast, California

West of San Luis Obispo, Los Osos Valley Road winds past farms and ranches to this state park whose miles of nature trails traverse rocky shoreline, wild beaches, and hills overlooking dramatic scenery. Check out the tide pools, watch the waves roll into the bluffs, and picnic in the eucalyptus groves. From Montaña de Oro you can reach Morro Bay by following the coastline along South Bay Boulevard 8 miles through the quaint residential villages of Los Osos and Baywood Park.

Since the late 1800s, the tree-studded hills and valleys of this town have attracted the rich and famous: Hollywood icons, business tycoons, tech moguls, and old-money families. Shady roads wind through the community, which consists mostly of gated estates. Swank boutiques line Coast Village Road, where well-heeled residents such as Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle find peaceful refuge from the paparazzi. Residents also hang out in the Upper Village, a chic shopping area with restaurants and cafés at the intersection of San Ysidro and East Valley roads.

The drive runs along a bluff above the ocean, paralleled by a 3-mile boardwalk that winds along the beach. On this photogenic walk you might glimpse sea lions and sea otters, and perhaps a gray whale during winter and spring. Year-round, birds fly about, and tiny creatures scurry amid the tidepools.

At this tiny but fascinating museum in a parking lot across from the harbor you can learn about Morro Bay's colorful maritime history, dating back thousands of years to the indigenous peoples that fished along the coast. Displays include a tule boat constructed by Salinan tribal members, explorers and traders, commercial fishing, abalone diving, and recreational sailing and boating. If the museum is closed, you can still check out the outdoor exhibits, including a tugboat that rescued sailors from a sinking oil tanker torpedoed by the Japanese during World War II.

The museum's entertaining interactive exhibits explain the natural environment and how to preserve it—in the bay and estuary and on the rest of the planet. Kids age 17 and under are admitted free.

At the mouth of Morro Bay stands 576-foot-high Morro Rock, one of nine small volcanic peaks, or morros, in the area. A short walk leads to a breakwater, with the harbor on one side and crashing ocean waves on the other. You may not climb the rock, where endangered falcons and other birds nest. Sea lions and otters often play in the water below the rock.

Exhibits in a contemporary complex of galleries and a sunny courtyard plaza tell the story of Ventura County from prehistoric times to the present. A highlight is the gallery that contains Ojai artist George Stuart's historical figures, dressed in exceptionally detailed, custom-made clothing reflecting their particular eras. In the courtyard, eight panels made with 45,000 pieces of cut glass form a history time line.

California's oldest nonprofit, multipurpose arts center exhibits visual art from various disciplines and presents theater, dance, and other performances.

The work of local artists is displayed in the Spanish-style shopping arcade along the avenue downtown. On Sunday between 9 and 1, organic and specialty growers sell their produce at the outdoor market behind the arcade.

The museum collects, preserves, and presents exhibits about the art, history, and culture of Ojai and Ojai Valley. Walking tours of Ojai depart from here.

The 18-mile trail is open to pedestrians, joggers, equestrians, bikers, and others on nonmotorized vehicles. You can access it anywhere along its route.

Most local wineries pour at this mid-May outdoor festival that has live bands and diverse food vendors. Winery open houses and winemaker dinners round out the weekend.

Through a hole in one of the gigantic boulders at secluded Pfeiffer Beach, you can watch the waves break first on the seaside and then on the beach side. Keep a sharp eye out for the unsigned, nongated road to the beach: it branches west of Highway 1 between the post office and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. The 2-mile, one-lane road descends sharply. Amenities: parking (fee); toilets. Best for: solitude; sunset.

Among the many hiking trails at Pfeiffer Big Sur, a short route through a redwood-filled valley leads to a waterfall. You can double back or continue on the more difficult trail along the valley wall for views over miles of treetops to the sea.

A large colony of elephant seals (at last count 25,000) gathers every year at this rookery on the beaches near Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. The huge males with their pendulous, trunklike noses typically start appearing on shore in late November, and the females begin to arrive in December to give birth—most babies are born in the last two weeks of January. The newborn pups spend about four weeks nursing before their mothers head out to sea, leaving them on their own; the "weaners" leave the rookery when they are about 3½ months old. The seals return in the spring and summer months to molt or rest, but not en masse as in winter. You can watch them from a boardwalk along the bluffs just a few feet above the beach; do not attempt to approach them as they are wild animals. The nonprofit Friends of the Elephant Seal runs a small visitor center and gift shop ( 250 San Simeon Ave.) in San Simeon.

If you think traversing craggy, twisting Highway 1 is tough, imagine trying to navigate a boat up the rocky coastline (piedras blancas means "white rocks" in Spanish) near San Simeon before lighthouses were built. Captains must have cheered wildly when the beam began to shine here in 1875. Try to time a visit to include the 9:45 am tour held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday year-round, as well as on Monday and Friday in summer. Do not meet your guide at the gate to the lighthouse—you'll miss the tour. Meet instead at the former Piedras Blancas Motel, 1½ miles north of the light station.

Hike, surf, ride horses, swim, fish in a lagoon or off the pier, and dig for Pismo clams at this busy state beach. One of the day-use parking areas is off Highway 1 near the Monarch Butterfly Grove, where from November through February monarch butterflies nest in eucalyptus and Monterey pines. The other parking area is about 1½ miles south at Pier Avenue. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (seasonal); parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Docents lead hikes along scenic Pecho Coast Trail (3½ miles round-trip) to see the historic 1890 lighthouse and its rare Fresnel lens. If you'd prefer a lift out to the lighthouse, join a shuttle tour. Hikes and tours require reservations.

The 1889 lighthouse at this state park still stands watch from atop a large volcanic rock. Four lighthouse keepers lived here with their families until 1974, when the station became automated. Their homes and working spaces are open to the public only on three-hour ranger-led tours. Considerable walking, including up two stairways, is involved. Strollers are not allowed.

The owners of Villicana Winery in west Paso Robles launched the first local distillery in 2011, aiming to repurpose the saignée (free-run juice) that's typically tossed out during the wine-making process. They ferment and distill the high-quality juices into premium spirits, thus reclaiming about 70 acres of premium wine grapes. Taste vodka (including kumquat and cucumber versions), gin, whiskey, bourbon, and limoncello in the tiny barrel-room tasting space or outdoors under the oaks.

The lakeside spa, on 240 hilly acres near the intersection of U.S. 101 and Highway 46 East, is a great place to relax after wine tasting or festival-going. Soak in a private indoor or outdoor hot tub fed by natural mineral springs, or indulge in a massage or facial.

In recent years, Robert Hall Winery—known for its Bordeaux-based reds, Rhone-based reds and whites, and sparkling wines— has become a regional leader in sustainable and regenerative viticulture at its 130-acre estate. The pet-friendly, kid-friendly property has an on-site kitchen with a seasonal menu, and you can taste wine (from $25) and sign up online in advance for various tours, including the Sustainability Tour and Tasting ($75), Cavern Tour and Barrel Tasting ($75), and Paired Culinary Experience ($75).

Stop at this 40-acre estate to sip wines under the wisteria-covered pergola, nosh on farm-to-table dishes (so fresh the organic veggies still have their greens attached), and gaze at the vineyard views. Winemaker Max Marshak specializes in Rhone varieties, unusual white wines, and deep reds.

Activities at this facility geared to children under age 10 include an "imagination-powered" elevator that transports visitors to a series of underground caverns. Kids can pick rubber fruit at a farmers' market and race in a fire engine to fight a fire.

The permanent collection here focuses on the artistic legacy of the Central Coast. Temporary exhibits include traditional and cutting-edge arts and crafts by Central Coast, national, and international artists.

Five miles of scenic trails meander through the garden's 78 acres of native plants. The Mission Dam, built in 1806, stands just beyond the redwood grove and above the restored aqueduct that once carried water to the Old Mission Santa Barbara. More than a thousand plant species thrive in various themed sections, including mountains, deserts, meadows, redwoods, and Channel Islands.  A conservation center dedicated to rare and endangered plant species presents rotating exhibitions.

The historical society's museum exhibits decorative and fine arts, furniture, costumes, and documents from the town's past. Adjacent to it is the Gledhill Library, a collection of books, photographs, maps, and manuscripts. Tours are by appointment only. 

California's seafaring history is the focus here. High-tech, hands-on exhibits, such as a virtual sportfishing activity that lets participants haul in a "big one" and a local surfing history retrospective, make this a fun stop for families. In 2018, the museum introduced a fascinating History of Oil in the Santa Barbara Channel exhibit that traces the Chumash Indians' use of natural seeps to the infamous 1969 oil spill that spawned the modern environmental movement. The museum's shining star is a rare, 17-foot-tall Fresnel lens from the historic Point Conception Lighthouse. Ride the elevator to the fourth-floor observation area for great harbor views.

The highlights of this museum's permanent collection include ancient sculpture, Asian art, impressionist paintings, contemporary art, photography, and American works in several mediums.

A gigantic blue whale skeleton greets you at the entrance to this 17-acre complex, whose major draws include its planetarium, paleo and marine life exhibits, and gem and mineral displays. Startlingly alive-looking stuffed specimens in the Mammal and Bird Halls include a smiling grizzly bear and nesting California condors. A room of dioramas illustrates Native American Chumash history and culture while a Santa Barbara Gallery showcases the region's unique biodiversity. Outdoors, nature trails wind through the serene oak woodlands, a Chumash plant garden, and a summer butterfly pavilion.