Pismo Beach: a visitor’s guide
When you visit Pismo Beach, you can enjoy many different activities, such as bicycling, golfing, playing tennis, scuba diving, hiking, bowling, horseback riding. You can walk through the Monarch Butterfly Grove or enjoy miles of beautiful beaches and explore caves, coves and tide pools. The 1200-foot long Pismo Pier is a great place for fishing, walking, sightseeing and enjoying the view of the great sunset. Every year, Pismo Beach city hosts world-class events like Sunset’s Savor the Central Coast and the Classic Car Show. The most famous event is the Annual Clam Festival, which has been organized for many years. Pismo Beach has excellent weather during the whole year. With its attractions and great events, this classic beach town is great vacation destination.
Pismo Beach is a small city in the southern part of San Luis Obispo County, a county that is located between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This city belongs to Five Cities Area – cities that are part of San Luis Obispo County. Pismo Beach, a classic beach town, has long white beaches that are perfect for a pleasant walk, relaxing and enjoying the Pismo Beach sunset.
Pismo Beach: history
Located on the Rancho Pismo, it was owned by José Ortega who sold this territory to Isaac Sparks in 1846. Later, larger part of the rancho was sold to John Michael Price – he founded the town of Pismo Beach in 1891. The town got the name after the Chumash word that means “tar” – in Price Canyon, near Pismo Beach, tar was collected from tar springs. The community of Pismo Beach was founded in 1875, when John Michael Price built a hotel in Avila Beach. Since it was a failure, in 1884 they moved the hotel to the beach area. Price leased land to the Meherin brothers who have built a wharf at the end of Main Street. This had a great success, so the hotel was moved next to a wharf. The first dock at Pismo Beach was constructed in 1882. In 1924, William Woodrow Ward financed and designed a full-length pier. Unfortunately, it has suffered a great damage from storm, so in 1985 it had to be renovated again. In 1888, the school district and the Post Office were founded.
Pismo Beach: geography
The city of Pismo Beach is an area 35 square kilometers large – 26 square kilometers are water and the rest of it is land. Pismo Creek, the watershed in Pismo Beach, enters the Pacific Ocean. The southern part of the city extends to sand dunes that are followed by eucalyptus trees –every November they attract thousands of monarch butterflies that are migrating. The most populated place within Pismo Beach limits is Shell Beach. In the 1950s, Pismo Beach got the name “Clam Capital of the World”. Every October, the city organizes Clam Festival – the event that has a clam-themed parade and clam chowder competition. When you enter Pismo Beach, their symbol, a concrete clam statue greets you. Clam harvest is allowed, although with over-harvesting not many clams can be found.
