A long weekend in San Luis Obispo?

Oh you have to go ride Dune Buggies on Pismo Beach. You could take turns to stay with the baby. You can actually strap a car seat into the Dune Buggy, but baby would be too young. Kid must be able to wear a Helmet.

Pismo is also really known for clam digging. Another fun activity. You can go Kayaking in the bay...I'll have to look that up. Although you have a baby....call me and I'll tell you what we did. I can't give you that advice officially here.

There are some farms you can go u-pick at....SLO Trekaroos. What else do you recommend?

Yes, come to San Luis Obispo! I live here and trust me there is WAY more to do than the not so great Childrens Museum, which we can not stand, its sooo boring but looks nice on the outside :) . Take a look at the following towns that are within a 15 min. beautiful car ride, Avila Beach, Morro Bay. There is amazing hiking, flat beautiful beaches, the Embarcadero in Morro Bay for walking the shops and see famous Morro Rock, the trolly to ride around town, Farmers and Fish Market Friday nights in Avila Beach...the best family friendly beach for kiddos...with a new down town, park, and great food. San Luis Obispo has a beautiful town to stroll around, huge parks, and a MUST stop is the Avila Valley Barn...Animals to pet and feed, fresh produce to buy, roasted corn, hay rides, sweet shop, and deli...The area is so fun to tour around, we were voted #3 most desirable place to live and it wasnt because of the childrens museum :)

Yes, it is a great place to visit. I second, the Avila Barn is a must see, they give you a bag of food to feed the animals and have tons of fresh goodies to choose from if you are hungry, or just bring your own picnic. There are also lots of natural areas to explore, like Montana De Oro and Hearst Castle is just up the coast a bit. Once you come though, beware, people get addicted to the area. A lot of people come to attend Cal Poly and they never leave because it is such a great area.

I live in SLO county and agree with all of the above...except now the food for the animals at Avila Valley Barn is 25 cents. But it keeps the kids busy for a good half hour. With small kids, I wouldn't try Hearst Castle, but the drive up the coast near San Simeon is beautiful. You can see elephant seals near the castle. Morro Bay has a terrific seashell shop that my kids have always loved. If you need actually want to visit a children's museum, my kids have always liked the one in Paso Robles better anyway. There is so much to do here and it's not usually overcrowded like a big city or theme park.

I agree with everyone else on the suggestions. There are so many great outdoor activities and the scenery is gorgeous. If they had a decent airport in SLO I would move there in a second!

Definitely check out the Avila Valley Barn, but also head out to Avila Beach for a bit - so fun. And walk along Port San Luis pier - there's sometimes sea lions hanging out. Also there are so many parks in the area to play at, pools to play in, if you don't mind a drive Lompoc has one of the best aquatic centers in the nation! Children's museum is fun, the one in Santa Maria is better! Go for a hike on either the Bob Jones trail or Oso Flaco Lake - both are hiking toddler and stroller friendly. You can also hike around Cal Poly or check out if they're having tours of the animal units at the university. And if you're here on a Thurday night, check out the Farmer's market in downtown SLO - the best!!! Have fun!

Another SLO County resident. I'd say it depends on where you're coming from. If you want to go to the beach every day, you can. Avila Beach is an especially nice one for the kids. There's a great playground (I was talking to a mom the other day who said they go there to the beach but never make it off the playground) and bathroom facilities, and a nice beach and a creek that flows onto the beach as well. If you go, bring a picnic, there is only pretty expensive food there (the Deli or the Hula Hut have sandwiches but expect to pay $9 a sandwich).

In Morro Bay, you could easily spend the whole day. Nice beach, great walkway along the harbor to the Morro Rock and the beach. Lots of touristy stuff (try Tognazzini's near the Coast Guard station for the best seafood in town - we go there about once a week). Farmer's market on Saturday afternoon. There is also a nice Natural History museum in the state park. Morro Bay also typically has a family of otters living just off the path at the harbor mouth at the base of the rock. The closest you can see them outside of an aquarium!

Go out to Montana de Oro and walk the bluff trail. It's strollerable once you get over the bridge at the beginning. Out on the path, leave the stroller at the top and walk down the steps to the beach cove for tidepooling. It has unbelievably good views if the weather is clear.

Downtown SLO has pathways along most of both sides of the creek. Kids love playing there and also in Mission plaza at the fountain. There are also a number of other really nice parks in downtown.

The Cal Poly campus is also a fun place to go on weekends. Bring a picnic and enjoy the grassy areas. There is a little-known arboretum if you walk up the hill behind the Poly Plant shop (be brave, it doesn't look like you should be going there but you can) and you end up in a wonderful little piece of heaven.

Pismo is really popular for doing the typical SoCal stuff. Paso Robles in the other direction has a nice park in downtown and a wonderful children's museum. There is a small zoo in Atascadero next to a wonderful park with a lake.

I really love Avila Barn - the tractor ride to the U-pick stuff is free and leaves every half hour. I really love taking my 2-year-old (he went when he was 18 months and loved it). And the kids love seeing the animals.

Lots of good suggestions from everyone else too.

-Kim.

Wow, thanks everyone! We booked our hotel for SLO for later this month, and you've all made us very excited to go.

One of the things that we love to do when we're on vacation is to eat at as many great local places as possible. Other than Tognazzini's, are there other places that we should make sure make it on to our list? We eat anything and everything.

You are going to have a WONDERFUL trip!
We are big foodies and our fave restaurants WITH family are also Tognazzini's Dockside in Morro Bay, Novo in SLO, Frankie and Lola's in Morro Bay for Breakfast, DELISH!, Guisesspi's downtow SLO on Marsh for Italian, Firestone is great for lunch in SLO, Old Port Inn in Avila for Lunch or Dinner, you eat out on the pier, go ahead and drive out there you can see the water below from your table, Thai Palace in SLO is the best Thai food...Amazing amazing food and a MUST stop is Taco Temple in Morro Bay...its not Mexican food rather delish California fusion food...Enjoy the eating experience!!!

Wow! SLO mom's I think you have also convinced me that we should visit sometime soon. Maybe in October. Brennan, my hubby and one of the other founders of Trekaroo went to Calpoly. Hope to meet up with some of you guys then.

All these suggestions are amazing. If you haven't already written reviews of these places you've recommended, please please do!

Food... with kids... some options are Pete's pierside cafe on the Port san luis pier, yummy & fresh fish tacos - they may only do lunch. Avila Valley barn now has sandwiches which are super yummy - a little pricey, but worth it. Woodstone market place, along the bob jones trail has great salads, sandwiches, & pizza too. In SLO, there's a Chipotle (chain store, but yummy) and then Chino's near the theater which has delicious mexican too. Natural Cafe is a great place for a healthy meal and McKlintoks or Firestone for a not-so-healthy meal. Love Muzio's for sandwiches as well. In Pismo Beach, Rosa's is the BEST for italian and even clam chowder! If you like sushi - Yanagi's in Pismo is the place to go! Gosh, you can't go wrong - yummy food everywhere! Glad you're looking forward to coming - I came to SLO for college and was one of the lucky ones to stay - and so happy to be able to raise my kids in such a safe, fun, and beautiful place! Enjoy!

Thanks for the great tips!

We ended up going to a lot of the places you suggested: the dairy unit at Cal Poly to see the milking, Morro Bay, Avila Valley Barn, Avila Beach. Loved Avila Beach and the playground! Went there 2 days in a row.

Some food highlights: Old Port Inn in Avila Beach - the crab cake appetizer they have now may be the best crab cakes I've ever had (and I've tried LOTS of crab cakes); the trip-tip sandwich at Firestone Grill; awesome sandwiches at Avila Barn.