Page 140 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

CENTRAL COAST
Endless beaches for wandering
B Y J I L L K . R O B I N S O N
TOP CITIES
Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Morro Bay,
Cambria, Ventura, Lompoc, Solvang
INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX),
98 miles (158 km) from Santa Barbara;
192 miles (309 km) from San Luis Obispo
TOURISM WEBSITES
sanluisobispocounty.com
santabarbaraca.com
travelpaso.com
morrobay.org
cambriachamber.org
ventura-usa.com
lompoc.com
solvangusa.com
POPULATION
1,542,000
CENTRAL
COAST
Like a shell necklace, a string of small beach towns lines the coast
south of Big Sur to Santa Barbara. While Southern California gets
prime beach town attention, it’s the Central Coast region that has
it all without trying to pack too many bodies into each sandy square foot.
If you’re looking for a place to escape the hustle and bustle, chill out like
a local, get some fun and sun, and sample some of the best cuisine and
wine in the state, pack your bags and head to the Central Coast.
The biggest population center is the Santa Barbara area, with its white
Spanish-style buildings and red-tiled roofs. In Santa Barbara, there are
vast beaches, plenty of fine arts venues, bright boutiques, outdoor adven-
tures, culinary tastes and an inland region (the Santa Ynez Valley, featured
in the movie Sideways) known for wine and Santa Maria barbecue.
Visitors can tour hilltop Hearst Castle, see hulking elephant seals at
Piedras Blancas, relax in the sleepy beach towns of Cayucos and Morro
Bay, or find some action in college-town San Luis Obispo. Fresh seafood
often tastes best with a view of the ocean, and the old-fashioned piers of
Avila Beach and Pismo Beach are ideal spots to take that meal break. Ven-
tura’s Mission San Buenaventura is the last of the California missions
founded by Junipero Serra. The oceanside town is also a jumping-off point
for adventures in Channel Islands National Park, called “California’s Gala-
pagos,” with tide pools, kelp forests and unique flora and fauna species.
DIMA ROGOZHIN/SHUTTERSTOCK. OPPOSITE: SOLVANG CVB; SHIPPEE/SHUTTERSTOCK
138 2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A