Avila Beach

Avila Beach is the closest beach to San Luis Obispo and offers a calmer atmosphere than much larger Pismo Beach. It's a simple trek south on the 101 to the San Luis Bay exit, which leads directly to Avila Beach Dr. It's a scenic, smoothly curved road that carves its way through a hilly residential area before opening up to the town of Avila Beach.

Directly across from the golf course after turning from San Luis Bay Dr to Avila Beach Dr is a street called Cave Landing Rd. It's a steep, low visibility road that's not even a half mile long. Before the road ends, you encounter this peculiar fence that we'll come back to later.

Cave Landing Rd dead ends at a trailhead, and from there, there's a few different hiking options. The quickest hike is down the trail from the dirt parking lot. The trail comes to a 'T', and five minutes after making a right at this juncture you arrive at a stony cave that overlooks Avila Beach in one direction and Shell Beach (and Pismo, further in the distance).

 

Looking toward Shell Beach

Looking toward Avila

Unfortunately, the cave is strewn with trash and graffiti, but the views are still remarkable.

Now, had we gone the other direction back at the 'T', the trail would have descended to a semi-private beach that is often referred to as Pirate's Cove. This is the local nude beach, and apparently it has quite a reputation. It's visible from the cave, but barely. The reviews in the link paint a similar picture to how I envision it in my mind, so I had no desire to experience it firsthand!

After this short detour, it's only another half mile or so to the Avila Beach proper. If you follow Avila Beach Dr to its end, it leads to one of the three piers of the town. This pier, known as Harford Pier, has served as the historical commercial port for San Luis and was once the largest crude oil shipping port in the world. What immediately stuck out to me was that cars are permitted on it! There's also a restaurant at the end of it (as well as a few others in the parking lot nearby).

There's plenty of seabirds milling around near the sinks where fisherman clean their catch, and at times there's so many that they impede the cars. There are also a number of other noisy guests lounging around the pier.

They appear dead, but the noise they create proves otherwise

Heading back down Avila Beach Dr, it's obvious that this is a common destination for motorhomes.

Very near to where the RVs park is also the entrance to the nearby Diablo Canyon Nuclear facility, which, as a lifelong Simpsons fan, always makes me chuckle.

"Diablo Canyon 2, why can't you be more like Diablo Canyon 1?"

This road also serves as the entrance to the Point San Luis Lighthouse.

The second of Avila's three piers is private Cal Poly property, so it's off limit to the public. The third, however, is located right off of Front St, is almost 1700 feet long, and affords impressive views in both directions. There's also a lower landing to the pier that's easy to miss, and it gives the impression of being trapped in a forest of telephone poles.

 

Front St is the main thoroughfare in downtown Avila Beach, and if it looks new, it's because it is. Remember the Chevron fence from earlier? As a result of years of oil pipeline seepage, a large portion of the town was completely demolished, decontaminated, and rebuilt after a settlement with Unocal (now Chevron).

 

Bars, restaurants, gift shops, and a hotel line Front St and face the water. A park nearby offers some green to contrast the sand. There's plenty of picnic tables and grills, and there's a small playground area abutting those.

Between the Cal Poly Pier and the Harford Pier, there's also receptacles for bonfires.

Avila Beach offers a quieter, more private beach-going experience than the much larger Pismo Beach and is a great place to spend an afternoon.