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San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum
1010 Nipomo Street
San Luis Obispo
(805) 544-5437
The Children's Museum is located next to San Luis Obispo Creek, in the heart of town, just one block from the Higuera Street shopping district and two blocks from the San Luis Obispo Mission. It offers special events, special exhibits, and craft hours with prior enrollment. Kids love the Children's Museum-touching and exploring are encouraged.
The Children’s Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, closed for maintenance on Mondays.
Adult admission $5, children under 2 free.
After visiting the museum, the kids will enjoy a stroll up the shady brick walkway along San Luis Obispo Creek.
Across the street from the Children's Museum, you'll find the old Creamery, now converted into art studios, restaurants and boutiques. Anam Cre’ Studio of the Arts (805-544-1850) offers classes for artists of all ages. Enjoy excellent Japanese food at Tsurugi, with optional creekside seating.
From the Pismo Beach House, take U.S. 101 northbound to the Marsh Street exit. Continue up Marsh Street to the second traffic light at Nipomo Street. Turn left on Nipomo and travel two blocks to the Museum on the right, at the intersection of Nipomo and Monterey Streets.
Atascadero Zoo
9305 Pismo, Atascadero
(805) 461-5080
Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, 26 miles north of the Pismo Beach House on US 101, features over one hundred animals in a naturalistic setting in five park-like acres. Refreshments available, picnic area.
Admission: Adults (16 & over) $3; children 3-15, $2. Seniors, $2.25.
Hours: April-October: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; November-March, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
From the Pismo Beach House, go north on US 101 to Santa Rosa Road in Atascadero. Go left (west) on Santa Rosa, past the lake, and turn right on Hwy 41. The zoo will be on your right.
San Luis Obispo Farmers Market
San Luis Obispo Downtown Association
(805) 541-0286
www.pps.org/gps/one?public_place_id=168
On Thursdays, 6-9 p.m. (earlier in winter), San Luis Obispo’s main street, Higuera, is closed to traffic for five blocks to make room for the Farmers Market. This is the social event of the week in SLO town, when people of all ages congregate for a relaxed stroll down Higuera Street. The children will love to take in a marionette show or watch a mime performance, and later sit on the sidewalk for a dinner of barbecue ribs and corn on the cob. Don’t forget to pick up fresh fruit and flowers.
Other activities
Pismo Beach stretches out for 17 miles from your deck at the Pismo Beach House, with plenty of activities to keep the kids busy for days on end: boogie board and surfboard rentals, banana bike rides by the surf, horseback and mini ATV rides on the Dunes. However, other beaches are well worth a visit: Avila with its renovated downtown, children’s playground and historic pier, Shell Beach for a picnic lunch on the bluff, and Morro Bay with its endless expanse of dunes, environmental preserve, and boat rentals. The tidepools at Hazards Beach in Montaña de Oro State Park are well worth a visit. The kids will enjoy bicycling along the shady Bob Jones path from Ontario Road to Avila Beach and the pier and a stop at Fat Cats for a hamburger lunch. Inquire at the SeaVenture front desk for details.
Photo courtesy of Pismo Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau
