Ever since graduating Cal Poly, I’ve been accompanying Simon on his annual career fair recruitment work trips to our old stomping grounds. After a couple of visits with just the two of us, we discovered a trip to SLO is SO much more fun with friends. This time around, we brought Bay Area friends who had never visited, and I took them on what I think is the perfect 3 day trip for first-timers. Full of outdoor activity (restaurants included), this itinerary is Covid-friendly (and budget-friendly!) Even though it was peak Omicron, we didn’t skimp on any fun and returned home unscathed. The weather also blessed up with relatively nice overcast days, which made hiking and beach-going very pleasant.

Thursday: Arrival and farmer’s market

Terrace Hill sunset

We set out from San Francisco around noon, picked up our friends, and arrived in SLO at 4pm. After checking into our Airbnb house, we drove to Terrace Hill to watch a magical sunset and get a panoramic view of the entire town. Unfortunately the clouds didn’t feel like budging that afternoon, but we got to do a nice mini hike before heading downtown. I’ve missed these small town vibes.

Farmer’s Market & Downtown

Besides beating weekend traffic, this is the main reason why SLO weekend trips have to begin on Thursdays instead of Fridays. The famous Farmer’s Market is extraordinary, full of local farm stands, street food, and live music. This is where both Cal Poly kids and locals alike hang out and have the best time eating elotes on the sidewalk, gnawing on ribs, and bumping into friends. We walked down Higuera and took our friends to some of our favorite downtown spots: Boo Boo Records, SLO Sweets, Nite Creamery, Sweetie Cup, Bubblegum Alley. We also discovered a new Turkish delight confectionary called Lokum.

Firestone Grill

If the farmer’s market street food isn’t your cup of tea, head over to Firestone for tri-tip sandwiches. This place is a SLO staple and on the must-visit list. Along with your sandwich, grab yourself some onion rings or a basket of fries and stuff your face with all them greasy things. You deserve it after all that walking!

Friday: Cal Poly, wine tasting, and a romantic dinner

Slodoco

Another local favorite, SloDoCo is a perfect spot to indulge in some sweets at the start of a long day. The place is like a donut wonderland that makes every donut you can imagine and more. The well-known galaxy donuts are beautiful but a bit too sweet for my taste, so we ended up grabbing a matcha donut, a chai donut, and a bag of donut holes for our hike.

Cal Poly architecture graveyard

I may be biased, but this hidden gem is probably the coolest part of Cal Poly campus. By “hidden” I mean the entrance is pretty hard to find. (Don’t be afraid to ask a student, or follow this blog for detailed directions.) Architecture graveyard, also known as Poly Canyon Design Village, is an experimental playground for architecture and engineering projects from past decades. Although the Cal Poly architecture committee rarely allows for new permanent additions to the graveyard, one of our freshman year projects was to build a liveable structure to camp out in for the night. It took place here, so the challenge was to make our structures light enough to carry on foot, able to sit firmly on a sloped hill, and be comfortable and sturdy enough to sleep in for a night, no matter the weather. One of my fondest memories during my time at school.

Cal Poly arboretum

Another hard to find spot, the arboretum holds a special spot in my heart. A collection of peaceful gardens surrounding a beautiful lawn located at the edge of campus was the perfect spot to spend with groups of friends when school got too stressful. Obviously springtime is best to spot flowers but there are evergreen trees and plants at every turn if you come during the off-season. On your way in, stop at the Poly Plant Shop to pick up cute little house plants.

Breakfast Buzz

After a long morning and lots of miles covered on foot, we were craving lunch. We stopped by Breakfast Buzz to grab their signature breakfast burritos before jumping into the car for our next appointment.

Paso Robles Winery

Paso Robles is a world-class wine region, so we had to take our oenophile friends to one of our favorite spots, Eberle Winery, for a wine tasting and cave tour. (Heads up, you need reservations ahead of time.) I’m not a big wine person myself but I love visiting vineyards. They’re always so unique and laid-back. Who doesn’t love spend an afternoon drinking and snacking with friends? I left with a bottle of moscato, what else is new? Hehe.

Luna Red

To end the day, we indulged in our new favorite restaurant in SLO. Luna Red is a lively romantic restaurant that serves amazing tapas, paella, and cocktails. Seated outdoors under the string lights and heat lamps with a view of the Mission, we savored every delicious plate - market meze, bacon wrapped dates (my fave), spicy spuds, crispy brussel sprouts, and a del mar paella with squid ink rice. You almost cannot go wrong with any of the food here. The service was outstanding as always and the ambiance couldn’t have been more lovely.

Saturday: Sunrise hike, Pismo beach, and sand dunes

Bishop Peak Hike

This is a moderately challenging hike but a must-do, if you’re able. Sunrise is magical in SLO because of the clean air and amount of nature surrounding you at all times. We prefer the Highland Drive trailhead to save some time, and started our climb an hour before sunrise. The hike starts on a grassy field and turns into narrower rocky switchbacks once you get up to the upper half of the mountain, but it’s so fun! Once you reach the bench at the top, if you’re not afraid of heights, you can continue and scramble up some boulders to the tippy top for a true 360-degree view. Including water and photo breaks, this hike took us 3.5 hours total.

Pismo Beach + Splash cafe

We definitely deserved a big lunch after a 5am wake up call. We drove down to Pismo beach (literally took just 15 minutes, everything is so amazingly close here!) and ordered clam chowders, lobster rolls, and calamari fries at Splash Cafe, another popular destination. The clam chowder bread bowls are a must (we actually prefer a cup of chowder + a loaf of sourdough as an alternative).

After lunch, we walked along the quaint boardwalk, scowled at the cricket-filled candy at Hotlix, and strolled along the pier. Just our luck there was an active tsunami warning along the coast of California that day (from the Tonga volcano eruption), but we watched anyway. The surfers rode those enormous waves before it started to sprinkle and we retreated to our car.

Monarch Butterfly Grove

A 4-minute drive away from Pismo beach, this grove is home to a seasonal event that happens between November and February every year. Tens of thousands of monarch butterflies migrating from Canada flock here to seek shelter from freezing winters and cluster in the towering eucalyptus trees. It’s small but a peaceful relaxing spot to look up at the trees and try to spot beautiful vibrant orange creatures.

Oceano Dunes

My favorite place in the world is just hills and hills of sand. This spot is a personal must-visit every time I’m in SLO, and home to the photoshoots of my dreams. Last April we came on an exceptionally windy afternoon but this time it was perfect. The air was warm and nice, and we spent hours laying in the soft sand, taking pictures, and playing around in the landscape. Whether it’s sunny or not, these dunes are the perfect backdrop and playground for photoshoots. I will never stop being obsessed.

Fatte’s

At the end of long day, we were too tired to go out for another meal. We ordered pizza from another college student favorite, Fatte’s. This hole in the wall pizza joint has the best white sauce and packs on the cheese and toppings, for a great price. Don’t expect anything gourmet or even a place to sit down. Just pick it up for a lazy comfort food night at home, and indulge in a movie or two. We watched Don’t Look Up and Pokemon (the Butterfree episode, of course.)

sunday: Madonna Inn, Mission San Luis Obispo, drive home

Madonna Inn

On our last morning, we kept it easy and visited Central Coast landmark Madonna Inn for some quirkiness and some cake. Known for its extravagance and themed rooms, the Inn allows visitors to check out the lobby, common areas, and gift shop. (To see what the rooms look like, look for the wall of postcards in the gift shop.) Before leaving, we also grabbed a slice of cake from the bakery. Pink champagne is the most well-known, but we tried toffee crunch, which in my opinion is much better.

Bliss Cafe

Brunch took place at a popular spot I’ve never tried before. Bliss Cafe is a vegan restaurant and creekside oasis, perfect for a peaceful Sunday morning. We enjoyed buddha bowls, “karma asada” burritos, and smoothies, all made with high quality ingredients. I loved the outdoor patio (surprisingly my first time here!) and the lush greenery that surrounded every table.

Mission San Luis Obispo

We took one last stroll around downtown, picked up more Turkish delights, and visited the Mission. I’ve always taken for granted that this Mission just happened to be located in a convenient spot downtown, but this time I actually went inside and discovered an entire museum I never knew about. This particular Mission was founded in 1772 (exactly 250 years ago!) and served as the first courthouse and jail in San Luis Obispo.

Go Home!

I want to give a huge shoutout to Simon for driving, and our friends for coming along and doing all the things my over-ambitious ass planned. And for taking pictures of mundane places and things that I totally used all over this blog post. I haven’t had many opportunities to take people around my little college town of San Luis Obispo, and had so much fun revisiting places I’ve missed. SLO has gotten exceptionally cute and hipster these past few years (so many twinkly lights! so much new construction!) and this trip gave me a new appreciation for the five years I spent living in this beautiful, nature-filled, charming “happiest city in America.”

If you’re following this travel guide, I hope you have just as much fun! And definitely let me know what you enjoyed the most.

SLO Life