The Ultimate Guide to San Luis Obispo

Joseph Kiunga Muthua
7 min readJan 18, 2021

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Table of Contents

· San Luis Obispo History

· Average Weather In San Luis Obispo Year Round

· The Best Time To Visit San Luis Obispo

· Transport Means To And Around San Luis Obispo

· The Best Place Eat Live And Dine In San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo Town History

San Luis Obispo, a city, formally named Obispo (place of the full moon), lies on the foot of Santa Lucia Mountains in western California State, San Luis Obispo County, in the United States. It borders, 230 miles to the south of San Francisco, 80 miles of the Santa Barbara, 160miles to the north of Los Angeles, and 20 miles east of the pacific.

Spain claimed California as its state back in 1542, the Spaniards occupied the land from the late 1700s.

In 1769, the Spanish moved from Mexico to California. Similarly, the Spanish ruler ordered the Franciscans and military troops to move to California. The Franciscan priest founded the first mission, San Diego de Alcala, situated in the present-day san Diego. The native Indians, however, were resistant to the mission.

In 1775, the Indians burned the mission, killing three Spanish (including father Luis Jayme), but the Spanish rebuilt the mission as an army fort.

Talking of San Luis Obispo, it was founded in 1772 by Junipero Serra as the fifth in the California chain of the 21 mission to expand the European territory by converting Native Americans to Catholicism. It was named after bishop Toulouse and the 13th saint century.

The San Luis Obispo pioneer inhabitants were the Chumash community. Chumash people inhabited several villages, including Los Osos and morrow creek sites, with the oldest village lying in the south of San Luis Obispo. The community mainly lived along the central coast and used marine resources.

In 1846, the US took control over san Luis Obispo. However, the Mexicans still ruled much of the town.

During the 1860 drought, which destroyed the Rancho land (San Luis Obispo) forced many Mexicans to sell their ranches, after which the area became a dairy cattle and beef production. In 1894, san Luis Obispo was used as a rail division point to transport redefined oil.

In the 2010 census, the population range was 269,637.

Today, San Luis Obispo homes designated historic sites including:

· Railroad history district

· China town historic district

· Downtown historic district

· Old town historic district

· Mill street historic district

San Luis Obispo Today

Would you like to have a taste of SLO? Let us begin with the weather of the town.

1. Average Weather in San Luis Obispo Year Round

San Luis Obispo registers a calm and pleasant weather season almost throughout the year, neither too cold nor too warm, at an attitude of 68 meters above sea level.

January registers the coolest month of the year with daytime temperatures of around 63 degrees, with the wettest months (the rainy season) starting from December through March. On average, San Luis registers 20 inches of rain in a year.

In San Luis Obispo, you will experience:

· Warm and clear summers; you may think clouds never exist.

· Cold, wet, and partly cloudy winters

· An estimate of 287 sunny days per year

· 51 precipitation days on average per year

· The Mediterranean coastal weather throughout the year.

2. The Best Time to Visit San Luis Obispo Town

Generally, San Luis Obispo registers:

· Zero inches of snow the whole year round

· Low temperatures of 43 degrees on January

· High temperatures of 74 degrees in July

The temperatures rarely go below 33 or above 89 degrees Fahrenheit, and mostly range from 41 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, San Luis Obispo’s weather is much pleasant throughout the year compared to other towns like Syracuse in New York, Ironwood in Michigan, and Fairbanks in Alaska, which experiences the worst weather in the US. It is, therefore, cool to visit the town at any time of the year.

3. Transport Means To and Around San Luis Obispo

There exists the most convenient and affordable transport means in San Luis Obispo. For instance San Luis Obispo county regional airport links San Luis Obispo to other towns like Denver and Las Vegas.

Additionally, you may travel by either train or bus to and within san Luis Obispo. For instance, Amtrak rail is situated in the heart of the town, and lies in between Osos streets and Santa Rosa, making it a perfect option to move you to and from town. You may track your preferred bus company by bus tracker app.

You may also move to and from town by bus. Similarly, move by a taxi from within San Luis Obispo town like to the San Francisco international airport, with ubber offering the most expensive transport means in town.

You may also enjoy cycling for over 60 miles of bike paths; the town has a good history supporting bicycle family since 2007.

To sum transport means, enjoy the walk around the San Luis Obispo. The town has more than 230 miles of sidewalk, sidewalk cafes, downtown center pedestrian corridors, and mission style sidewalks.

4. San Luis Obispo Is the Best Place to Dine, Live and Have Fun

Enjoy the beach life in:

· Moonstone Beach: do you love aquatic adventures? Then, moonstone is the place best suit for you. There are dozens of aquatic adventurers like boating and sinking toes into the sand.

Also, enjoy watching sea otters, whales, and seasonal dolphins as you spy the wildlife onshore. You will also enjoy the ocean breeze during the summertime.

· Lake Nacimiento: is 18 miles long, lying in-between San Francisco and Los Angeles, central California. Lake Nacimiento is a census-designated place in the north of San Luis Obispo and covers 5400 acres, meaning it has a lot to offer than you may think. The lake receives its water from a lake basin that is 324 square miles and is 27 % full as per the Nacimiento Regional Water Management Advisory Committee (NRWMAC) statistics.

No wonder the lake has too much to offer, from water sports like kayaking, jet skiing, and paddle boarding. Further, enjoy hiking as you view unique wildlife species like the famous bald eagles and awesome mountain views.

· Oceana Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area: you can drive along the Oceana dunes beach, making it the only state park in California where you drive on the beach. Other fun includes dune and ATV riding. On that note, Oceana dunes register to be among the most attractive recreation beaches worldwide.

· Santa Margarita Lake: Santa margarita is reserved for nature lovers and clean water conservation, and unlike with the Oceana dunes state vehicular recreation area, you cannot drive in Santa Margarita Lake. On the same note, swimming is not allowed. However, Santa margarita Lake Park homes a variety of wildlife and plant species to view. Similarly, enjoy cycling, hiking and horse riding in the Park.

Therefore, if you are looking for a reserved place for passive recreation, sense of natural values or environmental education opportunities, Santa Margarita Lake is the place to be.

· Pismo State Beach: from 2002–2011, Prismo beach had poor water until it is well known for local wine made from grapes sourced from Avilla vineyards grape and Edna valley art Prismo beach wineries. Prismo beach similarly holds the famous clam festival every October and the clam themed parade; it is the clam capital of the world.

· Shell Beach: you hardly meet shell beach on the map, maybe because it neighbors Prismo beach. Funny enough, “shell beach” is more like a general term with other shell beaches in places like Sea Rach, Jenner, La Jolla, and Inverness. With nine separate beaches tucked together, San Luis Obispo shell beach outdoes them all.

· San Simeon and William Hearst Memorial State Beach.

Please Your Eyes with Historical Sites which includes:

· Hearst Castle: formally known as “La Cuesta Encantada” is a Mediterranean revival mansion originally belonging to William Randolph Hearst. George Hearst family built the Hearst castle as a private zoo. It was designed by Julia Morgan, the first US woman architecture back in 1919–47 to receive American Institute of Architects gold medal.

What makes Hearst Castle so famous?

William Randolph Hearst used 700 million dollars to build the Hearst castle. The castle had 61 bathrooms and 56 bedrooms, with a 127-acre garden, making it the most opulent home in the US. The Hearst’s and the Hearst Corporation donated the castle to the California State Park, who then opened the park to the public back in 1958 as Hearst san Simeon state historical monument. Hearst Castle today will captivate for its nearness to prominent sites like old San Simieon.

Similarly, enjoy wine tasting in Hearst ranch wineries, visit the foundation of the Hearst castle, and breathe beach breeze at Randolph Hearst memorial beach.

Other historical sites are:

· Monday Club.

· Historic China Town District & Ah Louis Store.

· Fremont Theatre & Palm Theatre.

· Dallidobe Adobe & Gardens.

· Jack House & Gardens History Center of San Luis Obispo County.

· Mission Luis Obispo De Tolosa.

Places to eat and drink:

Similarly, enjoy the SLO variety of affordable dishes and drinks from restaurants, a walk in the parks, shopping, and sip fruitful coffee flavors like cherries, berries, grapes, hibiscus, and taste romantic wine from over 250 wineries situated in all corners of SLO.

For instance, SLO has multiple restaurants, hotels and lodgings. Among the best three includes:

· Madonna Inn.

· Ember.

· Foremost Wine Co.

· Old San Luis BBQ.

Almost all the hotels and restaurants have boarding rooms. The boarding comes with breakfast. Using this list saves you from pretty mediocre. You will eat fresh food direct from the California farms. You will take wine prepared from natural grapes from the Edna Valley.

Take This Home

SLO homes among exotic sites to view. Over that, it has multiple five star restaurants and wineries. With a world class transport network that is affordable and accessible from all corners of California, SLO increasingly receives tourists all year long.

Visit SLO anytime if at all you are a rover aka travel lover.

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