Morro Bay is a beautiful little town located along highway 1 in between the elephant seals of Cambria and the sprawling beaches of Pismo. I have traveled their many times as it is a great stop or final destination for a vacation along the California coast. During my most recent trip we stopped there only for a morning, but it was enough time to walk around Morro Bay State Park, gaze at the enormousness of Morro Rock, and visit one of my favorite clam chowder shops. All of this before heading on out way. Read on for the full review.
By far one of my favorite things about Morro Bay is the quiet and calm nature of the town. The people are friendly, the shops are nice and the beaches are beautiful. Everyone that is there is there to escape the hustle of living in Southern California and are content with just enjoying themselves in a quiet town. Morro Bay gets many visitors over the year but most of the party scene stays in Pismo or San Luis so it is a much more relaxed atmosphere. There is also a nice seaside road that has many different shops and restaurants; however, I was there to check out the Morro Bay State Park so we made our way there first.
The state park is less then five minutes drive from downtown, and you can easily walk to it if you would like. To the right of the state park is a beach where many people were gathering to take in the warm summer weather, and to the left of the rock there is a path that will take you onto the jetty and give you great views of Morro Rock and the city itself. It also provides beautiful views of the coast.
As we were sitting there we saw the rock in front of us had many different sizes and types of starfish on it. It was awesome to see this many as in Southern California they would all have been picked off by someone and there were only 3 other people there taking in the morning views with us.
After hanging out for a couple hours and walking around the park we made our way back to the car. Morro Bay is located on a little bay area so there is not a lot of waves that enter into where the city is, this allows for easy paddle boarding as well as kayaking and I love this picture of a lone paddle boarder braving the ocean with the power plant behind him.
After returning to our car we made our way out of the state park and over to one of my favorite clam chowder places, the Lil Hut. Amie grabbed some salt water taffy and I got some clam chowder. I would highly recommend you get a bread bowl full of it if you visit Morro Bay. The Hut also offers you great views of Morro Rock from the pier that is close by.
Our time in Morro Bay could have been longer, but the views and food we had helped to make it a great stop. When driving along highway 1 make sure you stop for at least a little while Morro Bay. Let me know in the comments if you have been here and have some insights. Also check out the rest of the photos.
