City in the Central Coast area of California, and is part of the Five Cities area, a cluster of cities in the area

How to Get There

From Los Angeles (176 mi): Get on US-101 N from W Temple St. Follow US-101 N to Calle Real in Santa Barbara. Take exit 101B from US-101 N. Get on US-101 N from CA-154 W/San Marcos Pass Rd. Follow US-101 N to Wadsworth Ave in Pismo Beach. Take exit 191A from US-101 N. Drive to Price St.

Overview

Pismo Beach is a city in the Central Coast area of California. It is part of the Five Cities area, a cluster of cities in that area. The Five Cities area historically is made up of Arroyo Grande, Grover City (now Grover Beach), Halcyon, Fair Oaks, and Nipomo, though most now refer to the Five Cities as Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach (which is actually a part of Pismo Beach), Arroyo Grande, and Oceano.

Sergei Gussev, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

History

The Chumash people are the historic inhabitants of the region, with indigenous peoples having lived along the California coast for at least 11,000 years. The name Pismo comes from the Chumash language word for tar, pismu, which was gathered from tar springs in Price Canyon near Pismo Beach. The tar was a valuable product, which the Chumash used to caulk their seagoing canoes, called tomol, which traveled along the coast and out to the Channel Islands. The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition, passed through the area, traveling up Price Canyon from Pismo Beach.

Pismo Creek enters the Pacific Ocean at Pismo Beach. The southern end of Pismo Beach runs alongside sand dunes, which are followed by eucalyptus trees that attract thousands of migrating monarch butterflies every November through February.

Blake Carroll, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons ; Image Size Adjusted

Meadow Creek is a short creek that runs through the Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve and hosts a variety of wildlife despite its urban surroundings, including beaver (Castor canadensis).

material from the Wikipedia article "Pismo Beach, California", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0