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The old public Avila Beach Pier is solely made out of wood and when we walked on it with my 5 year old and 2 year old sons, they stumbled a few times. It's not as smooth as the Pismo Beach Pier but it's worth trying to walk on, if you are able. The views, not surprisingly, are phenomenal.


On one side, you see the pretty homes on the hills right above the water and on the other side, you see another pier but that one's private by Cal Poly. If you have excellent vision, you'll also see that there is a third pier in Avila Beach called Port San Luis Pier. Scroll down to see the link for the photos of the third pier. The third pier is open to the public!


We took advantage of the free beach trolley from Pismo Beach Outlets to get to Avila Beach! It was such a fun ride for the kids. They offer the free trolley on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the spring, summer and fall season. It's a great way to venture out without having to worry about finding parking. This is a great transportation system for tourists and locals!


If you happen to be coming to Avila Beach on a Friday during mid-spring through the summer, you can enjoy their farmers market that also has free music entertainment! Many locals bring their lawn chairs to enjoy the show. There are tents selling food and fresh produce and conveniently all located next to the Avila Beach Pier.

Even on a normal day without any events going on, hanging out at the beach in Avila Beach is very enjoyable with many restaurants to pick from nearby.


To see other free things to do with kids in SLO, go to the Family-friendly things to do page.

To see pictures of restaurants that I've dined at in San Luis Obispo County, go to the Restaurants Page.

As mentioned earlier in this post, Avila Beach has a total of three piers. One of those piers is not open to the public and is owned by Cal Poly (our local university). However, the Avila Beach Pier (closest to the restaurants) and the far end fishing pier called Port San Luis Pier are both open to the public. See my blog post and pictures of Port San Luis Pier in Avila Beach.

Read about my staycations at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.