Someone at work who is new to the area asked me for ideas for trips he could take in the area, both day trips and short weekend trips. He has a wife and a young kid and that limits how long they can drive and also how much they can rough it.
This is one I really like to suggest, taking highway 1 down through Big Sur and ending up in Morro Bay, then spending the weekend down in that area and heading home via 101.
Morro Bay is about 4 hours away via the direct route, so it makes for a great weekend stop. It is inexpensive compared to santa barbara or pismo beach but is a nice place for tourist stuff, especially if you want a nice room, decent eats and an ability to wander and get outside, but not looking for fancy food or glitzy tourism stuff. It’s also small, so the word “crowded” is relative, and even when it’s busy, it’s not ugly or impossible.
Morro Bay is a great place to just go and unwind, enjoy the views, enjoy the walks, enjoy the beaches. You’re close to various wine areas if you want to tour, or Hearst Castle, and you can wander easily down to Pismo or up to Cambria. This kind of visit recharges some people and scares the crap out of others. If you’re a “recharger”, it’s a hidden gem.
My favorite motels here are the Best Westerns (there are two, one a bit north of town, one up on the bluff). Nothing fancy, but quiet and clean.
This is a great weekender trip. Drive down highway one through big sur on Saturday. Figure on it taking 7-8 hours. Stop for the views and take pictures. Enjoy the trip. If you want a more upscale dinner, you can find it in cambria. I like T-shirt places, and I have two I really like in Morro: Great American Fish House along the water in the harbor, and Maya’s, a mexican place down near Los Osos. Pretty much any place along the water isn’t bad, from my experimentation.
Sunday, wander the harbor and enjoy. Head out to the rock, look for the otters. Just explore. When it’s time for home, off to the 101 and back, it’ll take you four and a half hours or so.
If you only have a weekend, this is a great loop out to a place you can unwind, but not kill yourself on the drive back and end up stressed.
This article was posted on Chuq Von Rospach, Photographer and Author at Weekend Trip — Morro and Back. This article is copyright 2013 by Chuq Von Rospach under a Creative Commons license for non-commericial use only with attribution. See the web site for details on the usage policy.