South Palisades Park, Beach, and Walk

San Luis Obispo, CA Print   Leave a comment

Description

South Palisades Park is a dream. It has an abundance of flowers, benches, and a long lawn. The views from each bench are glorious. The bluest water stretches out to Port San Luis. The hills slant up at a perfect angle. A staircase leads down to the beach. Clusters of flowers greet you at every turn. A curvy paved pathway adds to the magical curves and angles everywhere. The light is lovely here- the sky a fantastic blue behind whisps of clouds. A heart-shaped planter adorns one of the benches- you can sit and think about your lover.
There are many, many weddings every weekend on this coastline, and this park is the perfect spot to hold one. The curved path is nice for kids on tricycles. And the lawn is fun for kids to run with all their might! Surfers enjoy a surfbreak close to shore, kids explore the tide pools, and college students work on their tans. The south end of this beach is below Dolphin Bay Resort Walkway.
There is a nice walk you can do from this park. At the west end of the park, follow the path to Indio Drive, where you can walk along the road. Their is no sidewalk, but because the road dead ends at the park, there aren't many cars. It's nice to look at the beach houses and their pretty gardens. After 250m, you come to Florin Ocean Overlook, where a bench offers perfect views of the coastline and the crashing water below. Continue on Indio Drive another 250m to Topaz Ocean Overlook, where you will find another bench with an amazing view! After another 300m, you come to an overlook at the end of Encanto Ave- this one doesn't have a bench. Continue 400m and you come to the Cave Landing Trail Parking Lot, where you can hike along the Shell Beach Bluff Trail! It goes along the cliffs over the ocean all the way to Cave Landing and Smuggler's Cave. 
Next to South Palisades Park is Marisol at the Cliffs, with lovely views of the ocean. It has a happy hour Monday to Friday 4-7pm. One building further is Lido, a fine dining restaurant in Dolphin Bay Resort, which has a happy hour 2-5pm with an ocean view. And one further than that is Spyglass Inn, with happy hour on M-F 4-6:30pm, with half off the pizza and appetizers.
While you're in the Shell Beach/ Pismo area: For a place to eat, check out the restaurants and the lively scene at Pismo town and pier. For some wonderful sand dunes and a monarch butterfly preserve, check out the North Beach Campground area. For a super fun playground, head over to Dinosaur Caves Park.

Photo Gallery

Good spot to watch the surfers.	Magic!	Daisies, and path to the beach...
Looking toward the western section of the park.	Beach below South Palisades Park.	Perfect spot for a wedding.
A peaceful place to rest.	Heart-shaped planter in front of the bench.	Another delightful place to sit...
The bench with the lovers' planter- so sweet.	Wildflowers and hills- what more could a girl ask for?	Two surfers in the water at South Palisades Park.
Bright bougainvillea and ocean.	Picnic table with a wonderful view.

Directions

South Palisades Park is located at 198 Beachcomber Drive, Pismo Beach CA. There is plenty of parking along the road.

This is an interactive map, you can zoom and move it.

Overall Visitor Rating:

Theresa 10/15/2009 14:50

A year ago I moved to live in Shell Beach mainly because it is a fantastic spot, great views, and not all junked up with snack bars and tacky gift shops. Glad I found this place.