Situated between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo (visitslo.com) features the best of both regions but without the traffic or urban sprawl. SLO Town or San Luis (as the locals call it) is accessible via direct service on Amtrak’s Starlight Express and connecting service from Los Angeles via the Pacific Surfliner, making it the perfect eco-conscious four-night getaway.
San Luis Obispo's Nine SistersPHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
My train from Los Angeles was a breeze, with plenty of ocean-view window seats available in the dining and café cars. The Surfliner was a vacation in itself, turning a long and congested three-hour drive into a leisurely trip along the Pacific. The train tracks also run through Vandenberg Air Force Base where Elon Musk’s SpaceX often launches its rockets. If you travel in spring you have the chance of seeing the annual super bloom of California Golden Poppies and other wildflowers. From the train station, it was a quick ride to downtown — so quick I could have easily walked it, even with my bag.
Granada Hotel & BistroCOURTESY GRANADA HOTEL & BISTRO
I was booked into the Granada Hotel & Bistro, one of several boutique hotels opening in the downtown corridor. Each room was individually decorated, and the hotel’s speakeasy bar was a secluded yet lively retreat at night.
Downtown perfectly reflects the progressive, youthful, yet casually sophisticated vibe of this university town. It was refreshing to see rainbow Pride flags and colors displayed seemingly everywhere — not to make a statement, but because LGBTQ+ folks are so fully integrated into the fabric of the local community.
Farmers Market every Thursday eveningPHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
Activities downtown include a stroll along the Creek Walk, the city’s natural cascading water feature. San Luis Obispo Creek runs through the college town bearing its name and provides a calming ambiance to the downtown district. Many restaurants and cafés have open-air patios in the back overlooking the creek, so it pays to step inside to discover what’s out back. Be sure to stop by The Hat Bar to customize your own cowboy hat. The experience was a hoot, with an array of tassels, feathers, and other design elements available to create your perfect hat. They also sell amazing candies and beef jerky if a new chapeau is not your thing.
You can visit Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, which was built in 1772 and is still a functioning church. The large square outside overlooking the San Luis Creek is a popular gathering point in town.
Take a pottery class at Anam CrePHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
I took a pottery class at Anam Cre, making a rolling tray for my boyfriend and a misshapen coffee mug for my mother. While my cup didn’t turn out as planned, my mom cherishes and uses it the same as she would have if I was a third grader presenting a prized creation from summer camp.
The infamous (and surprisingly sanitary) Gum AlleyPHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
For those looking for something a little less cultured, buy some bubblegum and visit the infamous Gum Alley. As its name implies, it’s an alley where passersby have contributed their chewed bubble gum to the alley’s walls. It’s far more sanitary than one might imagine, however, as the walls are power washed on a regular basis.
Wherever you go in downtown SLO, though, you’ll find plenty of public art of the non-gum variety.
Nine Sisters artwork downtownPHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
And if you’re lucky enough to be in town on Thursday evening, don’t miss the farmer’s market that doubles as a weekly street fair. One of the bands performing during my visit was Awkward Silence, a group of middle schoolers who knew how to rock.
While downtown is a treasure, SLO also features arguably the best coastal hiking in the state. I highly recommend summiting Cerro San Luis Obispo, one of the Nine Sisters, which are peaks that dominate the town’s natural skyline. The hike was four miles round trip with an elevation gain of just under a thousand feet, perfect for a pre-breakfast cardio workout. There’s also horseback riding available through the Madonna Inn at the mountain’s base.
The author greets his horsePHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
While the Granada did not feature an in-house spa, I was able to book a treatment at Vibe Health Lounge – an ideal follow-up to a morning of hiking.
The region is also known for its wineries. I visited Wolff Vineyards not only for their fantastic wines and idyllic setting but also because of their eco-friendly practices. Wolff was one of the first wineries in the area to try a more ecologically holistic approach to winemaking and recognizing environmental stewardship is a business practice. You can also catch local bands like Backpages performing on weekends. Get daring and try a sidecar motorcycle tour of their sprawling property.
Wolff WineryPHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
Foodies might never want to leave downtown, but an Ethiopian cooking class at Ebony SLO is worth the short Uber ride. Downtown, I recommend SLO Provisions (owned by gay spouses and biz partners Dwyne Willis and Steve Bland), Kreuzberg, Seeds, or Kitchen & Vine for breakfast or lunch. For dinner, I dined at the Granada Hotel Bistro and later tried two of my new fave restaurants anywhere. Mistura offers a unique Peruvian-Italian fusion menu and Novo features al fresco dining overlooking the San Luis Creek. If you can visit only two restaurants while in SLO, these would be my hands-down choices.
Sunrise hike on Cerro GordoPHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
SLO-town turned out to be a refreshing destination where you can leave your car and your worries behind. There’s plenty of fine dining, shopping, and drinking available in a safe and walkable downtown district, and the city is surrounded by some of the most bucolic countryside in the state.
If you haven’t already, it’s probably time to SLO down and visit this wonderful community.
