Chumash tribespeople are the only people legally allowed to climb this volcanic rock, now the protected nesting ground of peregrine falcons. You can laze at the small beach on the rock’s north side, but you can’t drive all the way around it. Instead, rent a kayak to paddle the giant estuary, inhabited by two-dozen threatened and endangered species, including brown pelicans, snowy plovers and sea otters.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Morro Bay Skateboard Museum

0.83 MILES

With exhibits, posters and more than 200 skateboards from the 1930s to the 21st century, this excellent privately operated museum is essential for anyone…

2. Morro Bay State Park

1.94 MILES

Craggy Morro Rock holds court over this woodsy waterfront park laced with hillside hiking trails. A small natural history museum has interactive exhibits…

3. Montaña de Oro State Park

6.6 MILES

Wind-tossed coastal bluffs with wild, wide-open sea views make this park a favorite spot with hikers and mountain bikers. The northern half of the park…

4. Estero Bluffs State Park

7.37 MILES

Ramble along coastal grasslands and pocket beaches at this small state park, accessed from unmarked roadside pulloffs north of Cayucos. Look among the…

6. San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

12.93 MILES

By the creek, this small gallery showcases the work of local painters, sculptors, printmakers and fine-art photographers, as well as traveling California…

7. Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

12.94 MILES

Those reverberatory bells heard around downtown emanate from this fifth California mission, founded by Padre Junípero Serra in 1772 and named for a 13th…

8. Bubblegum Alley

13.03 MILES

SLO’s weirdest sight is colorfully plastered with thousands of wads of ABC (‘already been chewed’) gum. Watch where you step!