A few weeks ago, we packed up the dogs and headed to the famously beautiful San Luis Obispo, or SLO for short. I knew SLO was going to be lovely, because I haven’t heard a single Californian complain about it (and Californians complain about everything 😉). But I was still blown away by how beautiful and fun this cute little town was! Plus, San Luis Obispo is one of the most dog friendly cities in California that we have visited so far, and that is saying a lot.
So why SLO? First of all, it’s beautiful. They have perfect weather, stunning rolling hills, and the coast is just 15 minutes away. There are a ton of things you can do in such a small area, both outdoors and indoors, including hiking, wine tasting, shopping, hitting the beach, or just plain relaxing. There is also very little traffic around SLO (a blessing in California), and, like I said, SLO is super dog friendly! I don’t think we encountered a single place that didn’t allow dogs.
Getting to SLO Cal
One of the great things about SLO is it is right smack in the middle of California, so it’s a relatively easy road trip from most major cities:
- Los Angeles → San Luis Obispo: 3.5 hours
- San Francisco → San Luis Obispo: 4 hours
- Sacramento → San Luis Obispo: 4.5 hours
- San Diego → San Luis Obispo: 5.5 hours
To maximize our weekend, Brady and I took a half day from wook and headed out of Sacramento just after lunch. We arrived around 5 or 6 PM, which was perfect for checking in and relaxing before spending all of Saturday exploring.
Dog Friendly Hotels in San Luis Obispo
Sands Inn & Suites graciously invited us to stay with them to promote a special they were running in May for National Pet Month! They were perfectly located right in the middle of San Luis Obispo, and I loved that they had amenities for the dogs like treats and water bowls. It’s also a really affordable hotel, around $100 – $200 per night, depending on what night you book.
That said, there is no shortage of pet friendly hotels you can stay at! Whether you are looking for something more budget-friendly or more luxurious, a quick google search will yield a ton of dog friendly accommodations in San Luis Obispo.
Dog Friendly Restaurants in San Luis Obispo
Every restaurant we went to welcomed dogs, which was amazing! After arriving Friday evening, we decided to enjoy an upscale dinner at Mistura, a Peruvian restaurant in downtown SLO. The food and drinks were spectacular, though the service was a little bit slow. Their patio where dogs are allowed is small and narrow, so be sure to call ahead to make sure there is room! Although close quarters, the patio is raised slightly and overlooks a cute little pedestrian courtyard. The girls enjoyed people watching while we had dinner.
The next morning, we took a walk in search of coffee and food. We wound up at Skippers Brew Coffee House, which had both! They were also really dog friendly (do I sound like a broken record yet?) and were actually hosting a local adoption event later that afternoon! I highly recommend trying the Aussie pies, which are little meat pies similar to an empanada. We got the traditional beef, and it was so good.
We ate lunch at Big Sky Cafe, a farm-to-table restaurant in downtown SLO that is also dog friendly. I ordered the Cubano sandwich and white wine sangria, and TBH, I’m still dreaming about that sandwich. It was so freaking good!
Similar to the hotel situation, there is a huge variety of dog friendly restaurants in San Luis Obispo, and based on my (limited) experience, I don’t think you can go wrong. Everything we tried was amazing.
What to do in San Luis Obispo with Dogs
Since everything is so dog friendly in SLO, there isn’t much that you can’t do with your dog. There are a lot of dog friendly hiking trails in San Luis Obispo, which we had planned on exploring. But we had a bit of a slow (no pun intended) morning on Saturday and decided to walk around downtown SLO with the dogs instead. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and downtown SLO is so cute! It’s a really walkable town, and a lot of the shops are dog friendly, too. I actually had to buy a new pair of Birkenstocks while we were there, and the Birkenstock store welcomed the dogs.
There are also a ton of dog friendly wineries and breweries in SLO. You might have heard of Napa and Sonoma, but what about Paso Robles? Paso Robles wine country is just outside of SLO, and their wines (and honestly their views) almost have Napa/Sonoma beat!
I definitely recommend booking in advance (a few days at least) if you want to do a tasting, but you can also order a glass or bottle a la carte at most places. I still recommend calling ahead to confirm a place is dog friendly and that they have space. We visited Chamisal Vineyards in the Edna Valley just 10 minutes from our hotel. It was absolutely gorgeous and had a killer rosé (their sister winery, Malene Wines, exclusively offers rosé).
Another fun thing to do in San Luis Obispo is visit the beach! There are lots of dog friendly beaches just a short, 15-minute drive from downtown SLO. If crowds don’t scare you, Pismo Beach is the epitome of cute coastal town with salt water taffy, a pier, and a nice long stretch of beach. We did a quick stroll through, but the crowds were a lot of navigate with the dogs, so we hopped back into the car and drove to Morro Bay, where we grabbed some dinner overlooking Morro Rock. We decided to head down to Morro Rock Beach to watch the sunset, and oh my god. Morro Rock Beach is a great place to catch a classic California sunset!
The places we visited all required dogs to be on leash, but SLO does have a few off leash dog parks you could check out if interested!
Planning a Dog Friendly Weekend – San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo really is a perfect weekend getaway with dogs, especially if you live in California. I definitely recommend planning things in advance, as hotels and wineries and things like that can book up. Early spring (March/April) is a great time to visit if you want to go hiking, because the wildflowers are absolutely beautiful here. Summer is, of course, ideal for beachtime (it can be windy and a little chilly in the Pacific Ocean), though that is also the most expensive time to visit when it comes to hotels. For wineries/breweries or just enjoying a SLO weekend (see what I did there?), I would say any time of year is pretty damn good.
Be sure to pin this post for your trip, and let me know if there are any other must see/must do things in the comments!
2 Responses
I love going to Pismo beach and need to find a great hotel that let’s us take our German Shepherd too. Do you have a fav hotel in Pismo?
We stayed in downtown SLO, so I haven’t stayed AT Pismo Beach. Edgewater Inn and Suites looks really nice, though, and doesn’t charge a pet fee! Tides Inn and Cottages also look like a good option!