Pismo State Beach is a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast in the U.S. state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is approximately 17 miles long and fronts the towns of

Pismo Beach Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It ...

, Grover Beach, and

Oceano Oceano (Spanish: ''Océano'', meaning "Ocean") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 7,286 at the 2010 census, up from 7,260 at the 2000 census. Geography Oceano is located a ...

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...

. It is managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The area includes a beach and dunes.

Recreational uses

The beach offers many attractions such as camping, hiking, swimming, surfing, and fishing, and is home to the famous

Pismo clam ''Tivela stultorum'', also known as the Pismo clam, is a species of large, edible, saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams. This species is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. As the name implies, the ...

. It is a popular place to bird watch and is the largest over-wintering colony of

monarch butterflies The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. ...

in the U.S. The

Cal Poly Mustangs The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty-one teams and compete in NCAA Division I; they are primarily members of the Big West ...

women's beach volleyball team has used the beach for home beach volleyball matches.

Animal and plant life

The beach is home to many forms of marine life, such as abalone,

anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand an ...

s, crabs,

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwa ...

, and sea urchins. Several types of birds also live at the beach, such as the

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...

, great blue heron. A large monarch butterfly population winters over at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. It is popular to view the monarch migration from November to February.

Pismo Beach/ Oceano Dunes District Visitor Center

The Visitor Center is located in Oceano Campground at Pismo State Beach. Operated by Ca State Parks, the center features exhibits about the park's Natural, Cultural and Recreational history. Education programs are offered for campers, schools and group organizations, and lead guided walks. There is also a gift shop.

References

External links

Official Pismo State Beach website
- Central Coast State Parks Association
Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly GroveActivities and things to do in Pismo Beach

Pismo State Beach Golf Course

Pismo State Beach CampingPanoramic video of Pismo State Beach
seen from the Pismo Beach Pier {{Protected Areas of California, SP Beaches of Southern California Beaches of San Luis Obispo County, California California State Beaches Nature centers in California Parks in San Luis Obispo County, California Beach volleyball venues in the United States College beach volleyball venues in the United States Cal Poly Mustangs women's beach volleyball venues Volleyball venues in California

Recreational uses

Animal and plant life

Pismo Beach/ Oceano Dunes District Visitor Center

See also

References

External links