Local Eval: Cute little neighborhood SLO County Park right in the middle of "nowhere". I visited a…read morefew weeks ago, added this "new" entry to Yelp without any "credit" [was prompted for an immediate review & pics], and was Tardy with my Hardie review. Hardie Park is rather cute and has both a summer use adult pool, along with a tot pool. The fees are reasonable [one day= $2 a kid/ $5 an adult & season passes are a bargain] and the schedule is on the SLO County Park website...where you can also find the plethora of other SLO County Parks, Pools, Golf Courses, Lakes, Hikes, etc... The two Tennis courts are free, at least according to the people who were playing there. In front of the pool is a interesting sculpture dedicated to two local Indian tribes [see pics]. On the other side of the street, is a large well groomed grassy area, where there are ample playgrounds for tots. The county wisely used what appears to be ground-up tires/rubber for safety. There is a large covered picnic table area with a huge BBQ for groups. In the overhead structure, there are controls for lights & even an AC outlet. One likely needs to reserve and pay for use on the SLO County website. Just behind this is a lazy serene creek, which is pleasant. The banks are deceptively muddy and slippery, which I found out the hard way! I wanted a water/mud sample to test under my home microscope system. As my wife yelled at me not to go down that way, that was the way I went...only to regret it, as one sneaker got wet, as I slipped. It took me a bit to extract myself, as I ran nowhere fast. My wife joked that I looked like a mouse running on one of those wheels in their cage! Somehow, I did not fall. Later I had my wife grab me a water sample. Since the creek looked to be only about 6 inches deep, it would typically only be messy for an adult...unless you twisted an ankle or worse! Apparently, since I did not learn my lesson about creek banks, I repeated this stupidity, the very next day with AG Creek, where I also slipped & grabbed a huge Stinging Nettle branch with both hands. MUCHO-Ouch! In any case, if an old fool like me can mess up with creeks, you can imagine what a mess kids can get into. My New Balance sneakers were soaked with tons of mud, while I had a pair of waterproof boots in the trunk. I can be quite a moron! In any case, this is a rather pleasant "unknown" county park in SLO County, that also happens to be right next to a public library. You then can grab some eats from town, a book to read, and then watch your kid[s] use up some of their boundless energy, swimming. The surrounding town is quiet, has humble accommodations, and marginal eats...but it is a good base of operations for points north, south, or east. Both charming Cambria and Morro Bay/Baywood/Los Osos are just a few miles away, and are filled with lots to explore. Since a number of the SLO County Parks do have summer daily use pools, it is a great feature for kids. In our area, only a few health clubs have decent pools, and only an expensive one has a nice outdoor Olympic sized pool [e.g. Avila Club]. So if you have visiting relatives with kids, who are pestering you to swim, and you know that they can get hypothermia from the Ocean, then these parks may be a god send for some. While the SLO County Pools are spread out, it may give you a great excuse to sight see, as you check out the area. If you need a relatively safe sheltered beach, there are parts of Avila Beach that have little wave action, lots of sand for a stroll, but the water is still icy cold. Avila is the most kid friendly beach. Ironically, even though I made the first "business" addition to Yelp, someone else apparently beat me to the first review [a non-local brief review seemingly targeted to "beat me" to the obviously "coveted" "First-to-review" title]. It was rather annoying, after I took considerably more time to research, explore, & take many pictures of this cute park...but no matter... as a local with tons of time on my hands, one of my new hobbies is to check out the plethora of the many County or local Parks, Attractions, Farmers Markets, in SLO county & beyond. My additional beef with the multitudes of non-local "tourist" brief reviews, is that many either over-glorify, or overly-trash places, that they may visit once, and typically lack a comparative/historical local context. You cannot expect this rural area to compete with urban areas. While it is a relatively "wealthy" area, with pricey housing, most things have to be trucked in, from the ports of Long Beach, or from the SF Bay area. There are no major ports in this area, since the demise of this area's big oil rigs & refineries eons ago. Avila Pier had a railroad that once brought oil out to the port from SLO [Tank Farm] & was a polluting eyesore. The entire town of Avila was dug up to remove many feet of oil soaked sand decades ago!

Sweet little park. Play structure, covered picnic area, restrooms, large grass area, and access to…read morea creek. Within walking distance of downtown Cayucos and the beach. Clean and quiet.

Its been a great park to go to with my daughter. The tall structure is great to climb and the…read moreslides are fun. The grassy hills are great for running around and being adjacent to the ranch property makes it fun to see cows. However, like every other park in Morro Bay it is falling apart and a slide is now closed. The spiral slide always scared me since the stairs don't seem safe since a kid could easily fall off. But still a fun park, I just with the parks department would do a fundraiser or something so our parks could be properly maintained and repaired.

I was visiting my friends, who live in Morro Bay. We decided to hit up Del Mar Park for their first…read morepickleball experience. Despite a busy morning and a wait to get on the court, everyone we met was incredibly friendly. We began in the beginners' court, but it turned out my friends were former tennis players who quickly adapted to the pickleball rules and techniques. So, we moved up to the intermediate middle court and had a fantastic time. The crowd, although a bit older, was warm and welcoming. We shared plenty of laughs, and my friends loved their first pickleball experience, planning to return the next time I visit Morro Bay. Although there were only three courts at the park, they were well-maintained. $1 per player. I can't wait to play pickleball with my buddies and these wonderful people in the community again.

This park is close to the burbs. It can be seen from Highway1. It was created as part of the…read moreCloisters housing development in 1989. It had a playground, restrooms, big green lawn areas, parking lot, and walking paths to the wetland and beach access. I was quite impressed with the green lawns. A lot of room to run amok. And the Morro Rock impressively stands in the background. Gorgeous! Can never get tired of that view. Another thing to note is that the park has no trees. This was done on purpose. The omission of trees was done per guidance from the Coastal Comminssion to protect the wetlands. Being from the Central Valley, the weather is much hotter and a park without trees is unimaginable. But the lack of trees at Cloisters Park didn't make my visit less enjoyable.

What a great little park! Clean facilities and wonderful walking trails that will take you all the…read moreway down to the beach if you'd like. Our daughter loved the swings and seeing all the wildlife (ducks, squirrels, seagulls). The playground looked clean and well maintained and safe for little ones to play around on. Although we did witness a seagull completely dig into someone's bag for an open bag of chips! So watch your food-these birds are aggressive! Haha! Restrooms were cleaned and stocked too. Plenty of parking and good midway between Cayucos and Morro- but closer to Morro. Short drive in either direction.

When on a highway 1 trip, its always nice to stop in at the Estero Bluffs where there are views of…read morethe bay and Morro Rock. This park provides a great opportunity for wildlife viewing and opportunity to enjoy the beach near the San Geronimo Creak at the end of a rocky trail. At this park you can also enjoy tidepools, grassland, bluffs and wetlands. And during low tide you can see a breached fishing boat that you can take pictures with or if you are tall and brave enough stand on but be careful as rusty. The boat is found on the southern end of the park. Go during low tide to see the boat and enjoy the tidepools. Multiple parking lots are located off highway one. The best access to the beach can be found at the intersection of highway 1 and San Geronimo Road.

During Camp Keep we went to the tide pools. We were able to climb rocks and look for sea life. A…read morelot of the kids did find mussels, snails, barnacles, even a sea star. It was just a great experience for us all. The naturalist was great, she was informative and so patient. The rocks could be a bit slippery so make sure you have the right shoes.

This is a nice volunteer-operated dog park that has separated areas for small dogs and for big…read moredogs. There are covered cans for storing water (stocked by volunteers) to give to thirsty dogs in the provided bowls. The park was created with donations from various community businesses for materials, tools (rakes and shovels), and landscaping. The community board encourages people to adopt a plant on the perimeter and water it when you go. There aren't many places nearby where dogs can run off-leash, and it's very sweet that the local community has pitched efforts together to create and maintain this cute little dog park.

I am so glad we discovered this park as it is my favorite park thus far…read more It had the best view of the Morro Bay rock as well as that boat. The kids can climb on with so much fun. It was clean with lots of little squirrels and places to sit.

I'm road tripping and happen to be in Morro Bay along the waterfront, Embarcadero Street. On the…read morefarthest side from Morro Rock is the Tidelands Park. "Aarr Matey" . Locals call the park, Pirate Park, due to the child's pirate ship play structure and nautical theme. The park is two acres advertised as having a children's play area, picnic tables with BBQs, green lawns, public parking lot (2), fish washing station, boater side dock with pump out for waste and access to fresh water, public restroom with showers, walking path towards the waterfront shops, boat launch, and stairs accessing the mud flats. The boat launch parking lot is not free anymore. Effective March 2026, ya gotta pay. Pay varies based on lot size. You can pay daily or get an annual pass. But it's free to launch your boat if that's any consolation. If you're looking for a place to launch your personal crafts (small skiffs, kayaks); this is the place. There are two parking lots. One on each side of the park. The lot furthest south has the boat launch and the lot has spaces large enough for trailers. Plus I gotta comment on the children's play area. It's not a typical park like playground, there are no swings or play equipment. They do have a sand filled area with a mini pirate ship and cute nautical themed concrete statues (octopus, seals, whale tail). What can go wrong with rambunctious kiddos and concrete climbable statues?!

Small quaint beach town with a pier with 3-4 benches and people come here at all hours of the day…read moreto fish. While visiting the area, we came here 3 days in a row to grab food and fish on the pier. It's very peaceful, quaint, and if you are used to the vibrant hustle of the beaches in OC, which I am, this place keeps everything on pause for you to enjoy the moment. I am already planning a return with the whole family to stay couple of nights and attempt another round of fishing on the pier for my boys. Oh and this place is dog friendly....so he will be joining us next time too. Definitely recommend a visit....just very peaceful!

April 16-19, 2026 - Cayucos…read more Still the best beach in California, in my opinion. I've been coming here for years. In my earlier days, I would run from Cayucos to Morro Rock and back when the tide was low. These days, leisurely walks on the beach with my husband and dog are more my speed. Rather than running to Morro Rock, I just take in the beautiful view. Duckies and Schooners are still here if you want to grab some food. Ocean Pizza is gone, but you can still get pizza at Pie in the Sky Pizza. And no visit to Cayucos is complete without a walk on Cayucos Pier. Note: Dogs are allowed on the beach, but not on the Pier.

Sweet little local spot. Solid half pipe and cool little concrete spot to sesh or the kids to mess…read morearound on. Not a full blown skate park per se but checks off the box for somewhere fun to ride.

Great little skate park close to the pier in Cayucos. This skate park was built and is maintained…read moreand run by volunteers. Love to watch the local talent as they fly in the air. There is also a mini ramp for beginners. This is a free public park. Small, but awesome. Check out the plastic bottle cap mural on the skatepark, "Keep Cayucos Clean".

Refreshing my review. It's been over six years since my last visit to the historical marker…read more By golly, the marker was moved due to the park remodel. But like the other Yelpers noted, it's moved to a better spot. The spot is right alongside the walking path next to the parking lot. So for folks with mobility issues, they can get to the site a bit closer from their cars. The view towards the Morro Rock and harbor is gorgeous and impressive. The plaque has historical information of the first recorded landing of Filipinos on American land. It occurred in 1587 right in Morro Bay. The Filipino sailors in the Spanish navy were from the island of Luzon. The marker is a plaque embedded in a rock. The area around it has pretty native plants, well purposeful landscaped area. A bit different in its previous spot next to the children's playground.

I appreciate the nod to the Filipino people! The rock/ plaque has been relocated to a better spot;…read moreI first visited in 1999. While the plaque could use some maintenance, it's still worth stopping by for a quick look.

Take a break during your visit to Morro Bay and rest your legs at the Centennial Parkway! This tiny…read morepark, if you can call it that, was conceived in 1970 to commemorate the city's centennial anniversary. The park's proximity to shops and restaurants along Embarcadero makes it a nice place to chill and kill a few minutes. Like playing chess? There are a few tables here with a chessboard built right in. Want something bigger? On the ground is a giant chessboard, one of the only two outdoor chessboards in the country, as recognized by the U.S. Chess Federation. The large wooden chess pieces are a little weathered, which just means they have character. They're normally kept locked inside a cabinet but are taken out when the chess club meets here - every Saturday from 10am to 2pm. There's also a small grassy area that's too small to do anything on, a couple benches and some metal frames on the ground for locking bike wheels to. Wooden stairs leading up to Market Avenue are nearby, as well as restrooms with hand soap that's not always stocked. Need WiFi? The Sun-N-Buns Bakery next door has you covered. But you'll have to be nice to them or buy something in order to get the WiFi password.

I love unique photo opportunities. When I travel I'm always on the lookout for something that will…read moremake a unique photo. If you're a chess fan you'll definitely find this place interesting. In the little town of Morro Bay near the intersection of Front Street & Embarcadero you'll find a little park called Centennial Parkway. According to their website this is one of only two giant outdoor chessboards in the united states. Even if you're not a fan of chess it'll make for a unique photo opportunity.