12 Best Hotels in Morro Bay, United States - Jan 2019

Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History

The Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History is a combination of a state park with a natural history museum. The exhibits include the life of the Native Americans that inhabited the area, as well as the unique geology of Morro Bay. There are also oceanography exhibits in the museum. Visitors note that the exhibits are mainly geared for children--but there’s still a lot for adults to learn as well. As for the state park, there is a saltwater marsh, as well as bird watching areas. The Inn at Morro Bay is near the Museum of Natural History.

A little further down south, there is the Morro Bay State Park Campground, which contains 120 campsites: 5 for tents only, 28 for RVs and trailers, and 87 for general use. You can enjoy bird watching near the campground’s salt marsh, play golf, go hiking on the Black Hill Trail, or enjoy the beach.

Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve

The Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area and the Morro Bay State Marine Reserve are a protected area of Morro Bay, covering 3.3 square miles. It is prohibited to catch and keep fish, but recreational fishing is allowed in some areas. There are opportunities for whale and dolphin watching, as well as opportunities to see sea lions, seals, sea otters and more. Kayaking, diving, snorkeling and swimming are also permitted.

There is also the Morro Bay National Estuary. There is a program which engages in restoration of natural habitats and conservation efforts, to protect the species of plants and animals in the area.

Near the reserve, there is the Elfin Forest--a 90-acre pristine, natural area with a variety of habitats, offering you an approach to the beach, sand dunes, and an interesting collection of 200 species of plants, 110 species of birds, 22 species of mammals and 13 species of reptiles.There is also a boardwalk along the beach, and a woodland and forest.

Morro Rock and Morro Dunes RV Park

Morro Rock is a geological curiosity, called a “volcanic plug”, which is magma that has come to the surface of a live volcano, until it has cooled and hardened into solid rock. In the case of Morro Rock, the volcanic plug extends 581 feet above sea level. There are a number of aquatic birds that nest on Morro Rock, as well as sea lions, sea otters, and marine life. But it’s something that can only be appreciated from a distance: although you can walk around the base of Morro Rock, climbing Morro Rock is prohibited, for the reasons that it’s an ecological reserve, as well as a sacred site worshiped by the Native American tribes of Chumash and Salinan.

Morro Dunes RV Park is located a bit north of Morro Rock, and offers you a number of opportunities to relax.

Montana de Oro State Park

Montana de Oro State Park is a bit south of Morro Bay along the coast. It covers 8000 acres, and has a number of habitats, including streams such as Coon Creek and Islay Creek, beaches, and mountains--including the imposing Valencia Peak. There are campgrounds in the park, as well as 10 different hiking trails, that allow you to appreciate the view of the sea, or tone your muscles ascending a mountain summit, such as Hazard’s Peak, Valencia Peak, or Oats Peak.

Morro Bay Art Center and Art in the Park

The Morro Bay Art Center is a gallery that displays local artists’ works, inspired by the tremendous views of nature that Morro Bay offers. The Art Center also offers numerous classes and workshops, so that even art novices can create works of art from all different materials--sea glass necklaces, mosaics from colorful stones, ornaments from sea shells and tree resin, and more! The Pleasant Inn Motel, Sea Air Inn, and Bay View Inn are located in the vicinity.

Morro Bay Skateboard Museum

The Morro Bay Skateboard Museum is a unique collection of skateboards and skateboard paraphernalia, documenting the history of skateboarding from the 1930’s to the present day. There are over 200 skateboards, from all different designs and types. It goes through the types of scooters, longboards, and vintage skateboards. The Best Western San Marcos Inn, the Ascot Inn at the Rock, and the Bay Inn are all located near the museum, in close proximity to the beach.

Getting To and Around Morro Bay

San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport

The nearest airport to Morro Bay is San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, which is served by American Airlines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. They serve the big cities on the West Coast: Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver. An individual flight from one of these cities to San Luis will be expensive--so it’s better if you book it as a leg of a longer flight in advance.

To get out of the airport, you can rent a car, such as Avis, Hertz, or Budget, and make a 25-minute drive northward until you reach Morro Bay.

There is also a bus service offered by the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority. Their Bus Line #12, which runs once an hour, will get your from the airport to Morro Bay in less than 30 minutes, after just 5 bus stops!

Within Morro Bay

Morro Bay has its own transit system, consisting of fixed-route buses, a call-a-ride service (where a fixed-route bus will divert its path to pick up an individual rider), and a trolley that gets you around Morro Bay and out to the nearby state parks. The trolley has three routes: the Waterfront Route, the Downtown Route, and the North Morro Bay Route.