| Pismo State Beach | |
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| Location | San Luis Obispo County, California |
| Nearest city | Pismo Beach, California |
| Coordinates | 35°6′37″N120°37′53″W / 35.11028°N 120.63139°W /35.11028; -120.63139 |
| Area | 1,050 acres (4.2 km2)[1] |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
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Pismo State Beach is abeach on thePacific coast in the U.S. state ofCalifornia. It is approximately 17 miles long and fronts the towns ofPismo Beach,Grover Beach, andOceano inSan Luis Obispo County. It is managed by theCalifornia Department of Parks and Recreation.
The area includes a beach anddunes.
The beach offers many attractions such as camping, hiking, swimming, surfing, and fishing, and is home to thePismo clam. It is a popular place to bird watch and is one of the largest over-wintering colony ofmonarch butterflies in the U.S.[2]
TheCal Poly Mustangs women's beach volleyball team has used the beach for home beach volleyball matches.[3]
The beach is home to many forms of marine life, such asabalone,anemones,crabs,kelp, andsea urchins. Several types of birds also live at the beach, such as thebrown pelican,great blue heron.
A large monarch butterfly population winters over at thePismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove.[4] It is popular to view the monarch migration from November to February.[5]
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.
"In our grove alone we would have 250,000 monarchs in the 1980s," said Danielle Bronson, a state park interpreter at Pismo State Beach. "This season we had about 3,000 at our peak."
