Educational displays include a talking artificial tide pool that kids can touch and videos of deep-sea diving and a WWII-era shipwreck just offshore.
Coastal Discovery Center
Central Coast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.45 MILES
Perched high on a hill, Hearst Castle is a wondrous, historic, over-the-top homage to material excess. From the 1920s into the '40s, Hearst and Marion…
25.84 MILES
Remote and evocative, this historical mission sits in the Valley of the Oaks, once part of the sprawling Hearst Ranch landholdings and now inside the…
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
27.96 MILES
Beer lovers can witness the magic happen on guided spins around the massive Firestone Walker brewery. Tours leave daily from the visitor center (reserve…
5.65 MILES
Of the many lighthouses on California’s coast, few have such an evocative natural setting as this 1875 light station – one of the tallest on the West…
25.02 MILES
In the waters of Jade Cove in 1971, local divers recovered a 9000lb jade boulder that measured 8ft long and was valued at $180,000. People still comb the…
24.86 MILES
The tortuously winding 40-mile stretch of Hwy 1 south of Lucia to Hearst Castle is sparsely populated, rugged and remote, mostly running through national…
15.52 MILES
Your last – or first – taste of Big Sur’s rocky grandeur comes at this craggy cliff outcropping with fabulous views of the coastline in both directions,…
26.24 MILES
Chumash tribespeople are the only people legally allowed to climb this volcanic rock, now the protected nesting ground of peregrine falcons. You can laze…
Nearby Central Coast attractions
1. William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach
0.09 MILES
Across from Hearst Castle, this bayfront beach is a pleasantly sandy stretch punctuated by rock outcroppings, kelp forests, a wooden pier (fishing…
0.45 MILES
Perched high on a hill, Hearst Castle is a wondrous, historic, over-the-top homage to material excess. From the 1920s into the '40s, Hearst and Marion…
3. Piedras Blancas Light Station
5.65 MILES
Of the many lighthouses on California’s coast, few have such an evocative natural setting as this 1875 light station – one of the tallest on the West…
4. Harmony Headlands State Park
15.16 MILES
Just south of Harmony, a 4.5-mile round-trip hiking trail winds out to coastal bluffs with inspiring sea views.
15.2 MILES
Take a short hike to splash around in the pools at the base of this double-drop waterfall, tucked uphill in a forested canyon. The falls usually run from…
15.52 MILES
Your last – or first – taste of Big Sur’s rocky grandeur comes at this craggy cliff outcropping with fabulous views of the coastline in both directions,…
18.48 MILES
Breathe easy at this organic estate vineyard reached via a pretty winding drive up into the hills. Known for Rhône varietals, the signature blends also…
18.89 MILES
Ramble along coastal grasslands and pocket beaches at this small state park, accessed from unmarked roadside pulloffs north of Cayucos. Look among the…