the beach today
SLO County Guide

Pismo
Beach

Clam Capital

The classic California beach town of the Central Coast -- a long, wide strand backed by a walkable main street, a public pier that jets into the Pacific and the Monarch butterfly grove just south. Pismo Beach is unhurried, unpretentious and genuinely Californian.

Today on the Sand

loading live data…

Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Main Beach

Pier stretch, wide sand, volleyball and lifeguards

Pier Ave lot

Oceano Dunes

Drive-on sand and ATV dunes, south of town

Vehicle permit req

North Beach State

State campground beach north of pier

Day use fee

Shell Beach

Rocky bluff coves north end, tidepools

Shell Beach Rd

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Avila Beach

10 min north

Warmest beach on the Central Coast

SLO Downtown

15 min east

Farmers market Thursdays and Mission Plaza

Monarch Grove

5 min south

Overwintering monarchs October through February

Oceano Dunes

10 min south

Only California beach open to off-highway vehicles

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Pismo Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Pismo Beach, the water is 63°F, surf is running 3–4 ft and the air is 65°F. Wind is 8 mph from the W and the UV index peaks at 7 (high) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 30 minutes right now, and the strongest stretch runs 12 PM to 4 PM. Today’s tides: High 4:49 AM, Low 7:16 AM, High 2:20 PM, Low 10:46 PM.