South Palisades Park and Beach

South Palisades Park is a dream. It has an abundance of palm trees, benches, and a long lawn. The views from each bench are glorious. The bluest water stretches out to Port San Luis. The hills slant up at a perfect angle. A curvy paved pathway adds to the magical curves and angles everywhere. The light is lovely here- the sky a fantastic blue behind whisps of clouds. A heart-shaped planter adorns one of the benches- you can sit and think about your lover.

A staircase leads down to the beach, where many Cal Poly students come to lay out in the sun. This beach tends to be more sheltered than some of the other beaches. Kids like to explore the tide pools here. And surfers ride the waves.
Make sure you see the south end of this park too, past a dirt path to another paved pathway on the cliffs. At that point you can walk up Peyton Court (past a beautiful garden full of fishtail palms and cypress trees), along Shell Beach Rd (you can take a detour to see Ebb Tide Park for more views), down a coastal access path at The Cliffs Hotel, to the Dolphin Bay Resort Walkway, for more blissful walking atop the cliffs! If you walk through a little set of stairs in Spyglass Inn, you will come to Spyglass Drive, where you can walk to Spyglass Park! All these little walks are connected. After you turn back, take the stairs down to the beach when you get to the south end of South Palisades Park, and you can return via the sand.
There are many, many weddings every weekend on this coastline, and this park is the perfect spot to hold one. The curved path is nice for kids on tricycles. And the lawn is fun for kids to run with all their might! Surfers enjoy a surfbreak close to shore, kids explore the tide pools, and college students work on their tans. 
Indio Drive neighborhood walk is a nice 1.7 mile walk you can do from this park (3.4 miles there and back)!  At the west end of the park, follow the path to Indio Drive, where you can walk along the road. There is no sidewalk, but because the road dead ends at the park, there aren't many cars. It's nice to look at the beach houses and their pretty gardens. After 250m, you come to Florin Ocean Overlook, where a bench offers perfect views of the coastline and the crashing water below. Continue on Indio Drive another 250m to Topaz Ocean Overlook, where you will find another bench with an amazing view! After another 300m, you come to an overlook at the end of Encanto Ave- this one doesn't have a bench. Continue 400m and you come to the Cave Landing Trail Parking Lot, where you can hike along the Shell Beach Bluffs Trail! It goes for 0.4 miles along the cliffs over the ocean with the most stunning views. You can hear the ocean crashing below, and it soothes your nerves. There are lovely plants like agave americana and red bougainvillea along the way. Beach houses that make you envious are on your right. The spiffy path ends, and at this point you can turn around. Or you can continue on a steep (10% grade), more rugged path all the way to Cave Landing and Smuggler's Cave. Not many people continue to the end because it's very steep.
On Florin Street you will find Palisades Park Playground, a fun, tall, pastel-colored playground for kids. It has baby swings, a spinner, a tall slide, double slides, and climbies galore.
Next to South Palisades Park (via Peyton Court then Shell Beach Rd) is a cafe called Marisol at The Cliffs Hotel, with lovely views of the ocean. One building further is Lido, a fine dining restaurant in Dolphin Bay Resort, which has a happy hour 2-5pm with an ocean view. And one further than that is Spyglass Inn, with happy hour on M-F 4:00-6:30pm, with half off pizza and appetizers.
While you're in the Shell Beach/ Pismo area: For a place to eat, check out the restaurants and the lively scene at Pismo town and pier. For a wooden boardwalk over pristine dunes, and butterflies Nov-Feb, check out the Monarch Butterfly Preserve. For a super fun playground, head over to Dinosaur Caves Park.

Directions

South Palisades Park is located at 198 Beachcomber Drive, Pismo Beach CA. There is plenty of parking along the road.

Click on map for interactive view