San Luis Obispo

The air in San Luis Obispo smells like eucalyptus and ocean even when you're still a few blocks from the water, and the downtown moves at a pace that makes you want to park the car and stay longer than you planned. Most families passing through make time for at least a few specific stops. Bubblegum Alley is exactly what it sounds like — a narrow brick alley lined floor-to-ceiling with decades of chewed gum — and kids either love it or are completely grossed out, sometimes both. A lot of travelers also swing through the Madonna Inn, not necessarily to stay, but to walk through the lobby and see the pink dining room and the rock waterfall bathroom, which is genuinely worth the detour. Down the road at Pismo Beach, Splash Café is the kind of clam chowder stop that ends up in the family trip recap for years. For dinner, Novo has a creek-side patio in downtown SLO that works well after a long day of driving. If you're plotting a California coast road trip and wondering whether San Luis Obispo deserves more than a gas-and-go, the short answer from families who've done it is yes — build in at least a night.