Avila Beach, California

Port Harford is a former town in San Luis Obispo County, California, US. It was established in 1871 after John Harford built a pier and a horse drawn railroad to span the two miles between his pier and Avila (now called Avila Beach). In the 1880s the Pacific Coast Railway stopped in Port Harford on its route from San Luis Obispo to Santa Maria. All that remains of the original town are the 1919 pier and a wooden warehouse canopy that now houses Olde Port Inn Restaurant.

Rancho San Miguelito was a 14,198-acre (57.46 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Miguel Ávila, and an addition granted in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico. The grant extended along the Pacific coast, and included Point San Luis, San Luis Obispo Bay, and present day Avila Beach.

San Luis Obispo Coast and SLO Coast identify the sixteenth American Viticultural Area (AVA) within San Luis Obispo County, California. It was established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) on April 8, 2022, becoming the state's 143rd official AVA. The area encompasses over 480,585 acres (750.914 sq mi) nestled between the Santa Lucia mountains and the Pacific coastline stretching about 70 miles (110 km) from Ragged Point southbound on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Highway 101 to the outskirts of Santa Maria at the intersection of State Highway 166 and Highway 101. It includes the coastal communities of San Simeon, Cambria, Cayucos, Morro Bay, Avila Beach, Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande and Nipomo while encompassing the county seat of San Luis Obispo. The TTB approved the petition's two names, "San Luis Obispo Coast" and "SLO Coast", to identify the viticultural area's description and wine labeling. The term "SLO" is a historical and commonly used reference for the county and city initials as well as a description of the region's relaxed culture. The new AVA overlaps the previously established Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley viticultural areas. There are over 50 wineries and an estimated 78 commercial vineyards cultivating approximately 3,942 acres (1,595 ha) with a majority of the vineyards located within 6 miles (9.7 km) of the Pacific Ocean defining an area whose grapes and wines represent it. Cool weather varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are commonly grown while lesser varietals Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Gruner Veltliner also thrive.

See Canyon is a valley in San Luis Obispo County, California. It has its source at 35°15′09″N 120°46′16″W at an elevation of 960 feet (290 meters) in the Irish Hills. Its mouth lies at an elevation of 33 feet (10 meters), at its confluence with San Luis Obispo Creek.

Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort is a resort located in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is located near Avila Beach. This resort is mostly known for its mineral springs, but also has several different activities.

San Luis Obispo Creek is a stream, about 18 miles (29 km) long, in San Luis Obispo County, California. It drains a large coastal watershed that includes the city of San Luis Obispo, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach.

San Luis Obispo Bay is a bay on the Pacific Ocean coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, about 160 miles (257 km) northwest of Los Angeles, and about 200 miles (320 km) south of San Francisco. The bay is located between Point San Luis and Shell Beach. The community of Avila Beach is located on the bay. San Luis Obispo Creek has its mouth on the bay west of Avila Beach.

Port San Luis is a harbor located on the central coast of California, approximately 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. The harbor is managed by the Port San Luis Harbor District which is responsible for maintaining the surrounding tidelands and beaches. Originally acting as a major port for oil exports, the harbor serves as a recreational area and is used by boaters and researchers to study and appreciate the local marine life.

Smith Island is a small rocky island near Avila Beach, California. It was settled in the late 19th century and is currently uninhabited. The island is near the former settlement of Port Harford, California.

Ranchito de Santa Fe was a 165.76-acre (0.6708 km2) Mexican land grant that lies in the present day, partially within the southern bounds of the city of San Luis Obispo, the balance lies east of U.S. Route 101 in San Luis Obispo County, California.

The Point San Luis Lighthouse, also known as the San Luis Obispo Light Station, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Located near Avila Beach on the Central Coast of California in San Luis Obispo County, it is the only Prairie Victorian model lighthouse left on the West Coast of the United States. It is being refurbished by the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers, a volunteer group.

The Pereira Octagon Barn of San Luis Obispo is a historically and culturally important structure located on the southern outskirts of San Luis Obispo, California. It was built in 1906 by Henri LaFranchi, a young Italian-Swiss immigrant and the owner of a small meat market, John Damaso, an Azorean immigrant and a carpenter by trade, and a third, unknown man identified only as a “milk farmer.” Since there were no other octagonal barns in the area, the builders may have worked from patterns of octagonal construction in farm journals or catalogs. The first user of the barn was Italian-Swiss immigrant Antonio Stornetta, who leased the barn for his Santa Fe Dairy operation until 1917. Joaquin and Josephine Pereira, with Josephine's sister Eleanor and her husband Manuel Garcia, purchased the property in 1920 and made it part of an adjoining dairy operation in the Los Osos Valley. They were typical of many first- and second-generation Portuguese Americans, who followed in the footsteps of the Italian-Swiss in the dairy business. The Pereira-Garcia operation was called the Home Dairy. It had a pasteurization and bottling plant at 719 Higuera Street and made daily milk deliveries throughout the city of San Luis Obispo. Dairy operations continued into the 1950s when small-scale dairy operations were no longer economically viable. The barn then supported a small-scale cattle operation and some row-crop farming. The property was purchased in 1994 by John and Howard Hayashi, who three years later entered into a lease agreement with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. The Land Conservancy has restored the barn, which will be used as a community gathering place. The Octagon Barn (5000 sq. ft.) is made with redwood timbers and has a new, custom shingled replacement redwood roof. There is a cupola on top reaching over 40 feet above the floor. The barn is accompanied by a 2,000-square-foot Milking Parlor (1938) and a Calf Barn.