Plan Your TripBarbecue ItineraryWine Weekend ItinerarySolo Trip ItinerarySanta Maria Valley Heritage ItineraryOutdoor Adventure ItineraryFamily Time ItineraryLodging SpecialsAbout Santa Maria ValleyGetting HereWeather in Santa Maria Valley Book A RoomCalling all recreators!Pro Tips Hit up Main Street Cycles for extra bike gear if you forget something. Bring your “shants” (pants that zip off to shorts) for flexible wardrobe options. Dave from CORE Winery started the Bike & Bottle project.Spend a weekend outside in Santa Maria Valley. Get a taste of recreation done Santa Maria Style by spending two days venturing around the valley. Our lodging is centrally located to provide easy access to all of your upcoming adventures. What’s better, the temperate climate along California’s central coast makes it possible to enjoy they valley all year round. So, grab your hiking shoes, helmet, flip flops and sense of adventure. Santa Maria Valley is the ideal home base where you’ll find 24 hiking trails, 13 beaches and near endless miles of cycling trails all within a half hour drive. Your Trip at a GlanceDay 1 Get a bike ride in Hike at Los Flores Ranch Park Wine or beer in Orcutt Pizzeria Bello Forno for dinnerDay 2 Moxie Café for breakfast Monarch Dunes Butterfly Grove Oceano Dunes ATV rides Jocko’s for dinnerDownload the itineraryDay OneStart your day in Santa Maria Valley’s Old Town Orcutt. Park on E Clark Ave and hop on your bike to cruise a scenic 8-miles to Dominion Road to Los Flores Ranch Park, which offers more than 15 miles of hiking trails. Many of the trails offer panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Los Flores Ranch Park also has a native garden and a wildlife barn for you to explore.After you’ve finished exploring the park, head back into Old Orcutt. You may even want to pedal to the pinot and stop at a winery along Foxen Canyon road on your way back. Presqui’ile Winery just off East Clark on Presqu’ile Drive. (Psst! You can also check out our wine itinerary for more ideas for experiencing Santa Maria Valley wine.)After your ride or hike, treat yourself to wine at Vino et Amicis or beer at Naughty Oak Brewing Company. Vino et Amicis, which means “wine and friends,” serves wines from around the Santa Maria Valley, some from winemakers who don’t have their own tasting rooms. Naughty Oak Brewing Company is a hub of craft beer in Santa Maria Valley. They serve up cleverly named beer like Anthony Hopkins and Party Favors.Then, take a short walk over to Pizzeria Bello Forno, one of Orcutt’s most popular eateries. Bello Forno serves authentic wood-fired pizza, artisan salads, pastas and more. You can also order more wine from surrounding wineries and beer from Naughty Oak to accompany your meal.Day TwoMoxie Café in Santa Maria is a health-minded eatery, which serves a café menu with carefully sourced ingredients. Moxie Café offers fresh breakfast, lunch, and dinner paired with craft coffee and freshly-made smoothies.If you’re visiting the Santa Maria Valley October through February, be sure to see the monarch butterflies at the Monarch Dunes Butterfly Grove. Make the 20-minute drive to view thousands of monarch butterflies, which spend the colder months among the eucalyptus trees in groves like this along the Central Coast. It’s a once in a lifetime experience that shouldn’t be missed. If you’re visiting the valley in the spring or summer, don’t worry because the grove is still a beautiful hike that offers a look at local plants and wildlife.Your next stop is a true hidden gem of the Santa Maria Valley. Drive 15 minutes to Oceano Dunes. Rent an ATV and hit the sand dunes to see the Central Coast from a different perspective. The dunes are one of the only places in California that you can ride dune buggies across the beach, right next to the ocean. There are several places to rent vehicles to enjoy this amazing experience. Be careful while you’re riding, because some of these towering dunes are larger than they appear. You can park your buggy and take a stroll along the beach and dip your toes in the ocean.Conclude your day of fun with a classic Santa Maria Style dinner at Jocko’s in Nipomo, which is a quick 20-minute drive back toward Santa Maria. Jocko’s has been a local barbecue favorite for more than 50 years, so be sure to call ahead of time to make a reservation. Their open red oak barbecue pit opens at 4:30 p.m.Weekends in Santa Maria Valley are here and gone in a blink. With so much to do from here, it’s always good to extend your stay if you can to fully experience all this valley has to offer.
Timbre At TIMBRE we strive to make balanced wines of distinction. That means starting with world-class vineyard sources that have the perfect combination of soil, climate, and sustainable farming practices and it extends to the minimally invasive winemaking techniques that have been used for centuries. Our winemaking philosophy is simple: Develop relationships with the most outstanding […]
Pismo Preserve The Pismo Preserve is a stunningly beautiful outdoor nature preserve located 20 minutes north of Santa Maria, in Pismo Beach at the southern end of San Luis Obispo County. The preserve consists of 880 acres of untouched natural space, with plenty of opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, birdwatching and more. Guests will see native plant […]
Bell's Bell’s is a French-inspired Bistro in Los Alamos, California. Formerly Bell Street Farm, Bell’s is owned and operated by Daisy and Greg Ryan, both of whom worked at iconic New York City restaurant Per Se. Bell’s serves salads, sandwiches, homemade pasta and much more.
Riverbench Winery Oak-aged Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sparkling wines. In 1973, Riverbench Vineyard & Winery was established in the Santa Maria Valley when its first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes were planted on the property. Since then, they have built a reputation for outstanding Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sparkling wines by enhancing the natural […]
August 04The Great American Melodrama: Comedy Tonight! This two-act vaudeville revue is filled with puns, parodies, song, and dance starring some of your Melodrama favorites. Jam packed with laughter at every turn, Comedy Tonight will have you rolling in your seat. This will only be a two-act two hour evening, so come and dip your toes back into the outside world! Show […]
August 06Old Orcutt's First Friday Come out and enjoy an evening in Old Orcutt. Merchants stay open late on the first Friday of the month. Drink, food, and shopping specials.
August 06Santa Maria Downtown Fridays 2021 Downtown Fridays are Back! This family-friendly event for Santa Maria’s downtown will occur every Friday beginning on May 28th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Town Center West parking lot near Broadway (Highway 135) and Cook Street, all the way to October 29th, weather permitting. Admission and parking are free. There will be live […]
August 06PCPA: Together - A Musical Journey “Together” is a new live and in person concert that revels in the simple fact that life is better when we live it together. Seven actors and a musician take you on a musical journey that celebrates our shared experiences and the stories that have yet to be told – tales of the like-minded and […]