Cheap Dates on California's Central Coast

  

Stuck for ideas about where to go for fun?  Short on money?  There's more to do on the Central Coast than just wine tours.  Here's a whole list of ways for sweethearts to celebrate Spring! Or for old timers to celebrate the fact that they're not dead yet. Don't live in CA? Substitute your own fave's.   

Hike the trail and watch the whales at Montana de Oro State Park

Picnic along the Nacimiento River

Catch the wildflowers at Shell Creek Road off Hwy 58 near Santa Margarita 

Take in the National Geographic Theater at Hearst Castle and visit the sea lions further up Hwy 1

Visit the gardens at the Cambria Pines Lodge then walk Moonstone Beach

Take a weekend drive to the Pozo Saloon for lunch or dinner. 

Visit the Museum of Natural History at Morro Bay State Park

Drive to the end of the Lopez Canyon rainforest.

Walk around Atascadero Lake.  Bring bread crumbs for the ducks

Dance barefoot on smooth concrete in the dark

Make fudge

Visit an animal shelter or a pet store

Wash and wax your cars together

Catch a movie at the Sunset Drive-In.  Arrive early for a tailgate BBQ

Go treasure hunting at the Nipomo Swap Meet

Attend services at different churches and synagogues

Pick up coupons in any hotel lobby

 Visit all the local beaches: Avila, Cayucos, San Simeon, Pismo

Hunt for sand dollars at low tide near Morro Rock

Go roller skating or bowling

Go paintballing at Central Coast Paint Ball Park or Franklin's Pond

Serenade each other on guitar/harmonica/kazoo

Climb Bishop's Peak

Go swimming at Franklin's Pond in Paso Robles, Sycamore Mineral Springs or Paso Robles Hot Springs

Play tag after dark in a park with Glo Sticks or flashlights

Read poetry on the steps of City Hall after business hours

Catch the moonrise over the hills of Shandon and have dinner at the Parkfield Inn

Fly kites on the summit of Hwy 46 West, on the way to Cambria

Hike the trail to the Indian relics at San Simeon State Campground

Take a Sierra Club hike on Saturday mornings

Ride bicycles to the beach

 Fish off of a pier

Visit the Missions at S.L.O., San Miguel, San Antonio

Drive the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road from Fort Hunter Liggett to Hwy 1

Visit the PG&E Community Center. 

Take a tour of art museums and art shops

Listen to old records on a vintage phonograph

Visit the Dalidet Adobe and the Jack House in SLO, the Rios Caledonia in San Miguel

Visit the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero

Take your town's historical walking tour

 Take free golf lessons at your local golf course on Saturday

Pick your own fruit at Cal Poly or local berry farms

Hike the boardwalk at the Guadelupe Dunes

Give each other a foot massage

 I've had these and a million other adventures in my own back yard. What can you add about your own back yard?