Our family was extremely lucky this summer to spend 7 weeks in Paso Robles. And we loved every single minute of it! There are so many great things to do in Paso Robles with kids. Most travelers think about Paso Robles in terms of fantastic wine tasting destination, which is absolutely true, but I just wish more people look at this wonderful Central California town as a family vacation spot.
To me Paso Robles represents the best of California: great climate, lots of outdoors fun, nearby beaches, farm to table dining and wine making. On top of that this area is much less crowded than either San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles Area.
I put together a detailed guide for you with all the best things to do in Paso Robles with kids – it includes family friendly attractions in Paso Robles proper and several neighboring small towns that are within 40 minutes or less drive from Paso Robles.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #1 – Paso Robles Downtown
Paso Robles has a beautiful, charming downtown with lots of “hidden gem” and cool things to do for the entire family, so it is definitely worth exploring.
Wine barrel planters scavenger hunt
Lots of small businesses in town have wisely and creatively converted a whole bunch of old wine barrels into flower planters, each painted and decorated in fashion unique to the business next to which it is displayed. Could you guess what type of business the planter picture below belongs? 🙂 Stroll around town and see how many you can find – it makes for a fun scavenger hunt activity for kids.
Studios on the Park
There is no better thing to do in Paso Robles if you love art than visiting Studios on the Park. First of all, it is a free to visit art gallery where you can admire (and purchase, if you’d like) artwork of many different talented local artists. Pictured below is one of my most favorite exhibit at the gallery: an absolutely adorable chess set made from pistachios called… “Pistachess”!
Second of all, it organizes various events, art classes and workshops for both kids and adults, from painting to ceramics to cookies decorating. There is something here for everybody.
Wings of Change Butterfly Sculpture Garden
This is an amazing display of what seems to be over a hundred different butterflies next to Deprise Brescia Art Gallery. Some of the butterflies are wooden, others are mixed media, there are small and giant ones and they all will definitely take your breath away.
Downtown City Park
This beautiful park is great for families to enjoy the outdoors. We come here to play badminton, other families come to ride scooters and bicycles. But kids will tell you that the best thing to do in Paso Robles Downtown City Park is to play on its huge new playground (the image below only shows a small part of the playground, I would have to do a panorama photo to fit it all in). Parents can grab a book to read in the shade of big oak trees while kids can run around and explore all the installations on this fantastic playground.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #2 – Wild West adventures
One of the most fun and educational things to do in Paso Robles with kids is to experience Wild West themed adventure at Harris Stage Lines. They offer a great family tour of historic coaches and horse drawn wagons of various types that culminates in a ride on a real Wells Fargo type stage coach drawn by horses. Check out my detailed review of Harris Stage Lines family tour on my blog which has a video prereview as well. We had a blast here and I guarantee that so will you!
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #3 – The Ravine Water Park
If you are visiting the town in summer, one of the best things to do in Paso Robles with kids is spending at least half a day at the Ravine Water Park. It is not a huge water park but it offers enough water fun for a hot Central California day. We love this water park because it has activities for all ages and a big specially designated area for small kids. Please, note that the park is only open between Memorial and Labor Day weekends.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #4 – Atascadero Lake Park
A small town of Atascadero is located just 10 minutes drive on HW 101 from Paso Robles. It has a beautiful Atascadero Lake Park with a big playground, a volleyball court and pedal boats rentals on the lake. It also has lots of shade thanks to huge oak trees. It is a perfect place for spending a couple hours and having a picnic too -there are lots of picnic tables in the shaded area of the park.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #5 – Charles Paddock Zoo
The centerpiece of the Atascadero Lake Park is Charles Paddock Zoo. It is a small zoo which you can see in about 1-1,5 hours but it has lots of great educational exhibits. We absolutely love their red pandas and other animals from exotic locations such as Indo-Burma, Madagascar and Andes.
We created a short video review of this cute zoo for you – check it out:
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #6 – Olive oil tasting
If you want something unique to do in Paso Robles with kids, try olive oil tasting. There are very few areas in the country that grow olives and even less places where you can actually taste different types of olive oil. Paso Robles is a “Mecca” of olive farms because it has a perfect Mediterranean climate for olive trees. Below are our most favorite places to do olive oil tastings in Paso Robles:
Kiler Ridge Olive Farm – this is where you get a true Tuscany experience. The tasting room is located on the farm among the beautiful rolling hills and olive groves. There’s also a cool sculpture garden on site so you will have a truly memorable experience.
Olivos de Oro Olive Company – it is located in Tin City area of Paso Robles and we love tasting here because in addition to olive oil you can also try various balsamic vinegars and cool condiments such as onion jam, for example.
If you are visiting downtown Paso Robles and don’t have time to go anywhere else, stop by We Olive store that does olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting as well.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #7 – Family friendly wineries in Paso Robles
As I mentioned earlier, most people know Paso Robles as a fantastic wine tasting destination. There are about 200 wineries around town and many of them are family friendly. To be honest, I think Paso Robles wineries are the most family friendly in the U.S. and less expensive than Napa or Sonoma.
I have created a list of the best kid-friendly wineries in Paso Robles that have gardens, playgrounds, live animals and other fun things for kids to explore while parents can enjoy a glass or two.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #8 – California Lavender Honey Farm
California Lavender Honey Farm is the newest attraction in Paso Robles and I love it dearly because it is… mine 🙂 Since March 2021 my family and I have been working hard creating this educational and fun attraction for you. You can now enjoy the visit to our farm on a 1.5 hour small group tour. The tour includes:
- Tour of the farm with the focus on the topics of sustainability, gardening and beekeeping.
- A tour of the Bee Museum, one of a kind of its type attraction in California with several hands-on activities
- Free tasting of our delicious veggies, herbs and honey, whatever is in season (with an opportunity to buy what you like)
- A stop at our beautiful lavender field and learning about different types of lavender
- A TON of cool photo opportunities
- Gift shop goodies: beeswax candles, hand salves and more
- Fresh air, singing birds and good vibes
Tour pricing: $35 adults, $15 kids ages 5+, FREE for kids ages 0-4.
Email me to book your tour: mycaliforniafarm@gmail.com
California Lavender Honey Farm is located in San Miguel, just 15 min drive from downtown Paso Robles
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #9 – Hartley Farms
Hartley Farms is located in San Miguel, just about 15 minutes drive from Paso Robles downtown. They do free jam tastings throughout the year and during the summer they have lots of special events on the farm such as movies under the stars and gourmet dinners. It a quiet and beautiful location away from the hustle and bustle of more touristy destinations.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #10 – The Giving Tree Family Farm
If you love farm animals then the best thing for you to do when visiting Paso Robles is drive 25 minutes to Santa Margarita to check out the Giving Tree Family Farm. They organize excellent farm tours where you can meet many friendly animals and birds: goats, llamas, pigs, turkeys and even emus. You can find out more information about the tour and other attractions in Santa Margarita in my recent post Things to Do in Santa Margarita. The post also has a short video review of the farm tour so that you know what to expect.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #11 – Explore the Coast
Paso Robles is conveniently located within about half an hour drive to several fabulous coastal towns with lots of activities and attractions, namely: Morro Bay, Cayucos, Cambria and Avila Beach.
Beach time is always on the top of my list of things to do in Paso Robles with kids but there is so much more to these beautiful coastal gems than just the beach.
Morro Bay: Kayaking with Sea Otters
When in Morro Bay, definitely go for kayaking in the Bay with adorable sea otters. Morro Bay is one of very few places in California where your encounter with sea otters is pretty much guaranteed. These cute animals live in Morro Bay on a permanent basis because it has kelp forest and it also has calm waters that protect the babies.
We typically rent kayaks at Rock Kayak, which has singles and doubles (great for parent with kids) and the most descent prices in the whole of California.
Cambria: Rockhounding on Moonstone Beach
Moonstone Beach in Cambria is one of the most picturesque beaches on the Central Coast. You can take a hike along the boardwalk (a little more than 1 mile) or try your luck at searching for moonstones on the beach itself. And even if you don’t find any moonstones, there are so many other semi-precious gems here such as jade and opals. We love gathering pretty stones and then using them in crafts with the kids.
Cayucos: Surfing
Cayucos is a hip small beach town famous for surfing. It has great waves for beginners to learn (except for those days when there is a big storm coming in and only pros will dare to get into the water). If you are a fan of surfing but prefer to watch from the shore, Cayucos is an excellent spot to observe surfers in action. The town offers 2 vantage points for spectators: from the beach and from the pier where you are much closer to all the action (the photo below was made from the pier) .
You can also go fishing off the pier, attend a fun festival and enjoy antiques shopping in Cayucos. I am currently working on a detailed article on Cayucos family attractions – stay tuned!
Avila Beach: Hike to Pirate’s Cove
Avila Beach is a small beach town which is located about 40 minutes drive from Paso Robles. One of the most cool things to do in Avila Beach is exploring Pirate’s Cove. The area offers a short scenic hike with beautiful coast views and a hidden cove. There is also access to the beach but the hike down is steep, so be careful.
San Luis Obispo County: Explore More
If you want to explore further in San Luis Obispo County, which offers so many awesome things to do with kids, check out my earlier post Things to Do with Kids in San Luis Obispo. It will take you to several cool museums, wildlife viewing and a castle.
Things to Do in Paso Robles with Kids: #12 Sensorio Field of Light
If you are planning to visit Paso Robles before January 2, 2022, one absolutely unique thing to do in Paso Robles with kids is walk through Bruce Munro Sensorio Field of Light. It is an awesome art/light installation that will leave you speechless, guaranteed! Words cannot describe this amazing experience – check out our video review below and see for yourself:
Best Time to Visit Paso Robles with Kids
Paso Robles has a great Mediterranean climate so it is a fantastic travel destination any time of the year. Winter and spring are full of flowers, autumn is all about harvest and though summers can be hot inland, think of the Ravine Water Park and all the Central Coast beaches mentioned above.
Where to Stay in Paso Robles
If you travel to Paso Robles, please, note that hotels are much more expensive on the weekends because it is such a popular destination for wine tasting. We love Hilton family hotels so we always stayed either in Hampton Inn in Paso Robles or Home 2 Suites in Atascadero. Both have heated pools and free breakfast which is perfect for families.
If you want to try some unique and fun hotels that are like nothing you have seen before, check out my article Cool Hotels in San Luis Obispo. Granted, they are 30 minutes drive from Paso Robles but they are definitely worth it.
Where to Eat in Paso Robles
For a relatively small town Paso Robles has a ton of delicious family friendly restaurants. Below is a selection of our favorites:
If you like BBQ then Jeffry’s Wine Country BBQ is a must stop. They have delicious BBQ meats but my favorite decadent dish is creamy mac & cheese with pulled pork on top – the ultimate comfort food
If you like sushi, you will love Yanagi Sushi & Grill. We love their vast selection of rolls and a very fast service.
For a special treat stop for a brunch at Paris Valley Road Estate Winery for the finest French dishes at reasonable prices. For adults I recommend a bottle of their bubbly to go with the brunch (they will provide orange juice too if you want to make your own Mimosa).
Conclusion
This is a pretty detailed list of things to do in Paso Robles with kids but it is by no means exhaustive. There are so many more interesting family attractions in Paso Robles area and as we will be exploring further, I will be adding more information to this article. So don’t forget to bookmark this page and also follow us on Social Media for all the up-dates.
We also have a big surprise for you in store: we are working on creating our own family friendly attraction in Paso Robles – we loved this town so much that we bought a farm here! We are hoping to soon be able to offer tours of the farm and our own super delicious honey and other farm fresh items! Our farm will be an educational platform for both kids and adults. For now we are posting our educational content on the web but we plan to have in person events in the future. Follow us on our exciting farm journey and we hope you’ll be our guests soon!
If you found this article about things to do in Paso Robles with kids useful, please, share it with others as it may help them with their travel plans. If you have any questions about family attractions in Paso Robles or anything else about the town – let me know in the comments below, I’d be happy to help as we are the locals now! 🙂
