Avila Beach Events

Along the Whale Trail you’ll be looking over the waters of one of our nation’s most spectacular marine protected areas, offering some of the best wildlife viewing in the world – including 34 species of marine mammals! Search for the heart-shaped blows of gray whales, tall dorsal fins of orcas, or feeding humpback and blue whales. Look for seals and sea lions on offshore rocks and sea otters wrapped up in kelp. You can see amazing marine life at the Whale Trail’s shore-based sites at any time of year.

Be a wildlife steward. Give animals the space they need to eat, rest and socialize. Keep your distance and please do not touch, feed or chase wildlife. Enjoy and help protect this diverse and fragile marine environment.

The Whale Trail is a series of sites where the public may view orcas, other cetaceans and marine mammals from shore. Learn more in this video.

Our mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of viewing sites along the whales’ trails along the Salish Sea and the Pacific Coast.

The Central Coast Aquarium welcomes all visitors, friends and family, to indulge in the splendor of the Central Coast’s beauty and wonder within the waters brought to land. Between hands-on experiences like the Exhibit Hall’s tough tanks or close encounters with swell sharks, to engaging academic program where kiddos learn to walk on sea legs aboard a fishing boat, we aspire to inspire the explorers within every heart who enters our doors. Valuing the lessons to be learned through personalized interactions and exhibits, the Central Coast Aquarium is dedicated to continuing the legacy of its founder and continually developing newer, greater, more in depth experiences for our visitors and marine residents.

Weekly Hours

The Port San Luis Harbor District purchased the Light Station in 1992 from the Federal government to preserve and open this spectacular point to the public as a historic and recreational park. The District commissioned and partnered with the non-profit Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers to restore and operate the facilities for the public benefit. Keepers volunteers have put in over 65,000 hours of labor toward the restoration. The Keepers and Harbor District have partnered to bring in $1.5 million for the restoration and another $1.3 million for the newly rebuilt one-lane road that permits public access of the Keepers vans, and now via the historic trolley.

The Lighthouse Keepers not only offer weekly tours to the Light Station, but also amazing Signature Events throughout the year. If you are looking for a truly unique experience or gift idea, we encourage you to visit us during one of these events. Check the site’s calendar to learn more.

Docent-led tours of the Point San Luis Lighthouse are held every Wednesday at noon and Saturdays at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. The tour is $20 per person and reservations are required by calling Lighthouse Keepers at (855) 533-7843.

The Port San Luis Harbor District purchased the Light Station in 1992 from the Federal government to preserve and open this spectacular point to the public as a historic and recreational park. The District commissioned and partnered with the non-profit Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers to restore and operate the facilities for the public benefit. Keepers volunteers have put in over 65,000 hours of labor toward the restoration. The Keepers and Harbor District have partnered to bring in $1.5 million for the restoration and another $1.3 million for the newly rebuilt one-lane road that permits public access of the Keepers vans, and now via the historic trolley.

The Lighthouse Keepers not only offer weekly tours to the Light Station, but also amazing Signature Events throughout the year. If you are looking for a truly unique experience or gift idea, we encourage you to visit us during one of these events. Check the site’s calendar to learn more.

Docent-led tours of the Point San Luis Lighthouse are held every Wednesday at noon and Saturdays at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. The tour is $20 per person and reservations are required by calling Lighthouse Keepers at (855) 533-7843.