anybody ever ride at Pismo?

Yes, paddle tires, yes, clam diggers, flat bill optional.

I go all the time.. The sand is wet most of the time so a paddle isn't necessary but will help. All the drop offs face east because of the wind. So be careful. Make sure you check when high tide is and even if you have a 4x4 or not always air down your tires to the lowest possible pressure you can. Both truck and trailer.The sand there is really soft around the camp areas. If you have anymore questions Bobby send me a message.

The summer months are always the busiest. Once you enter the gates you have about a mile drive on the beach before you get to the camping areas. The locals do alot of fishing and jet skiing between the pier and camping area. That's around 4 miles of coastline. We always have people that camp with us bring their kids. Great time for all ages. Make sure you buy your passes ahead of time. They only allow 1000 overnight campers per night. Here's the website for Pismo. Everything you need to know is on there. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1207

I got a ticket 2 years ago($125)for no flag on my bike! so make sure you have one of those, unless its not law now?

Probably the best advice I got about riding there is to WD-40 the sh!t out of everything metal on your bike before you ride and then rinse your bike off with fresh water if you can and WD-40 the sh!t out of it after you ride. Cover your bike at night or try to put it inside a trailer if you can. The salt water is in the sand and at nght the moist salt air will strip, pit or rust every piece of exposed aluminum or steel on your bike if it is left out unprotected. The spokes, anodized parts and chain/sprockets are especially vulnerable. You will pay the price if you don't prep right - TRUST ME - I KNOW!!!

Also, be aware of thieves at night. You'll know them when you see them. Look for the tell tale rental quads...

Don't really need a paddle but it helps.

I grew at Pismo Beach and lived at Oceano for several years a block from the beach. The Oceano Dunes are a fun place to play and is family friendly. Here is what you need to consider:
• Secure beach camping permits in advance for all cars and trucks driving and staying overnight on the beach • Bring plenty of fire wood you cannot bring enough wood
• Nights are almost always cold, windy and damp
• Days are almost always windy after 12 noon
• Bring goggles for everyone
• If you need to cross the creek to get to the camping section watch others go through first and if you still are not sure then walk all the way through the creek to the other side if you are not sure of the best way across. Watching others make the mistakes will save you a lot of money. The creek changes by the hour so what worked earlier in the day may not work later. The creek may only be inches deep on one side but may be 5ft deep on the other side.
• All dune vehicles must have flags
• Do not speed on the beach no matter how deep the sand. They will ticket you.
• Do not get caught drinking and driving on the beach or dunes
• NEVER go over a dune without first checking to see what is on the other side. Go very slow or stop and look before dropping down a dune.
o Always assume when driving away from the ocean all dunes have a huge steep drop off on the other side and or a hole you cannot get out of.
o The dunes can be very deceiving and always check every dune prior to jumping or dropping over a dune.
• Assume anyone coming towards you is drunk and does not see you.
• Assume anyone coming towards you does not have any dune experience i.e. kids and adults
• If you get lost head towards the beach
• Bring at least one shovel and a high lift jack
• Bring a portable compressor or air tank if possible
• Lower air pressure in your tires just before you land on the beach. Don’t wait until you get stuck to lower your air pressure. Go way down on air pressure in your tires.
• Keep your momentum moving when driving along the beach. Try not to stop or go too slow.
• If you value your toys and vehicles do not drive in the ocean
• If you get stuck and need to pay for towing be prepared to pay an enormous towing fee and sometimes they charge by the foot!
• Rope off your camping area
• Lock all of your toys when un attended or sleeping
• The sand will destroy your toys if it is not prepared correctly for sand.
• Wash everything as soon as possible after leaving the beach. There is a car wash about a block or two from the beach.
• Make sure you are parked and camped far enough away from the beach that high tide will not overcome your vehicles and camping area in the night

I spent the last two years going to school in SLO and riding Pismo often.. good place to ride and if you hit it during the week.. it can be deserted!

I've grown up next to it, had A LOT of fun there, but I just can't get past how hard it is on the bikes. The salt in the air, water, and sand makes me neurotic. One night spent there and the spokes corrode. But, it is fun as hell and like and mxtyron231 said, hit it during the week. You can't beat havin' the dunes to yourself, and maybe some squirly 4-wheelin' rednecks. Paddle for sure, and hit up Splash Cafe for the best damn clam chowder...

That place was so much better before they closed off all of the Union Oil land. Pismo used to be twice the size, that area had all of the big dunes as well.

As everyone else said, it is about the worst place you can take your bike. ;-)

My opinion would be that you are about 25 years too late.

Prior (not Richard) to the mid 80's you could ride all day and not back track on your own knobby DnA all day

Ride south for like 10 miles...........ride east for like 3 miles........ride west until you,...........well hit the pacific.

There was virgin sand and hills all over the place.

Oh and no rangers to speak of.


Now days, maybe 9 square miles to share with 10,000 other "duners".

I guess that"s just life, Glamis is going bad too, at an alarming rate.

Have fun though!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You'll ride the whole place in 8min and wonder what the big deal is. The place just is too small.


• If you get lost head towards the beach


This is impossible by the way.... lost that is...

spoken like a true cenral coast resident...

Splash cafe is bombbb!!! waitresses aren't bad either

Hahaha, no doubt! If you really wanna get your visions worth, stop in Orcutt on your way north and head to old town. A little gem called Kay's Country Kitchen or as we more affectionately call it, Tit's-n-toast.

Bobby, Looks like you got some great replies.
I have been going there since the sixties, a lot has changed.
It use to be possible to ride for miles [any body remember devils slide?], now only about 10% is available.
Still a great place to ride, and nothing else really compares, especially if you are lucky enough to be there after a rain storm. No paddle needed, even a novice can drag a lever while cornering.
You must do the following to have a great time.
[1] Make sure you get over night passes well in advance [at least 3-4 moths in advance for wknds in June] if you are camping out on the beach. If not camping out, day passes are not usually a problem.
[1] Bike Prep: Back in the day [70's early 80's] I would not even think about bringing my race bike. Swing-arm, wheel, head-stay etc bearings would be toast. One wknd at pismo would be equal to a season of mx racing. Bikes nowadays are built so much better, and hold up quite well so long as you do the following.
[a] Do not use chain lube. I know, sounds crazy but if you do your chain becomes a magnet and sand just sticks to it like sandpaper, and will wear out your chain and sprockets. I have heard that the wax type lube is not a bad choice, but I, and most people I know have always not used anything.
[b] K@N wire mesh air-filters with a nylon sock over them are the best for sand. I would never use one for dry dusty dirt conditions [my can-am 370 had one, it sucked], they are to course, and the dirt/dust will penetrate. Sand is so course that it can not pass through the K@N. If you think about it, you can ride pismo in the middle of June, and it will not be dusty. The sand is so course that it can not become air-born, it just falls to the ground. Foam filters will work, just make sure you run a dry nylon pantyhose or dirt skin over the foam [most of the sand will just bounce off and not get to the oiled sticky foam]. Clean the filter daily.
[c] Run at least one [possibly two for a two stroke] jet size larger than what you normally do at sea level. You will be wide open almost all the time, your kx500 will feel like a 125.
[d] Make sure you wd40 your entire bike at night, especially the spoke nipples. Salt is everywhere.
[e] Make sure you wash your bike thoroughly, do not wait more than three days.
[2] As soon as you come down the beach on/off ramp, FIND A SPOT ON THE MOIST SAND AND AIR-DOWN. Look at your tires [trailer included] and deflate the tires to the point to where they are wrinkled to half of what they were. Example, if your rim is 4 inches above the sand before deflating, lower it to 2 inches.
Plan on getting stuck. Buy a 20 foot nylon tow rope [auto zone, kragen] without metal hooks [if the rope breaks, the metal hook can kill you, happens quite often]. Just hook up the rope to the front of your rig, and hold the other end. I have never had to wait more than 10 minutes before someone would pull up and pull me out for free. They would not even accept the twenty I was offering. If you have the tow trucks that are patrolling pull you out, plan on at least $150.00.
[3] Do not speed on the shoreline, camps or on sand highway. 15 mph, bike/vehicle does not matter!
Always wear a helmet when riding, do not hike, always have your flag, must have lights at night. You can't even fly a kite! I was with my kids, had a ranger pull up and told me that it was illegal! Said that if a nesting bird [imagine a nesting bird in the camping area] saw the shadow from my kite, it might leave the nest, thinking it was a predator.
The rangers use binoculars/night vision to look for people drinking in the camp sites, before getting on their bikes. I have seen riders crash, have the rangers pull up to check out the fallen rider, and than give DUI's to some of the people that rode up to help. Do not have a beer and than ride, you will get busted!
Make sure you have a current green sticker, they love busting you for that.
Try and find out when high tide is, and avoid entering/leaving during that time. Idiots camp so close to the high tide mark, that water will actually enter their camps. This means you will literally be in the water trying to get passed them, and the sand is pretty soft. Lower tides you will not have to deal with these idiots, and the sand is well packed.
[4] Now the sad part, that really pisses me off. Do not leave anything out that you do not want stolen at night. Gas cans, ice chests etc. If you leave your bike/bikes out, chain them to your trailer/camper where you are sleeping.
Week days are the best, highly recommend avoiding the weekends. Idiot factor is way to high on the wknds, and it is crowded. Hardly anyone is there during the weekdays, and the people who are there, know what they are doing, a lot safer, and you will have the dunes to yourself.
You will have a great time if you go, and you will go again. Nobody goes just once.
Doug S.

hahhahaha classic all this info for this bs. cockbobber is scared of getting sand in his mangina...

I can't believe (actually yes I can) that after the novels mototyme and sakana took the time for you that you never had any intention of going.

Talk about a JACKOFF! lol

hahaha tits and toast!!

Everyone calls it that.


Sis recommends Jocko's in Nipomo.

I went to Cal Poly too.

Worked at an ATV rental place as a mechanic during in Pismo. They had a huge fleet of Honda 250r quads. Some were really hopped up after we were done with them. I never really liked riding at Pismo as it's a joke compared to Glamis in terms of terrain.

Jockos is good stuff too..

Living in SLO I preferred Firestone or Laguna Grill..

Rode a rental quad there once back in 1990 for first time. Got stuck on a dune, put leg down as you do on a bike and got sucked into rear wheel, stripped all the skin off the back of my calf, big style.
Woman at quad rental said best thing was to go and stand in sea for 10 minutes. Stung like hell, but saltwater stopped any infection.
Remember sticking to sheets in motel room at night!

Dude, the ABC burger at Firestone..

When I lived there Chuck Liddell was the door guy at the Frog and Peach. Guy was so intimidating even then.