Birding spots · California

Best Birding Spots in San Luis Obispo County, California

Laguna Lake Park leads San Luis Obispo County's birding spots with 241 species reported, best in fall. 217 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Laguna Lake Park	241	4,246	173	171	150	206
Oso Flaco Lake	227	2,699	144	171	145	182
Morro Bay State Park	218	4,719	171	172	126	179
Estero Bluffs State Park	209	2,491	141	129	136	172
Pismo State Beach	207	2,021	114	136	113	185
Hearst San Simeon State Park (Van Gordon Creek)	198	694	130	136	93	161
Sweet Springs Marsh	191	1,143	123	123	91	162
Spooners Cove	190	1,837	100	117	98	173
Morro Strand State Beach	188	2,064	124	116	120	151
Sweet Springs Nature Preserve	187	2,252	144	157	100	135
Hearst San Simeon State Park (San Simeon Creek)	184	1,029	124	120	93	144
Harmony Headlands State Park	180	681	111	130	117	111
Pismo State Beach (Pismo Creek)	174	640	115	115	93	129
Atascadero Lake	172	1,657	130	110	99	134
Hearst San Simeon State Park (Santa Rosa Creek)	169	993	101	104	94	120
Hardie Park	169	848	88	82	60	139
Whale Rock Reservoir	168	1,048	107	134	121	123
Estero Bluffs State Park (Cayucos Point)	165	1,270	127	115	96	115
Morro Bay City Beach	163	1,310	96	87	101	127
Morro Bay State Park (Morro Rock)	158	2,437	126	108	76	104
Pismo State Beach (Arroyo Grande Creek)	153	293	66	88	99	108
Quarry Cove	152	968	109	94	84	106
Hearst San Simeon State Park (Oak Knoll Creek)	152	592	66	46	93	121
Oso Flaco Lake (Oso Flaco Creek)	150	481	67	74	92	121
Spooners Cove (Islay Creek)	148	635	81	87	72	127
Lila Keiser Park	146	753	76	80	67	127
Morro Bay Wildlife Area (Chorro Creek)	146	201	119	78	41	91
Elfin Forest Natural Preserve	145	607	116	83	69	105
Estero Bluffs State Park (Black Rock)	145	402	93	71	73	83
Morro Bay State Park (northeast)	144	752	111	100	74	90
Audubon Overlook	143	682	119	87	74	95
Harford Canyon	141	371	111	97	50	64
Santa Margarita Lake	140	396	102	109	74	78
Sweet Springs Marsh (Cuesta-by-the-Sea)	140	337	97	88	51	80
Lopez Lake	140	239	101	96	71	95
Montaña de Oro State Park (Shark Inlet)	137	393	85	61	74	104
Morro Bay State Park (southeast)	135	813	77	94	79	66
Del Mar Park	135	730	52	80	49	111
Hearst San Simeon State Park (southeast)	135	204	73	100	79	80
Meadow Park	134	1,429	79	102	49	114
Pismo State Beach (Pismo Lake)	133	469	91	83	65	87
Morro Strand State Beach (Old Creek)	132	534	77	62	75	102
Hearst San Simeon State Park (Arroyo de la Cruz)	132	157	79	43	62	110
Fiscalini Ranch Preserve	130	435	90	84	78	87
Cloisters Park	129	550	97	81	59	81
Shark Inlet	129	495	91	82	50	97
Pismo State Beach (Meadow Creek)	128	330	87	70	74	82
Elfin Forest Natural Preserve (Los Osos Creek)	128	184	94	59	34	103
Pico Creek	128	172	70	45	49	88
Point Buchon	126	216	77	71	61	77