Ultimate Guide to Paso Robles

After a truly unconventional holiday season on the West Coast, and shifting around our plans to remain safe during the pandemic, we decided to take a short New Year’s getaway to Paso Robles. We had the best time and hope you might benefit from our experience and recommendations when planning a trip in the future. If you didn’t know, Paso Robles is its own little wine country in Central California – only a three-hour drive from San Francisco.

We started out with a small detour, toward the coast. It is possible to travel down Highway 1 from San Francisco to San Simeon and then head toward Paso Robles. It takes a couple of hours longer but offers truly breathtaking views as you drive through iconic Carmel and Big Sur. We initially planned to take this route, but due to mudslides and consequential road closures, we had to backtrack once we got to Big Sur. If Highway 1 is closed at any point before San Simeon, you have to travel back up the coast to Carmel and hop on the 101 from there. Be sure to check for road closures before picking your route. We had plenty of time and wanted to take Chloe to the coast, so we weren’t bothered by taking the extra time for this route. And as you can see, Chloe certainly did not mind.

If you decide to take the detour through Carmel, or just find yourself in Carmel at any other time, we absolutely loved Forge in the Forest for lunch. They have an amazing patio with plenty of heaters and fireplaces. They also have a dog menu with a few delicious (lightly seasoned) treats for your furry best friend. Some notes on Carmel: it’s very walkable and has a ton of cute shops, but parking is limited so it’s best to get there early in the day to snag a decent spot.

After lunch, we drove down through Big Sur, stopping at a couple of viewpoints along the coastal highway. It’s important to note that the day we traveled was between Christmas and New Year’s. With many people off work and out of school, we experienced large crowds with each vista full of cars and lots of slowdowns along the road as people looked for parking. We’ve been before and didn’t have the same issues, so we would recommend avoiding holidays if at all possible for a more chill experience. After that we made the drive back up to Carmel and then on to Paso Robles – let’s get into all of the fun Paso Robles recs!

Lodging

We stayed at the Allegretto Vineyard Resort, which honestly had a very relaxing, Tuscan vibe. It was near the highway and easily accessible, yet somehow very secluded and quiet. The property includes the hotel with a courtyard and plenty of walking trails and has a small vineyard to walk through as well. There’s an onsite restaurant, spa, and plenty of other activities. There are a couple of bocce ball courts, cornhole boards, and even a labyrinth with a motion-activated sound bath (surprisingly soothing!). Yoga classes are offered every Saturday and Sunday morning in the chapel. Kelsey attended a class on New Year’s Day, and the instructor was the best! The hotel is extra dog-friendly – Chloe was allowed everywhere on the property except for inside the restaurant. Plus they gave us a ground floor room with a patio for easy access for potty breaks. Oh, and we can’t forget about the vineyard alpaca, George. He was a highlight for us and for Chloe.

Food

The Alchemists’ Garden

This restaurant and cocktail bar is right on the square in downtown Paso Robles. They specialize in floral-inspired cocktails and have a very unique but tasty food menu. They have a quaint patio that is dog friendly, and this was a great selection for our first night in Paso Robles. It may be helpful to get there earlier in the evening if you have your eye on a particular dish, as we found they ran out of ingredients for a couple of menu items we wanted to try.

Cello

We chose to eat at the hotel restaurant on NYE so we could have a quieter night without worrying about driving anywhere. The food was so, so good! We tried the wagyu steak they offered as a special that night and short rib ragu, and that was probably our favorite meal of the whole trip. We also had breakfast there one morning and were once again surprised by how good everything tasted. Sometimes it feels like onsite restaurants focus more energy on the dinner menu, but they had a wide selection of dishes and everything we tried was great!

Firestone Walker Brewing

Even in wine country, it’s always nice to check out the local beer options. We ventured to the Firestone Walker Taproom for lunch one day and it was a fantastic choice. They have a completely touchless menu where you order on your phone and it’s delivered to your table, which made us feel extra safe! Again, big patio and is a very dog-friendly location. They have a nice food menu with plenty of sharable options, and each dish has a recommended beer pairing. One of the stouts Zach ordered even came with cookies to eat with his beer.

Activities

Wine Tasting

Of course, when in Paso Robles you have to do at least one wine tasting. Allegretto offers tastings of their wine at a small tasting room within the hotel, with a patio connected to the courtyard. Reservations are recommended. We did a small tasting there – we didn’t make a reservation, but they were kind enough to let us taste several wines before selecting a bottle to enjoy in the courtyard.

We also checked out CaliPaso downtown, and it was a huge hit! They adored Chloe and gave her so much attention. She was allowed to come inside with us, and we tasted a flight of five wines. All of them were excellent, but if you make the trip the Zinfandel is a must-try!

Sensorio by Bruce Munro

One of the most spectacular activities we were able to enjoy was the Sensorio Field of Light by Bruce Munro. It was originally installed in May 2019 as a temporary arrangement, but it’s been such a hit that it will remain in place indefinitely. The Field of Light encompasses 15 acres of rolling hills with more than 58,000 spheres illuminated by solar-powered fiber optics. Although they don’t allow any outside food or drink, they have multiple truck vendors with food and spirits – you can take them along on your journey through the winding paths of lights. Towards the end of the trail, you’ll end up in the newly added Light Towers exhibit. Standing tall are pillars of light made from more than 17,000 wine bottles that honor Paso Robles and Central California wine. It’s an ethereal experience and definitely a high”light” of our trip. 😉

Tin City

We found this hidden gem because of a documentary Zach watched last year. It’s just outside of downtown Paso, and from the street it kind of looks like a collection of older industrial buildings. However, Tin City is its own little bustling community of over 20 tasting rooms, in addition to several restaurants and a distillery. It has plenty of dog-friendly patios, so your pup can join in on the fun! It’s not walkable from downtown, but there is plenty of parking, or it would be a short Uber ride. We highly recommend visiting Etto Pasta Bar and their market place afterward. It’s like a mini version of the popular Eataly Italian markets.