Avila-Pismo Beach KOA

The sites are narrow. I mean, with slideouts extended you won't be sitting next to your RV's door. The sites are long and very thin. During busy weekends there is virtually no parking. We watched as trailers and 5th wheels struggled to fit into their sites. The laundry is operating a scam with the phone app. It extracts a $10 charge from your checking account, and if you don't use it all, oh well. No function through the app for a refund. The office dismissed it as "it's not our thing. We have nothing to do with that. Here's a phone number to call". Use the direct credit card instead. It will only charge for what you use.

On the plus side, you can't beat the location. 10 minutes to Pismo/Avila beaches and 10 minutes to San Luis Obispo. About an hour to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. Also a short walk to the Bob Jones trailhead that's a nice hike/bicycle to Avila Beach.

We would definitely enjoy returning to the area. Its beautiful and offers a lot (bring money though). We won't stay here at the KOA though. We'd be willing to shell out a little more for a nicer RV park.

We enjoyed fast 5G T-Mobile download speeds through my hotspot. Did not try the park WiFi.

I loved this campground! It’s super clean, well maintained, has a fenced in dog area, volleyball court, basketball court, playground, fire pits, outdoor lawn chairs, indoor game room, little store, & clean heated pool!

If you work remotely, the Wi-Fi here is excellent! My fiancé is a computer programmer and I run my own e-commerce business and the Wi-Fi handled all of our needs.

There wasn’t much freeway noise and I couldn’t hear it at all inside my trailer.

The location is fantastic! Easy access to surrounding towns (SLO, Arroyo Grande). The Avila Valley Barn is across the street. There’s the Bob Jones paved path for walking & riding your bike. You can take it all the way to Avila Beach (about 2.8 miles one way). You also have easy access to Sycamore, Ontario Ridge, and Shell Beach hiking trails.

Start with the positives......well managed, nice professional staff, good wifi, good cell service, great bike paths to Avila Beach (about 2 miles), beautiful park like setting. Very nice pool and playground for the youngsters. Well stocked store (very pricey) Even with close quarters, it was reasonably quiet.

The not so good: this KOA has packed as many sardines as they could into this small park. For 90 bucks, you get a postage size site with your neighbors as close as you can get without getting married. For $120+ bucks, you get a bigger site, but since these are reserved for the bigger rigs, the result is the same. If you are staying one night and not want to unhitch, think again.

Bathroom, showers were ok but my spouse tells me the washing machine gaskets were very dirty.

When you pay this much, expectations are raised. Most KOA do meet our expectations but not this one.

If it was’nt so expensive and your only here to park your rig then go site seeing for the whole time, this would be perfect. I was parked along the 101 fwy in my 38’ class A with the worst of noise ....I don’t see the logic in charging at all....this area should be used for over flow parking.
Not all KOA’s are equal in caring for the good experience for their “campers” unfortunately.
A great KOA is in Temecula, CA @ $60 a night.

This KOA is clean and beautifully landscaped, new playground and lots of nice little touches. That being said, it is small and literally backs up to the 101. We lucked out because we got the last spot... a pull through where they had just added a fire pit and table. It is super cute. This spot had plenty of space but the others, especially on the exterior ring are really packed in and I heard one person complaining as I checked in that there was no room for his slide outs. Staff was super friendly and the place was spotless... so with limited space I think they’ve maximized their potential with the quality. Fine space to stay in as a pass through but it is a bit to the beach from that location. (If you do stay there check out Ontario Ridge Trail... it’s amazing hike just 10 minute walk away. Warning: It is steep! But the view is lovely and it oscilates from oak trees to open space along the ridge.) The 101 noise is a definite minus. It is much nicer than the hot springs RV park next door... that’s pretty much a dirt parking lot.

Overall, this was a great place to stay. They had so many amenities! Nice pool area with hot tub, tetherball, floor shuffleboard, table shuffleboard, billiards, playground, basketball, even movies on weekends.

Sites were really basic, with paved roads and small gravel sites. We had a pull-thru which gave us some more space. Generally I have found at KOA's that it's wise to pay more for a better space.

Avila Hot Springs is right next door, and it's a nice place to soak with a water slide for the kids--great fun. Also don't miss Avila Beach itself. Nice town to kick back and enjoy the beach without the pounding crowds of Pismo.

I enjoyed riding through See Canyon--highly recommended.

Update as of June 2017. This KOA is under new management and, although the grounds and facilities remain the same, we had a number of issues with our last group reservation. The staff seemed pretty disorganized and confused. Requested RV sites ended up being unavailable when we arrived, even after confirming a week prior. Cabins that were booked ended up being the wrong model cabins. Kids are no longer allowed in the hot tub.
We will still stay again, but the experience certainly wasn't what we expected.

Great for an Avila/Pismo Beach weekend, this campground is centrally located and offers pretty much every amenity you could ask for...Pool/hot tub, playground, game room, bathrooms/showers, laundry room, and outdoor movie theater. Cabins available for non-RV campers.

Full hookups with 30/50 amp service, pricing is dependent upon the size of your RV/site. We noticed the sites do run on the small side, so consider sizing up when you reserve your spot.

Staff was really friendly and helpful. According to other campers, this used to be a membership-only campground that had become run-down over the years. KOA recently took over and the staff is clearly working hard to repair and improve the grounds.
There is some highway noise, due to its location, however the grounds are very quiet at night.

We came in on very short notice and were able to book same-day over the phone. After-hours check in was simple. After days of dry camping and boondocking in the desert, this was a welcome slice of civilization for our family. In fact, after two days, none of us wanted to leave, we'll definitely be back!