Avila is the best beach in the nation? Shhh, don’t tell anyone | Opinion
I just discovered that I live only 10 minutes away from the best beach in the entire United States of America.
At least, that’s the conclusion reached by HomeToGo, a search engine that matches travelers with vacation rentals. This company — which I had never heard of up until a few days ago — chose Avila Beach, located on California’s sunny Central Coast, as the No. 1 sand-and-surf spot in the nation.
To be honest, I wasn’t exactly brimming with civic pride when I saw that several out-of-town news outlets — including The Sacramento Bee, the Redding Record-Searchlight the Palm Springs Desert Sun — ran articles about Avila’s recognition.
My first thought was, “Great, now where am I going to park?”
And don’t get me started about the out-the-door lines at Kraken Coffee. Or the congestion on the nearby Bob Jones Bike Trail, what with kids, strollers, dogs, runners, walkers, skateboarders and cyclists all jockeying for position.
And now it might be on the radar of even more vacationers?
Why couldn’t HomeToGo send folks down the coast, maybe to Summerland or Carpinteria?
And how did Avila wind up in first place anyway?
True, it did fairly well in rankings like weather, affordability, food and drink and visitor satisfaction.
But it scored highest in the “hidden gem” category, which is a little weird.
A few years ago, participants in a very unscientific poll conducted by the The Tribune ranked Avila the second-best beach in San Luis Obispo County. That’s a respectable showing, but Avila finished far behind Morro Strand — and the crowds at Avila may have been one of the factors that dragged it down.
“If I wanted a beach that’s wall-to-wall people, I would’ve stayed in Newport Beach,” one voter commented by email.
But as it turns out, being a “hidden gem” doesn’t necessarily mean uncrowded; HomeToGo bases that score on “exclusive internal HomeToGo demand data.”
“The area with the lowest search volume was awarded a maximum score of 10, and the remaining locations were awarded a score of 5 or higher,” according to the company’s website. (Avila was awarded 9.29.)
Smart marketing move, HomeToGo! What better way to drum up interest in a particular product (or location) than to anoint it the best in the nation?
I just hope it doesn’t work too well, or it really will start looking like Newport Beach.
But I’m probably blowing this out of proportion. Nobody pays much attention to all those top 10 lists anyway, right? Don’t they all seem a little advertorial, not to mention repetitive?
But I’m probably blowing this out of proportion. Nobody pays much attention to all those top 10 lists anyway, right? Don’t they all seem a little advertorial, not to mention repetitive?
For instance, every other list includes Solvang. (If you are not familiar with Solvang, it is the Danish capital of America. It also is featured in that classic movie, “Sideways.”)
In 2024, USA Today named Solvang the second best small town in the West (Seward, Alaska, was first.)
Also in 2024, Newsweek readers chose it as the second best Christmas town in the U.S. (Grapevine, Texas, was the winner.)
And it’s been christened one of the most beautiful, friendliest and “quintessential California” towns in the state.
If it imported some sand, it would probably be named the best beach.
But maybe I’m being too cynical. Solvang is a fun little place to visit. Make sure you try the aebleskivers.
And Avila really is a great beach. I’ve daydreamed about living there, except there aren’t many homes available, what with all the vacation rentals, and those places that are on the market are way beyond my budget.
But in the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to offer a few pointers to potential visitors.
No dogs are allowed on Avila Beach between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., though that doesn’t really matter since apparently there aren’t a lot of vacation rentals that accept dogs anyway.
Only a portion of the pier is open.
And one of Avila’s most popular restaurants, the Custom House, is temporarily closed for maintenance.
Not that I’m trying to discourage you or anything.
But have you considered Solvang?
I hear it’s friendly, beautiful and very Christmasy.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
