Touring * Slalom *

From U.S. 101, take the Mattie Road/Shell Beach exit to get to the Shell Beach frontage road. Head east for half a mile and park along the curb or on a side street at the west end of town.

Considered part of Pismo Beach, Shell Beach is a quiet town between U.S. 101 and the Pacific. Many of the residential streets leading down to the cliffs are smooth and have little traffic; however, sidewalks were obviously not part of early city planning. Newer single-family homes, painted in seafoam pastels, are gradually replacing the older, much more modest houses built by the town's early residents, so each street offers its own interesting interpretation of seaside living. The grandest homes tend to be at street's end, along the rocky cliffs that rise 50 feet from the protected little beaches below. Near the east end of town, several streets lead to a cliffside frontage road, where concrete stairs lead to the surf and sand. West of downtown, next to the school on the frontage road, is Terrace Avenue, a particularly fine street for slalom practice. The ball courts and concrete ramps of the little school itself also make for a fun skating playground in the summers and after-hours.