Morro Bay Real Estate

If you’re looking for a home or any other type of Morro Bay real estate, you’ve made a great choice. One of the finest small central coast towns, Morro Bay provides a superb combination of a friendly small town atmosphere, natural beauty, varied entertainment opportunities and modern conveniences. A small town with only slightly over 10,000 residents, Morro Bay has a median family income of $43,000. This demographic data is from the 2000 census, so the median income has likely increased, although the size of the town has not changed much over the last decade.

When people think of Morro Bay, invariably the first thing that comes to mind is Morro Rock.  Morro Rock is a huge 576 foot high volcanic plug (a volcanic plug is when an inactive volcano weathers away and leaves just the hardened lava core) that stands at the entrance to Morro Bay Harbor.  Interestingly, there are eight other similar volcanic plugs forming a line between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, although none are as striking as Morro Rock.  Morro Rock was originally an island, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a breakwater extending from the island to the mainland to create the harbor.

If you have kids and you’re thinking of buying a home or real estate in Morro Bay, you will want to know about the schools.  A small town, there is only one public elementary school and one public high school.  However, both these schools are highly rated with Del Mar Elementary School receiving an overall 7 out of 10 grade and an API score of 832 (this is very good).  Morro Bay High School has an even higher overall rating of 8 out of 10 and an API score of 825 (also very good).  Overall ratings are from Great Schools’ evaluations.

The most obvious attraction of Morro Bay real estate is its natural beauty which many California coastal cities have lost.  Morro Rock is the most obvious example, but there are many other local areas that preserve the natural beauty of the California central coast.

Montana De Oro State Park

A large and easily accessible state park just six miles south of Morro Bay, Montana De Oro State Park Features 8,000 acres rugged cliffs, large sandy beaches tapering off into dunes, streams, canyons and hills.  In the spring golden wildflowers can be found throughout the park (the park’s name means “Mountain of Gold” in Spanish).  The park also features campgrounds, biking trails and equestrian trails (as well as some equestrian campsites).

The Morrow Bay Estuary

This estuary just south of Morro Bay includes about 2300 acres of wetlands where a variety of mudflats, sand dunes, salt marshes, and creeks combine to create a number of ecosystems that support a fascinating variety of wildlife.  Although California originally supported many similar wetlands, most have been filled in for development and no longer exist.  The Estuary is also an important winter home to many types of birds.  Although the estuary itself is protected (and it’s doubtful that many people would want to tramp through the mud), there are a variety of park areas around the estuary that can be visited.

Morro Bay State Park

Just south of Morro Bay, between the city and the estuary, lies Morro Bay State Park.  This is a popular camping spot and also includes a variety of paths for day visitors.  It also features a park museum, a marina and an 18-hole public golf course.  If you’re lucky you might even see California sea otters relaxing in the Marina.

If you haven’t visited Morro Bay, or if you’ve just stopped for a day or so, it’s worth your time to spend a few days or a week to get to know the town.  There are many more things to see and do than are described on this page.  There are Jazz festivals, restaurants, Art in the Park, Street Fairs, Harbor Festivals and much more. Check it out!  You could do a lot worse than buying a home or other Morro Bay real estate!