Avila Beach's Biggest Fall Weekends Share One Address on Ana Bay Road. The Quieter Ones Run on Apple Time.

The truck show in July, the Mac & Cheese Fest on September 19, the concert half of the BreakaWave Rodeo on September 25 and 26, and the finish-line festival for the City to the Sea races on October 18 all sit on the same property. That is the Avila Beach Golf Resort at 6464 Ana Bay Road, and it keeps turning up as the stage for the town's big ticketed weekends.

The rest of the fall calendar answers to other clocks. Orchards up See Canyon open and close with the harvest. A lighthouse concert series lists only eight dates. An outrigger club schedules its fundraiser around ocean conditions and its own race season. Once you sort events by who hosts them, the fall calendar in Avila Beach is easier to plan than it looks, because the hosts tell you how each one behaves.

What Happens at 6464 Ana Bay Road

Here is the 2026 record at that address, or alongside it, as far as the listings show.

These events share a format as well as an address. Each has a fixed window of hours, a ticket or registration, and an organizer with a marketing calendar. The Mac & Cheese Fest, for example, is run by AGM Community Partners with American General Media, and its proceeds go to local charities. Radio stations were already asking listeners in early May whether they had their tickets for a September 19 date, and admission was listed at $80 to $150.

Each of these has a published start and end time, so the busy hours are easy to pin down before the day arrives.

The next date at this address is Sunday, October 18.

Race Sunday, Hour by Hour

The City to the Sea Half Marathon starts at Mission Plaza in downtown San Luis Obispo and follows the Bob Jones Trail toward the ocean. The 5K starts and finishes at the resort. Both fields share the same Sunday morning, and the schedule the organizers published breaks down like this:

1. 5:30 AM. The first shuttle leaves Avila Beach for San Luis Obispo, and a second follows at 6:15 AM. Half marathon packet pickup opens at Mission Plaza the same half hour.
2. 6:00 to 7:00 AM. 5K packet pickup runs at the Avila Beach Resort festival grounds.
3. 7:00 AM. The half marathon starts in six waves, four minutes apart, and the 5K starts at the resort.
4. 8:30 AM to noon. Shuttles run from the resort's 10th Fairway to San Luis Obispo for half marathoners heading back to the start.
5. 10:30 AM. On-course support for the half marathon ends. The finish line stays open until 11:30 AM.

Anyone planning a Sunday-morning bike ride or walk on the Bob Jones Trail should expect runners on it, since the half marathon course runs along the trail. After the races, participants can buy meals from Mulligan's at the resort or walk into the village for the promenade and pier.

The Roundabout Changed the Approach to the Quiet Side

The County of San Luis Obispo describes the old Avila Beach Drive and Highway 101 intersection as one that experienced significant congestion, especially on weekends. The interchange closed for 40 days in August and September of 2025 so contractor CalPortland could build the central section of the new roundabout. The Board of Supervisors had asked for construction to move from June and July to the end of summer, so it would miss peak season and finish ahead of the rainy season.

KEYT reported in March 2026 that the project is officially complete. District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg told the station there was a time when crossing that intersection made you feel like you were "taking your life in your own hands." The station also reported that the roundabout now gives easier access from Highway 101 to Avila Valley Barn, Sycamore Hot Springs, the Bob Jones Trail, and the access points to Avila Beach and Pirates' Cove.

That list matters for the quieter half of the calendar. Avila Valley Barn sits at 560 Avila Beach Drive, near the entrance to See Canyon. This is the first fall since the project was declared complete.

The Quiet Weekends Run on Apple Time

See Canyon's apple season opens in September and runs into early December, and each orchard sets its own rhythm inside that window.

• Avila Valley Barn is open year-round and adds hayrides, a hay bale maze, a pumpkin patch, cider donuts and apple cider floats in the fall.
• Gopher Glen Apple Farm at 2899 See Canyon Road began in 1971 as a 20-acre hobby orchard started by local orthodontist Dr. John DeVincenzo. It now sells more than 65 varieties at the fruit stand, and the orchard's own Heaven Sent apple was named for his late wife.
• Creekside Apple Farm at 1691 See Canyon Road opens only for apple season, from September to late November.
• See Canyon Fruit Ranch at 2345 See Canyon Road has been family owned since 1894.
• SLO Creek Farms at 6455 Monte Road offers organic U-pick apples.
• Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards at 1947 See Canyon Road pours apple wines and hard ciders, with a resident flock of peacocks.

Published hours differ from one listing to the next. Gopher Glen, for instance, appears with weekday hours ending at 5 PM in one guide and daily hours to 6 PM in another. A quick call before a weekend drive is the reliable move. There is no event organizer setting a schedule here. The trees set it, and the farm stands adjust hours around it.

Two Small Organizers, Two October Saturdays

The Live at the Lighthouse series at Point San Luis Lighthouse has only eight concerts in 2026, each on a Saturday from 2:30 to 5 PM, and the listings show one on October 10. The lighthouse has no car access. Ticket holders take the shuttle from the Wild Cherry Canyon parking area, or paddle to Lighthouse Beach by kayak or stand-up paddleboard. Tickets are limited.

The Avila Beach Outrigger Expo, also called Paddle to Pecho, belongs to Pale Kai Outrigger Canoe Club, which was founded in 1996. The expo is the club's annual fundraiser, and the money goes toward canoes, student scholarships and new equipment. The courses run in the open ocean for up to 12 miles, so participation is limited to experienced paddlers. The launch is on Front Street just north of the pier, with check-in tents near the beach volleyball courts. In 2025 the club invited the public to watch and to join the raffle and silent auction. The 2026 date was not confirmed in the listings this post draws on. The visitor calendar shows early registration and a paddler happy hour on October 9, which points to the first half of the month, and the club's site is the place to confirm the race day.

The summer farmers' market on the promenade has finished its 24th season, which was scheduled through August. The one live-music listing for Mulligan's covers September, so October hours are worth confirming before anyone plans an evening around them.

Reading the Calendar by Host

The Mac & Cheese Fest was selling tickets by early May for a September date, and the race publishes its schedule down to the shuttle departure. Orchard hours differ from listing to listing, and the outrigger race date was still unconfirmed on the calendars this post relies on. Knowing the host tells you whether to look for a published schedule or pick up the phone.

The resort has one date left on its fall calendar, October 18, and the Live at the Lighthouse series lists a concert on October 10.

Planning an open house, a move or a listing photo shoot around race weekend or apple season? The team at E3 Realty can help you time it around what is happening on Ana Bay Road and up See Canyon.