Everyone is looking for ideas for where to go on a summer vacation. My husband and I have been doing a few small social distancing friendly vacations, focusing on local and domestic travel. It has been a tough 5 months since stay at home restrictions started, so we have been slowly and carefully giving ourselves a break. California has so many beautiful places to visit, especially if you are up for a road trip. From beaches, to wine country, to mountains, the options for social distancing vacations are pretty endless.

If you are trying to figure out where to go on a summer vacation, I highly suggest a weekend visit to Paso Robles! It’s a beautiful wine country region conveniently located between LA and San Francisco. The drive is a beautiful road trip, and there are tons of ways to have fun while still making it a social distancing vacation. Check out my tips for the perfect weekend in Paso Robles California!

How to Have the Perfect Weekend in Paso Robles

Where to Stay in Paso Robles

We stayed at the Allegretto Resort, a gorgeous Tuscan inspired property with its own vineyard. It’s pretty perfect for a wine country getaway! The rooms are spacious, and many of them feature their own patio. The resort also has a pool, spa, tasting room, and restaurant, so it’s perfect for the lazy traveler. They even have cute yellow bikes you can use for the day. The grounds are spacious, and dotted with gazebos and swings so you can lounge around the property while still social distancing on vacation. If you can only do domestic travel, it’s the perfect place to pretend you’re on vacation in Tuscany!

If downtown Paso Robles is more your vibe, check out the Piccolo Hotel. It’s a very chic, modern boutique hotel and is walking distance to a ton of tasting rooms in downtown Paso Robles. We took Ubers between all of our tastings, but if you stay downtown you’ll have plenty of options to walk to. Downtown Paso Robles is also full of cute shops and galleries, but a lot of things are closed due to covid.

What to do in Paso Robles

The obvious thing to do after a road trip to Paso Robles is drink! After all, you are in wine country and there are award winning vineyards everywhere. There are so many gorgeous wineries to visit, from boutique tasting rooms to sprawling wine country estates. Because of social distancing guidelines, most wineries are appointment only, so you’ll have to be pretty organized when planning your trip.

And make sure you are safe! Have a designated driver for the day, plan to take Uber around, or schedule a wine tour that drives you around. There are plenty of wine shuttles and hop on hop off winery tours to choose from.

Paso Robles is also known for its natural hot springs and day spas. We didn’t have time to visit, but River Oak Hot Springs is one of the most highly rated to visit in Paso Robles.

Even though you are in wine country, you may want a break from drinking! Stop by the Estrella Warbird Museum, an aviation museum with a unique collection of military aircraft, military vehicles and memorabilia.

Paso Robles is also a great midway point between several other amazing road trip opportunities. Take a break from vineyard hopping for a social distancing vacation day and drive around the area. Plan a visit to Hearst Castle, the iconic landmark that’s less than an hour away. It’s currently closed due to covid, but keep an eye on their website for when they eventually reopen! Pismo Beach is another great mini road trip, that’s only about a 45 minute drive away. Or hop over to Morro Rock or Atascadero for another social distancing vacation day.

Wineries to Visit in Paso Robles

We didn’t have a ton of time so didn’t get to visit too many wineries in Paso Robles. But there are so many to choose from! The first one we visited was the tasting room at the Allegretto Resort. The outdoor space was lovely and they gave us a generous pour of 5 of their varietals.

On my must visit list was Daou Family Estates. Almost all the tastings are by appointment only, so we were wait listed for one. I was psyched when they had a cancellation the day before and we got in! The grounds are like a wine country fantasy. Everything is so picturesque and the photo opps are to die for. Their tasting is a little expensive, and the food way overpriced! But it’s worth it for the scenery alone. We did the tasting than got a glass of rose and sipped it while wandering the property and snapping pictures. If you are planning a schedule, definitely give yourself about 3 hours here. You’ll want to enjoy your wine at a relaxed pace and check out the stunning scenery. If you are thinking about where to go for a summer vacation, don’t miss Daou!

We planned to go to Copia Family Vineyards, but cancelled the appointment when we got into Daou. I wished we would have been able to fit it in, because it looks like such a beautiful vineyard, but maybe next time! They have a vineyard estate and a downtown tasting room, so you have options if you want to add them to your wine country getaway.

And don’t miss Indigene Cellars! They are one of very few black owned wineries, and you know I’m all about supporting black owned businesses! The owner makes some very impressive reds, and they also have some really cute wine bottle candles that you can take home with you.

There are more wineries in Paso Robles than I can list, so do some browsing and see where you can get appointments. Very few places are allowing walk-ins because of covid, so you’ll need to do a bit more upfront planning to make it a successful social distancing summer vacation.

If you are wondering where to go for summer vacation, I highly recommend Paso Robles. Wine country escapes are always beautiful, but Paso Robles has a unique charm that is worth experiencing. Domestic travel will be on the rise this year, so if you are thinking about destinations definitely add Paso Robles to your list! It’s a beautiful region and perfect for a social distancing vacation. Hope these tips help you plan your Paso Robles road trip, and let me know what other destinations are on your list!