Paso Robles: A Two Day Itinerary (with kids)

Paso Robles may be the perfect, centrally located wine country trip to do with kids. Just 30 minutes from the Pacific Coast in central California, Paso Robles is very family friendly and a low stress way to have a wine tasting weekend with kids.  We were hosted for a weekend in Paso Robles at the Cava Robles RV Park for a freelance trip I was writing for Traveling Mom.  In this post, I will give you the perfect Paso Robles itinerary for two days with kids!

It's like I gave birth to my personal photog.  LOL!

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Where to Stay in Paso Robles with kids:

We decided to drive up highway one (Pacific Coast Highway) up to the central coast.  While our drive from the Los Angeles area was a bit longer, it was a much more scenic (and less traveled) route than the 5, which we took on our return trip.  Upon arrival, we checked into our RV site at Cava Robles.  It is a super luxe RV park that offers cabins too.  This place is more like a five star resort than campground.  Glamping would be a better term.  It has two pools, hot tubs, a fitness center, a splash pad, putting greens, and so much more.  

The resort even offered live music on the weekends, scheduled activities for the kids, and wine tasting on site.  If you need any more entertainment off site (and don't want to drive), they have a shuttle for Tin City for ten dollars a person.  

Day One in Paso Robles:

Chill out at your hotel.  

We spent the morning unwinding from our long trip. The kids needed some space to play, so we headed down to the pool.  Even though we were staying in an RV, we didn't have everything that we needed for breakfast.  Luckily they have a great restaurant right next to the pool.  The clubhouse was full of fun, giant games that my kiddos played until the pool opened.

My dress (link) was perfectly comfortable and cute for the day.

Vineyard and Wine Tasting.

Our view from the deck of Fableist.  Notice the old Railroad tracks!

The Fableist Wine Co was recommended by both my aunt and my cousin as a must try.  They are a (not yet certified) organic vineyard, that is very family friendly.  For kids, they have old train cars to climb around on, lots of land for exploration, and outdoor games.  While the kids are busy, sit on the outdoor patio (to better supervise their shenanigans!) and taste the wine.  Plan to spend at least two hours here (we were there for three).

We ended up joining the wine club here.  It is six wines for 20% off, and then they will ship them to you twice a year at the same discount.  The kids had a fabulous time wandering around the vineyard and playing the games.  Honestly, if you give them a patch of grass, they are thrilled.

Back to your hotel/RV for a change of clothes.

Of course I brought my AquaTru, sometimes travel water tastes gross. Click here for my discount code.

The weather is extremely variable in this part of California, so you will always want a sweater for when the sun goes down.  We opted to head back to the RV that we had rented (you can read about that experience here) for a quick rest and a change of clothes.  It was very warm during the day, but I was happy for my jacket later!

The kids lobbied hard for a late afternoon swim, but the parental units were more excited to see the downtown area.  Off we went for the short 10 minute drive to the old downtown Paso Robles area. I had seen the pictures, and the gentleman  that helped us at Fableist highly recommended it for dinner.

Head to Downtown Paso Robles for dinner and shopping.

We were very lucky that they squeezed us in at Hatch without a reservation.

Downtown Paso Robles is a mix of historical buildings, shops, wine tasting, and restaurants around a green square.  The square also has an updated park, which is perfect for kiddos to get some energy out before dinner.  Here is a link with all of the information you can ever want about downtown.  You may want to catch the Paso Robles Children's Museum too!

It would be very nice to stay down there too in one of the historical hotels, but we might save that for our next trip.  The whole area is very picturesque, and we were able to find street parking very easily despite it being a big festival weekend.  

We settled on Hatch for dinner, and because we were there early, we were able to slip in without a reservation.  (We typically eat early with the kids, as we are working on restaurant manners ALWAYS.)  I would recommend getting a reservation if you eat later as the restaurants are very small and fill quickly.  

Hatch is a rotisserie and bar about a block off of the green square and came highly recommended.  My favorite dish was the butter greens salad, but my kids loved the meatloaf.  I will say that the food was a bit pricey for our family of five, and while we enjoyed our meal, we will probably go with just adults the next time.  There is no kids menu.

After dinner we walked over to the cutest ice creamery the kids spotted as soon as we parked.  I was very pleased that they had a lot of vegan options for me too!  What is very cool is that it is made from sheep's milk, which apparently works for lactose intolerant people.  You honestly cannot tell that it is anything different from cows milk, and it was extremely delicious.  Would absolutely go again!  You can read more about Negranti Creamery here!

When we were all satisfied with our ice cream, we wandered around the shops.  Some were closed for the day, but one that I was very excited about was Ambiance Luxury.  They had a lot of really cute clothes and a large selection of pre owned luxury bags.  It was pretty fun to browse.  All of the stores that we saw were in very cool old buildings with a ton of character.  I loved that.

Head back to your hotel.

My kids were very excited about some smores, but after all of that ice cream we decided to cut the evening short and go to bed.  It was a very fun, but long day.  I was glad that we came back to rest after the tasting as we were super busy all day!

Day Two of Paso Robles with kids.

Hang out until everyone else is awake.

My kids have always been early risers.  No matter what time I put them to bed, they wake up before 7.  Except on the days that they have school.  On those days, I can hardly get them up.  LOL.  At any rate, the RV was magical for kids sleeping, and they all slept until 7:30.  It was nice to relax a bit.  We ate breakfast in our RV (some cereal I had brought from home), and then went back to the pool/games area at our resort.

The splash pad was a big hit!

Head off to another tasting, this time with food.  

On day two we also only scheduled one tasting.  It seems to be the perfect amount for our kids.  They can participate, and not be bored.  Before we went, we picked up some sandwiches to take with us.  Most of the places we went offered charcuterie boards, and little bites for purchase.  I would also suggest that instead of another vineyard, this would be a good time to visit Tin City instead.  We went later in the day (at dinner) and as it doesn't have a ton of food options, we didn't stay.  It is a very good way to try LOTS of local wineries in a condensed time.

Our tasting on day two was an organic, and sustainable, vineyard called Castoro Cellars.  What was especially cool about this vineyard is that they offered a juice tasting for the kids.  It isn't like the grape juice that you find in the stores, and my kids loved it.  We brought two bottles home with us for fancy kiddo occasions.  This vineyard was a bit busier, so the kids weren't able to run around as much, but they did have giant outdoor games that they loved. 

Eating our sandwiches at Castoro, make sure you pack sunscreen!

As Castoro has a distillery across the street, we decided last minute to pop over there.  I did a wine tasting, and my hubby tasted spirits.  We purchased a charcuterie board for a snack, and they had fancy sodas for the kids.  It's called Bethel Road, and it was a really fun place.  It had live music, a resident dog, and sidewalk chalk for the kids.  The bathroom was a fancy port-a-potty, but it was clean.  

Back to Downtown for Dinner, and walking around.

As I mentioned before, we tried to eat at Tin City, but it just didn't have what we were looking for.  If you desire wood fired pizza, or a taco truck, this is the perfect spot.  I really wanted to eat something healthier, so we went back to downtown.  We stumbled into Stokehouse Grill and it was perfect.  It is a very small, family run restaurant.  Don't expect lots of frills, just very good food.  I would also recommend a reservation as it is very small.

After dinner we did a bit more poking around downtown.  As they had a festival going on, my kids were very excited about the farm animals that the 4H kids had in the square for petting.  The often have festivals and events in that area, so you will want to check before you go.

Back to change before the evening entertainment at Sensorio Paso Robles.

You can see them starting to light up as the sun goes down.  It is stunning.

It was very windy that night, and I was very glad that I had packed my puffer.  We all changed into pants, and coats, and drove about 10 minutes east of our RV park (Cava Robles) to Sensorio at Paso Robles.  It is a light installation that is solar powered, so it lights up at dusk.  It is super cool, and you have the option of eating there if you like.  While a permanent structure is due to be completed next year, it is easy to get food/adult beverages from the food trucks around the grounds.  

Sensorio is a ticketed event, so you will want to purchase them ahead of time.  We played some games in the grassy area (I love giant connect four), and then headed to the installation area for dusk.  We waited patiently (some of us more that others), and one by one they began to light up.  It was so cool.  There is a track around the exhibit, so that you can see the whole thing, and a surprise at the end.  The track is over a mile, and while there is a pathway, I don't think it would be easy if you were pushing a wheelchair to traverse the whole thing.

Final thoughts about bringing kids to wine country.

Do it.  I don't think it is for the toddler crowd, as they are hard to contain in busy areas.  My kids are elementary aged and we all had a blast.  They loved being outdoors and experiencing the vineyards.  I love to travel, and will absolutely go back to Paso Robles with my kids.

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