Atascadero
10333 El Camino Real, Atascadero
Approximately 2,140 employees work at DSH-Atascadero providing round-the-clock care, including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, psychiatric technicians, registered nurses, and other clinical and administrative staff. There are approximately 173 different job classifications at the facility, including hospital police, kitchen staff, custodial staff, warehouse workers, groundskeepers, information technology staff, plant operations staff, spiritual leaders, and other clinical and administrative staff.
Atascadero
This onetime utopian colony is now a central spot for SLO County wine tasting and family-friendly fun.
The Central Coast town of Atascadero is situated at the halfway point between Los Angeles and San Francisco—225 miles from each city—and a short drive from the Pacific coast. While it’s an easy-to-reach getaway, Atascadero has much to offer besides proximity. Golden hills shaded by native oaks and vineyards encircle its historic downtown. Urban beer gardens serve unique quaffs, coffee bars offer casually caffeinated hangouts, and a stunning Italian Renaissance–style City Hall anchors walkable Palma Avenue.
Things to do
Developed in 1913 by magazine publisher E.G. Lewis, Atascadero was created to be a self-sustaining model community that would serve as a foundation for the American Women’s Republic—a place where women could own property and get a university education. Learn more about Lewis’ vision at the Atascadero Historical Society Colony House Museum and the city’s stately 1918 City Hall, which hosts tours Monday through Friday. The adjoining Sunken Garden makes a sweet spot for a picnic or a midday stroll. Also check out The Printery, a 1915 building on the National Register of Historic Places. In Atascadero’s early days, it housed the largest printing operation west of the Mississippi.
The Charles Paddock Zoo—the only zoo on the Central Coast—is home to exotic residents like a Malayan tiger, Caribbean flamingos, red pandas, and black-handed spider monkeys. For more family-friendly activities, check out Margarita Adventures—their zipline tour includes six separate ziplines spanning more than 7,500 feet of oak- and vineyard-studded terrain, and they offer nature and wildlife tours and a challenging escape room experience as well. Kids will have a blast at Mr. Putter’s Putt-Putt, where they can play 18 miniature golf holes or try their luck mining for gems in a sluice box. Grown-up golfers can enjoy the creek-lined undulating greens at Chalk Mountain Course.
Atascadero has plenty of opportunities for hiking, too. Bring your pup to the dog-friendly Jim Green Trail, enjoy a gentle trek around Atascadero Lake Park, or make your lungs work hard on the climb to the 2,624-foot Cerro Alto summit, one of the highest points in San Luis Obispo County.
