Morro Bay Maritime Museum

Very nice and interesting outdoor maritime displays. The small one room museum is free of charge but they recommend a $5 donation per visitor. I'm guessing that the maritime museum is run by volunteers. If so, they are doing a great job at it! The displays are very well taken care of. The outdoor signage on the displays were not faded at all. You can tell that whoever set up the museum and put items on display were very devoted and passionate. Very nice stop while visiting Morro Bay.

The museum is very small yet full of history and the two males in there were very nice and knowledgeable. I believe they volunteer. There is a lot of parking g space and admission is free however donations are welcome. There are boats and submarines. Children are welcome and they are allow to get into the attractions. It is clean and wheelchairs can be accommodate. Be respectful and enjoy!

Morro Bay Maritime Museum. This place is my favorite place. There was no fee but the place was amazing. It had a lot of boats and boat-related stuff 🛶. On one of the boats, you could go inside the engine inside the boat and have a good look at it. It was very cool. This is a great place to just drop by have some fun and enjoy. The customer service is really chill. Overall if you find your way back from the engine room it is one of the best places I’ve ever seen. It was just excellent 👌.

It's a cute little place.

This is such a hidden gem. The people running the museum are so warm and friendly and happy to share local history, and the exhibits outside are fantastic (there's one about knots, one about how block and tackle works)! Highly recommend visiting and supporting this local treasure :)

Gave it a drive-by. :) Parking was pretty full, as there was a Sunday Morning Cruise/Car Event as well. Saw the MYSTIC DSRV parked out front, which was pretty cool!

This museum may be small, but they have a number of beautifully restored exhibits and great historic information. Don't miss out and please donate.

FUN time. Thankful for this generous non-profit for preserving intriguing maritime history. Small enough to absorb the info. Mr. Steele was quite friendly, welcoming. Location perfect. Sunny, breezy.

Most of the exhibits are outside, but if you want to visit the museum itself, don't visit on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The museum is rather small, but the docent was extremely nice and informative. For some reason, they didn't want us taking pictures of the stuff inside. Not sure why. The videos in the back corner weren't working, but I suspect that was because the TV was turned off. The highlight for me was the Avalon. It's a lot larger than it seems from looking at the posted pictures. And it has been repainted within the last few years too. Some of the other submersibles gave me claustrophobia just by looking at them. They were tiny!

I met a very knowledgeable and passionate volunteer. The woman working at the front desk was actually a board member and was very open about sharing stories from her family in Morro Bay. Despite the small size of the room, we spent a packed half hour inside and I had a fascinating experience.

This is a cool place to check out towards the end of the Embarcadero in the Morro Bay. There are exhibits on maritime history and check out the vessels!

The Morro Bay Maritime Museum is located at 1210 Embarcadero, across from the T-Pier (Otter viewing area), on the Morro Bay waterfront. During the summer months, it is open every day, from 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. There is no charge for admission. Parking is free & plentiful. When driving down the waterfront towards Morro Rock, the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) "Avalon" can be readily seen. The "Avalon", was launched in 1972. It is one of only two cold-war era rescue submarines developed by the U.S. Navy, and featured in the 1990 film "Hunt for Red October", and the 2018 film "Hunter Killer". Also on exhibit, is a Two-Person Submersible "Abalone Sub". One can not miss it by the bright yellow color, and it's notable configuration is quite unique. The vehicle was conceived by a resident & his son in the nearby city of Arroyo Grande. The prospect of locating and harvesting deep water abalone provided the original motivation for building this submersible. However, no abalone were ever taken using this vessel. Nevertheless, the craft is still referred to by some as the "Abalone Sub". The large red & black historic WWII tug, "Alma", is also on the grounds. Built in 1927, the "Alma" is a surviving example of a "gas boat" or "line boat". This type of wooden vessel was common to the California harbors well into the mid 20th century. After WWII and into the early 1990's, the "Alma" continued to work as a tug and line boat. It was retired in mid 1990's, and in 2002 it was restored and became a permanent land-based matritime display. Refer to the kiosk photos or the museum's website for more information on the vessels. There are many other maritime items on display inside and outside the museum. There is a public restroom available behind the exhibits.

It's small, but it's only short walk from the main tourist area. Is it worth it? Sure, why not, it's free! There isn't much here and perhaps just driving by it will satisfy your curiosity, but it's really cool to see the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle up close. Open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The good news is you can freely walk the property everyday!

What this little museum lacks in size, it makes up for in information and quality! Free admission, with a $3 suggested donation, which I highly encourage so that we can keep this fantastic gem open! But it truly is a free admission either way. Volunteers at the museum are very informative and welcoming. Many things to look at and learn from including a historical/educational video, models, fun tees and souvenirs, watercraft displays outside, interesting discoveries. Never know what you might learn! And if you have any questions at all, the volunteers are full of interesting stories and information as well! Nicely done!!

Morro Bay Maritime Museum is a small museum that is free to the public, with its own parking lot (that provides free parking). My husband, our little girl dog and I decided to visit this museum right when we arrived in Morro Bay this afternoon. When we first walked over, we were greeted by 2 volunteers sitting outside welcoming guests. One male volunteer told us about the Abalone Sub that is right outside the entrance to the museum (inside is the size of a small room). This 2 person submarine was built by a father and son from Arroyo Grande. The sub itself was designed but an instructor at Cal Poly SLO. The submarine itself never actually was used to gather abalone, even though that was the initial plan. Around the corner from this yellow submarine is the Alma, which was a tug boat used during WWII. Right in front of the Alma is the United States Coast Guard surf rescue boat. Visitors can actually go up and sit inside the survivor section of the boat and take a look at part of the engine. Right in front of the museum is the deep submergence rescue vehicle. Now back inside this small museum (it was nice that we were able to bring our little girl inside with us), you will find the gift shop and a small display and information about the boats outside and a little bit more information about maritime history, specifically to the central coast. A short trip but worth a visit if you are visiting this part of Morro Bay. Please note that there are public restrooms available in the parking lot (not porta potties) in case you need to use them. There are plenty of public restrooms available all along Embarcadero though.

The maritime museum is a treasure to the area. Even though the museum itself is small it was fun to go in and look around. The museum host was full of information and a joy to talk to. If you go in I recommend looking at the gift section area. If you like bottle openers I would get one from them they are 2.79 and they feel heavy in the hand giving a great feel. Don't miss out on the boats in the back lot which were an awesome sight, especially the coast guard boat which can self-right itself.

Very educational and nice to look at. History at it's finest. A must stop for historians or buffs.

Small, non-profit, community based museums like this one contribute so much to the cultural identity of a town. This is a 100 percent volunteer run organization and they continue to thrive all while running a free-of-charge experience for visitors and families with small children. Keep up the good work!

What a great little museum with a lot of history. The curators were really enthusiastic and informative. Great people, great place and free admission. Can't beat it!

All the five star rating is not about the size of the museum or the number of items that are on display, but it's about the quality of a new Museum that is finally gotten open to help understand Maritime history and a little bit more about the central coast and what has transpired over the decades on the ocean and in the bottom of the deep blue sea. The docents are quite knowledgeable and will help you understand anything that you have questions about. We've been watching the deep sea rescue vehicle that is outside, the big stainless steel submarine, that was exactly the one that was used or at least portrayed on The Hunt for Red October. There are only two of those in the world and we are quite happy to have one here in Morro Bay. All the displays are well-maintained and I encourage you to take the time to watch the videos that they have setting inside, it brings to light a whole lot of history the most people don't have a clue about. Rather than be a spoiler I'm just going to say go take an hour look it over have some fish and chips on the Embarcadero go watch the otters in the bay and enjoy yourself