[6] The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition, camped in the vicinity of today's Cayucos on September 9, 1769.

Coming from the previous campsite near Morro Bay, Franciscan missionary and expedition member Juan Crespi noted in his diary that "In the four hours that we traveled, making at the most three leagues, we encountered eight arroyos by which the water from the mountains runs to the sea, along whose edge we traveled.

"[7] Crespi translator Herbert Bolton noted the camp location as Ellysley Creek (further along the coast to the northwest), but the description sounds more like Cayucos.

It was named after the canoes used by the Chumash people to fish in the bay, particularly in the rich kelp beds just north of the current Cayucos pier.

In 1867, Captain James Cass settled on 320 acres (1.29 km2) of this land, and founded the town of Cayucos.

Cass began developing the area with his business partner, Captain Ingals.

Cass built a 900-foot pier and a warehouse to house cargo bound for San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Phillips subdivided and sold the remaining portions of Rancho Moro y Cayucos.

[8] On December 7, 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, bound from Los Angeles International Airport to San Francisco, was cruising above the central California coast when a recently terminated disgruntled USAir employee aboard the plane shot his ex-supervisor, both pilots, a flight attendant and presumably PSA's chief pilot, before deliberately inducing a steep nosedive with the aircraft.

[10] In October 2009, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine listed Cayucos as one of the "Coolest Small Towns in America".

There were 2,354 housing units at an average density of 677.0 per square mile (261.4/km2), of which 781 (59.4%) were owner-occupied, and 533 (40.6%) were occupied by renters.

The Cayucos Pier is a popular surf spot and one of the best in the county, attracting many beachgoers.