Need a tow? Towing in Nipomo, CA
Nipomo sits 7 road miles from Santa Maria, just over the river at exit 179, Tefft Street. Day or night we tow cars there, jump dead batteries and pull vehicles out of the sand, and every price is agreed while you're still on the line.
Cross the river with us: the 101 route to Nipomo's exits
The drive from central Santa Maria to Nipomo is about 7 miles: north on the 101, over the Santa Maria River and into San Luis Obispo County, past exit 175 - where the 166 heads off toward Maricopa and Bakersfield - and on to exit 179 at Tefft Street.
Nipomo's exits are 179 for Tefft Street and 180 for Willow Road, with 182 a bit farther north for Los Berros Road and Thompson Road. The stretch of freeway through town, finished in 1957, is called the Nipomo Mesa Freeway. Thompson Avenue was the old 101: it still crosses Tefft Street downtown, runs alongside the freeway down to the 166 south of town, and southbound drivers reach it from exit 182.
The river also marks the county line, so once you're across it, both the sheriff's office and the CHP office are different ones - more on that below. What we do doesn't change: at any hour, you get the price and a time window before we leave.
Say which side of the freeway you're on: Tefft Street, Willow Road and the Mesa
County planners in San Luis Obispo describe US 101 as cutting Nipomo in two, and local traffic can only get across it at Tefft Street or Willow Road. Tefft is the main road through town, busy all day and at its worst during commutes. In 2021 County Public Works widened both Tefft Street off-ramps and added signals that give Tefft longer green lights; that project also limited South Frontage Road to a right turn onto Tefft. Back in 2007, when the county adopted its West Tefft plan, it counted roughly 7,000 vehicles a day on Tefft near Thompson and over 15,000 near Mary Avenue.
That's why it matters which half of town you're in. Downtown Nipomo sits where the old highway, Thompson Avenue, crosses Tefft Street, and since the freeway opened in 1957 the town has spread west from Thompson toward it, with the West Tefft Street business district across the 101 from the old center. If our truck gets off at the wrong crossing, it has to double back - the county's planners themselves say the freeway barrier generally slows response to service calls in Nipomo. So tell us your side, and name a cross street near the car.
According to the West Tefft plan, Nipomo Creek is the dividing line: the ground east of it is clay, while the Nipomo Mesa is sand, the remains of an ancient dune field. If a tire slips off the pavement into that sand, every spin digs it deeper rather than helping it climb out. Allow yourself a single easy try; if the car doesn't move, stop and call us for a Nipomo Mesa sand winch-out - our truck stays on the pavement and lets the winch cable do the pulling.
Call the right office: San Luis Obispo County covers Nipomo
Nipomo isn't an incorporated city. It's a census-designated place in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County, ZIP code 93444, with 18,176 residents at the 2020 Census - which means Santa Maria police and Santa Barbara County agencies have no role there.
The CHP's San Luis Obispo Area patrols the 101 from the Santa Barbara County line north to Highway 58, and lists Nipomo as one of the unincorporated communities in its care. Under the CHP's enforcement policy, that covers Nipomo's local streets along with the freeway. Its office is at 675 California Boulevard in San Luis Obispo and is open weekdays from 8 to 5.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office serves Nipomo from its South Station, 1681 Front Street in Oceano. There's no Freeway Service Patrol on this part of the 101 either, so if you break down near Tefft Street, help comes from the CHP and whichever tow company gets the call.
- Towed off the 101 or after a collision
- CHP San Luis Obispo Area at (805) 594-8700
- Moved by a sheriff's deputy
- South Station in Oceano, (805) 473-7100, or Sheriff's dispatch, (805) 781-4550
- Taken from a private parking lot
- CVC 22658 requires the entrance sign to name each towing company and give its number, along with the phone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency
Choosing between the wheel-lift, the flatbed and the winch in Nipomo
On a 7-mile trip back to a shop in Santa Maria, the car - not the mileage - decides which truck comes. A front-wheel-drive car can ride the wheel-lift with its driven wheels off the road. AWD and electric cars, low cars and motorcycles need the flatbed, and anything stuck in sand gets pulled out with the winch before it goes on either truck.
If your car dies in a lane between the river and Los Berros Road, or can't steer after a collision on a Tefft Street ramp, you need emergency towing on the Nipomo Mesa Freeway - and if you're sitting in a traffic lane, call 911 before anyone else.
We only handle light-duty work: passenger cars, pickups, SUVs, vans and motorcycles. A loaded farm truck or a large motorhome needs heavier equipment than ours, and you'll know that before you wait. Your price comes from the distance, the truck and the time at the scene - how we price a Nipomo tow walks through all three.
Heading on from Nipomo: north to Arroyo Grande, south to Santa Maria
Keep going north on the 101 and you reach Arroyo Grande, just past Nipomo, and the rest of the Five Cities. Turn south, cross the river again, and you're back in Santa Maria, where our full towing service runs day and night.
Frequently asked questions
I'm stuck in Nipomo - do your trucks come out this far?
Nipomo is about 7 miles by road from central Santa Maria: up the 101, over the Santa Maria River and off at exit 179, Tefft Street. At any hour, you'll get the price and a time window on the phone. Tell us which side of the freeway you're on, because within Nipomo only Tefft Street and Willow Road cross it.
Nipomo has no city police - so who has the record of my tow?
Nipomo is unincorporated San Luis Obispo County, so there's no city police department. Tows from the 101, or from a collision on Nipomo roads, go through the CHP San Luis Obispo Area at (805) 594-8700, and the Sheriff's South Station in Oceano answers at (805) 473-7100. If a property owner had your car removed from a lot, the no-parking sign at the entrance lists the towing companies that work there and their phone numbers.
My tire slid off the road into Mesa sand - should I keep trying to drive out?
One easy attempt is fine; after that, stop. The county describes the Mesa as sandy soil left by an ancient dune field, and a tire that drops off the pavement there buries itself deeper with every spin. Call Santa Maria Tow Truck, describe what the tire is sunk in, and we'll arrive with the winch line and recovery straps.
I thought Nipomo was in Santa Barbara County - is it?
No. Nipomo lies in San Luis Obispo County, north of the Santa Maria River, which forms the county line; Santa Maria and Orcutt are on the Santa Barbara County side. That's why the CHP San Luis Obispo Area and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff, not Santa Maria's agencies, handle tows in Nipomo.
My car broke down near Nipomo - which exit should I tell you?
Tell us northbound or southbound, and name the latest exit you went by: 179 is Tefft Street, 180 is Willow Road, 182 is Los Berros Road and Thompson Road, and 175, north of the river, is where the 166 splits off toward Maricopa and Bakersfield. That number tells our driver which side of the freeway to approach from.
In Nipomo, your side of the freeway decides our route - lead with it
Share these details and the Nipomo price is settled before we cross the river.
- East or west of the 101 - plus the last exit sign you saw, or a cross street close by
- Your ride - make, model and year, and its drivetrain if it isn't two-wheel drive
- What's going on - stuck in Mesa sand, dead on a ramp, crashed, a flat, or keys locked inside
- Its next stop - a garage in Nipomo, a Santa Maria dealer or your driveway