Called “The American Riviera”, Santa Barbara is roughly 2 hours north of LA with a city proper of ~90,000 and a few surrounding towns (Goleta, Carpinteria, Montecito) that nudge it up to 150-200,000. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in splendor.
I never realized it growing up, but Santa Barbara has practically anything you’d want to do. This list doesn’t do it justice, but here’s a breakdown of my favorite local spots with links scattered throughout
Top SB Sights
Santa Barbara Courthouse – Built to perfectly match the theme of Santa Barbara, this Courthouse is a temple to everything beautiful about Santa Barbara. From outside it’s full of stunning gardens which routinely host beautiful outdoor events and photo shoots. Once you’re inside head into the Mural room where you’ll see beautiful murals depicting all of SB’s history. And finally to top it all off ;), head to the lighthouse head to the tower to see the best view overlooking the entire city
Santa Barbara Mission and Rose Garden – The Queen of the missions along the CA coast and you can tell it. This mission is just a hair over 200 years old, and is perfect example of old Spanish architecture
Stearns Wharf (Santa Barbara pier) – Built ~150 years ago, this historic pier has long been a beauty back to the time it was featured in the Batman series. Before you walk out, enjoy the famous Santa Barbara dolphins statue at the roundabout. Once you’re out on the pier snag a saltwater taffy and enjoy looking back at the SB foothills and realize why Santa Barbara is called the American Riviera
State Street – The bustling center of Santa Barbara, this street contains all of the shopping you’ll ever need to do. Even if you’re not into that, there’s still plenty to do here from great shopping to a thriving late night scene closer towards the beach (aka lower state street)
The Botanic Gardens – If you’re a nature lover you might be interested to know that Santa Barbara’s mediterranean climate makes it uniquely suited for wildlife. Here you’ll learn this and many more insightful facts about the local flora and fauna
Outdoors
Beaches
Hendry’s Beach– Surrounded by beautiful cliffs, this is one of the few dog friendly beaches in CA
West Beach or East Beach – split by the pier, and though it’s right next to downtown, the beaches are long enough that you can dodge the crowds and enjoy the ocean immediately off the downtown
Haskell’s beach – A local’s favorite beach north SB and in Goleta. Nearby two of the classiest local places – Sandpiper Golf Course and the Ritz Carlton Bacara
Hikes
What makes Santa Barbara unique isn’t the beach, but the mountains nearby creating one of few places where you can go from 3500 feet to the beach in an hour. The areas of these mountains facing the ocean are called the “front country” and they’re littered with incredible hikes. Here’s a few favorites and if you’re getting super adventurous, check out the back of the mountains “backcountry” too
- Easy hike – Inspiration Point
- Perfect for those who’ve hiked before but maybe not super recently
- 3.5 mile hike and starts out steep, but gets gradually easier and prettier towards the top
- Moderate – Rattlesnake Canyon – 4.5 miles and it’s nice and moderate, but it does get steep towards the end
- Hard hike – Cathedral peak – Shorter hike at only 5 miles, but there’s a huge elevation gain and you have to scramble at times
Lookouts
Additionally if you’re one of those people who prefer to look out on the beach from above vs actually walking on it, there’s a few nature preserves with beautiful lookouts over the beach
- More Mesa – 10/15 minutes from downtown and pin is dropped at best parking location
- Ellwood Mesa – 20/25 min from downtown in Goleta, but much larger space and connected to the North Campus Open Space with a lagoon trail surrounding a sanctuary favorited by birdwatchers
Local Restaurants
Freebirds World Burrito – Located nearby the university (UCSB), this is the favorite spot for college kids to eat a burrito the size of their calf that still somehow tastes like it was made by a Michelin star chef. If you go here, get a monster burrito or nachos. Everything else is for wusses
Los Agaves – With a few locations in the area, if you’ve come to California for the first time and need to try out some authentic Mexican food head here. Everything from your standard burrito to Mole, and it all tastes delightful
The BoatHouse – This restaurant is quite literally on the beach and you’ll be hard pressed to find a more stunning place to eat. It’s right next to the dog friendly Hendry’s beach and even though you’ll likely wait 20 or so minutes to get seated, it’s a lot easier when you’re waiting on the beach
The Habit – While In-n-Out often gets more press outside CA, this local chain is thought by most Santa Barbarians as the best burger in the city. There’s a few locations throughout the town and all of them will offer the same amount of deliciousness
Blenders in the Grass – A local smoothie chain so popular that the term “Blenders” fully replaced smoothie in the local lexicon. There’s multiple stores throughout the area and its perfect for any hot day
SB farmer’s market – Not technically a restaurant, but due to the high amount of local produce, this farmer’s market is one of the best you’ll ever walk into
Nightlife
The Funk Zone – previously the old industrial area of town, the Funk Zone has been fully revitalized. It’s by far the best place to enjoy a drink in Santa Barbara as many local wineries have tasting rooms here, it’s super walkable, and there’s lovely outdoor seating. It’s hard to go wrong here, but here’s a few specifics in case you’re extra nervous
- The Lark – A collection of multiple small restaurants all linked together in one complex
- Figueroa Mountain – one of SB’s best local breweries
- Paradise Springs Winery one of many wineries in the funk zone where you can enjoy some amazing local wines without going inland all the way to the vineyards
Cold Spring Tavern – Technically this is a bit outside of town, but this watering hole is a 100 years old and still a hell of a time
M Special – With two locations (one in Goleta and one in Santa Barbara), perfect if you’re looking for couple of drinks, outdoors, a nice conversation, but not too much more than that
SB Wine Country
Santa Barbara vineyards are located ~45 minutes north in the Santa Ynez valley. Wineries are scattered throughout the entire Santa Ynez valley, but a good place for those new to the area is the Foxen County wine trail. Along this trip, you’ll find some amazing favorites including
Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard – The original Davy Crocket, Fess Parker was a local legend and his winery is a perfect homage to his legacy.
Firestone Vineyard – If your family made a ton of money on tires, what would be better to do than create a stunning winery
Koehler Winery – This winery is lovely, but the real treat is there’s a fence in the back next to an Emu park treating you to a truly unique experience
Reminder!! Most vineyards close at 5PM so get there early and if there’s one you particularly like, make reservations ahead of time
Solvang – 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara, Solvang was originally founded by Danish immigrants who brought so much of their lifestyle it is now known as a little Denmark. Full of Danish windmills, this is a perfect place to stay an extra day or two and since it’s in wine country the downtown has tons of tasting rooms
Miscellaneous notes:
Temperature
SB’s average highs and lows range between 50s and 70s almost all year long. While the temperature is almost perfect, there are two things to note when hitting the beach
- Due to the mountains there is a “marine layer” and clouds often last until roughly lunchtime before the sun comes out. This is fairly consistent which is why locals repeat “it’ll burn through”
- SB water temperature is colder than you think. Because it’s farther north along the Pacific, SB receives portions of the Arctic current and
Transport
If you’re not located in Santa Barbara, there’s a few ways to get into the area:
- The most convenient route is flying into the Santa Barbara airport. This used to be extremely expensive/difficult, but now that Southwest recently added flights its only moderately expensive
- The prettiest route is driving along the 101 freeway as a portion of a longer trip from San Francisco to San Diego (or vice versa). This coast highway journey is one of the best ways to see the coast of California and Santa Barbara is about halfway along this journey
- And the “cheapest” way to arrive is by flying into LAX and either taking the SB airbus or more likely renting a car and driving in. Rest assured though, you’ll have plenty of beach views along your drive
- Extra credit option too is taking the Amtrak to Santa Barbara which is beautiful from whatever direction you go, but often quite difficult to pull off
Additionally, while the downtown SB area is incredibly walkable, getting to most other areas (wineries, hikes, Mission, beaches) outside the city center is difficult without a car. If you’re more cost conscious, I’d still recommend paying up to rent a car as there’s so many free outdoor activities it enables.