The Coast
Beaches, the harbor, Stearns Wharf, tide pools and the long Pacific light.
Stearns Wharf, end to end
California's oldest working wharf has burned, rotted and been rebuilt more than once. Walk its planks out from State Street and, at the end, the whole town turns around to face you.
A morning at the harbor
Breakwater, boats, sea lions and the Saturday catch: Santa Barbara's small working harbor is also the best place in town to spend a slow morning on foot.
Every beach, compared
From the calm water at Leadbetter to the wide sand of Carpinteria, the beaches of the Santa Barbara coast are not interchangeable. Here is what each one does best.
Also in The Coast
Where to find tide pools
The reefs of the Santa Barbara coast come out of the sea only a few times a month. Know the tide, watch the swell, and look closely at what lives in the cracks.
Whales in the channel
Gray whales pass the beaches in winter and spring, and the largest animals on Earth feed in the channel all summer. On some days you can watch them from a bluff.
Where to watch the sun go down
On a coast that faces south, watching the sun go down into the sea takes a little geography. These are the places where it works, and the months when it works best.
The bluffs and monarchs at Ellwood
On the bluffs west of the university, monarch butterflies hang in the eucalyptus every winter. A flat walk links the grove to the ocean, a sandy beach, a reef and a seasonal lagoon.