Hiking Santa Barbara

A diversity of coastal and Santa Ynez Mountains/Los Padres National Forest hikes abound in and around Santa Barbara. Below is a list of recommended easy, intermediate and more difficult/challenging hikes for the region: 

Easy: 
-Thousand Steps to Mesa Lane 
-Douglas Family Preserve Loop 
-Butterfly Beach 
-Arroyo Burro Trail 
-Knapp's Castle 
-Santa Barbara Harbor 

Intermediate: 
-Inspiration Point and Seven Falls 
-Aliso Canyon Loop 
-Rattlesnake Canyon Trail 
-San Ysidro Falls 
-Romero Canyon Road 

Difficult: 
-Cathedral Peak Trail 
-Buena Vista Loop 
-Montecito Peak 
-ACLCT Loop

Santa Barbara's mild climate affords comfortable hiking conditions along the coastline pretty much throughout the year. Fog can be an issue May through July (have you heard the saying, "May grey" or "June gloom?"), limiting views along the coast for the first half of the day and often burning off for the afternoon, although sometimes the fog lingers all day. Getting up higher on the mountain ridges will often get you above the fog if you are looking for sun. 

Caution: when off the coast, temperatures can be oppressively hot from late spring through summer and into early fall once you get further inland over the first coastal ridge and up into the Los Padres National Forest. If hiking inland or on longer routes in the Los Padres, make sure to hike early and bring plenty of extra water as waters sources are often seasonal and dry outside of winter/early spring. 

Once the rain hits, however, hiking in late winter and early spring in the mountain canyons and Los Padres can be magical when creeks and waterfalls are flowing, wildflowers blooming and California's "green season" is in full swing.

Santa Barbara is chock-full of mid to high-end lodging options as the town itself caters to tourism. Slightly more affordable lodging options are more readily available in both the towns of Carpenteria and Ventura to the south. 

If you're looking to camp, consider one of the state beach campgrounds along the Gaviota Coast west of Santa Barbara (at El Capitan State Beach, Refugio Sate Beach, or Gaviota State Beach) or at Carpenteria State Beach to the south. Some fun glamping options can be found at El Capitan Canyon across Highway 101 from El Capitan State Beach.