4 Days in Santa Barbara in July

I%26#39;m coming to California with my wife for our 10th Anniversary. Part of the trip will be spending 4 days in the SB area. Looking for the ';must-sees'; of Santa Barbara. Any advice for beach, hiking, shopping, area sights, etc....

Thanks in advance,

Destiple

4 Days in Santa Barbara in July

Hi and welcome to the Forums! You will love Santa Barbara. Don%26#39;t miss Stearn%26#39;s Wharf, shopping on State Street, the gorgeous beaches and maybe a trip out to Los Olivos wine country. These were the highlights of our trip. :)

4 Days in Santa Barbara in July

Here is a very good site for hiking in the SB area: http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/

This is also a good website: http://www.sb-outdoors.org/Trails/

Many of the mountain hikes are either in the Santa Ynez Mtn front country or along the Santa Ynez River on Paradise Road. My favorite hikes on the front country are the San Ysidro trail - there is a nice small fall and swimming hole to use as a destination - and the Cold Springs trail to Tangerine Falls. The final few steps to the base of Tangerine Falls are a bit precarious. Make sure you have good balance.

Along Paradise Rd and the Santa Ynez River, a lot of locals, perhaps tourists, too, swim in the River, especially at the end of the road at Red Rock. Park in the lot and follow the teenagers on the 1 mile walk to Red Rock.

There are also nice hikes along the beach. UCSB and Coal Oil Point are nice, but you%26#39;ll have to pay for parking or risk a parking ticket. More Mesa is a nice open space along the beach. And there are at least 4 restaurants situated right on or next to the sand. Unfortunately, I can%26#39;t remember their names, right now.

This is a good website for Santa Barbara: http://www.santabarbara.com/

Oh, and I should mention, that the trail to Tangerine Falls can be hard to follow for the last third or so. Your sense of direction and trail finding ability should be good before tackling that trail. But the first third of the trail is easy to follow and very nice as it follows Cold Springs Creek.

Walk the Red Tile Tour. The highlights are the Art Museum and the Courthouse - take in the view from the clock tower, and of the mural room. santabarbaracarfree.org/pdf_files/redtile.pdf

For a driving tour, visit the Santa Ynez Valley by driving north over the San Marcos Pass, hiway 154, west to Solvang on hwy 246. Visit Solvang, and return to Santa Barbara south on Alisal Rd to 101 south. Some side trips and sights on this route include Knapp%26#39;s Castle off of E Camino Cielo (check the hiking web site), Cold Spring Tavern off of Stagecoach Rd, Paradise Rd, Lake Cachuma (rent a boat), miniature horses off of Alamo Pintado Rd, the Chumash Casino, Figueroa Mtn Rd outside of Los Olivos, Los Olivos itself, and Nojoqui Falls off of Alisal Rd.

Another possibility, (it will take a good part of a day), is to take a hike on Anacapa Island. Boats leave out of Oxnard, with Island Packers.

Here is a post on beaches in Santa Barbara:

tripadvisor.com/…3214895