Whether you enjoy hiking, fine-dining, water sports, lazing on the beach, culture, or a great night-life, Santa Barbara has something for you.
Its beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, and colorful culture make Santa Barbara a premier resort destination. World-class accommodations and dining await its many visitors.
Santa Barbara is a 2-hour drive north from Los Angeles or a short hop from any corner of the world via the Santa Barbara airport. Santa Barbara’s harbor is home to the world famous Stearns Wharf, a great destination for the entire family. Visiting the zoological gardens makes for a great family day-trip.
From the City, you are just minutes away from the Santa Barbara wine country. The gorgeous Santa Ynez Valley, with its breath-taking vistas, is home to such notable attractions as Solvang and the Chumash Reservation. For more information visit santabarbaraca.gov
Picnic Perfection
By Kerstin Kuhn
The English writer W. Somerset Maugham once wrote that “there are few things so pleasant as a picnic lunch.” And who would disagree? After all, what can beat the delightful simplicity of spreading a blanket and relaxing in nature with your favorite friends and a basket of food?Read More
Polo by the Sea
The historic Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club offers equine thrills for all
Story by Mike Miller, Photos by Michelle Lauren Photography
If you are looking for a thrilling sporting event with lots of action, great food and drinks, majestic horses, and thousands of beautiful people, look no further than the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club. The Central Coast is home to some of the best polo competition in the world, and the Santa Barbara grounds are a destination for both diehard polo fans and those looking to watch the sport for the very first time.Read More
Endless Amusement in the Presidio Neighborhood
With its everlasting summers and picturesque landscapes,
By Zachary Rosen
Santa Barbara is one of the Central Coast’s most popular tourist towns. The combination of stunning scenery and loads of activities, shopping, and dining keeps bringing visitors back. Over the years, new hot spots have popped up in town like the artsy Funk Zone, but for more than 100 years El Presidio has been a social and cultural center of Santa Barbara. And today it remains as active as ever. The neighborhood is filled with boutique shops and popular eateries in a historic setting that tells of Santa Barbara’s roots. While there is a lot to see in the area, it is hard not to spend all day, or even a weekend, around the Presidio.Read More
Connecting the Central Coast to the World
By Tiobe Barron
Radio: since its inception in the early 19th century, it has been a medium that connects, informs, and even comforts during times of upheaval. In the 1930s, families in the United States would gather around “the wireless” to listen to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, gleaning important goings-on of the time. As well, it united and engaged in a way that included those previously disenfranchised by print media, such as those who could not read or were sight-impaired. Important local and national events, everything from boxing matches to elections, were experienced communally in this way, united by radio broadcasts.Read More
Santa Barbara Backroads
The Chumash Highway, SR 154
By Bennett Barthelemy
The first car over the San Marcos Pass is said to have travelled the steep switchbacks in 1910. Today, it is the summit of the Chumash Highway — a two-lane alternative to Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Los Olivos. Horse teams and stagecoaches worked the route after Chinese laborers had hacked out a wide enough path in the early 1860s. Officially dubbed SR-154 in 1964, it was hewn out of a Chumash network of trails traversed by countless feet over some 10,000 years, connecting village sites, springs, rock art panels, and other important points in this small corner of Chumash land.Read More