10 Best Beaches in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is a gorgeous southern California beach town infused with Spanish culture and surrounded by the stunning Santa Ynez mountains. The best beaches in Santa Barbara range from long stretches of sandy coastline to secluded beaches with a backdrop of tall cliffs.
Santa Barbara offers a variety of beaches to choose from, depending on what type of experience you want. Choose between a large area of sand where you can play beach volleyball, a more private beach where you can take a stroll and explore tidepools, or a beach to lay out and have a relaxing day in the sunshine.
Whether you spend a day in Santa Barbara or a weekend in Santa Barbara, visiting the best beaches in Santa Barbara will likely be one of your top activities!
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What To Bring to the Beach
Sunscreen: Coola face and body sunscreen are reef-safe and cruelty-free sunscreen that goes on like a nice moisturizer without a white cast. It’s my favorite sunscreen!
Turkish towel: Beach towels are lovely, but Turkish towels are great since they’re thin and lightweight, but still dry you off well. They’re perfect for travel since they don’t take up too much space.
Sun hat: A hat is great for extra sun protection if you plan to spend an extended period at the beach!
Sunglasses: I love a cheap pair of sunglasses and ASOS has my all-time favorite pair.
Mini cooler: This is optional, but a mini cooler is great if you want to keep your drinks cold or pack sandwiches for a picnic lunch.
Water bottle: Stay hydrated on hot days at the best beaches in Santa Barbara with an insulated water bottle that keeps your water cold all day long.
10 Best Beaches in Santa Barbara
Butterfly Beach
The best beach in Santa Barbara is easily Butterfly Beach. It is in Montecito, just south of Santa Barbara, in front of the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel. You’ll find many locals at Butterfly Beach enjoying the sunshine on warm days, taking their dogs for a walk along the long stretch of beach, and swimming or paddleboarding in the ocean.
During high tide, some of the beach will be inaccessible since the tide completely covers the sand. Check tides before you go to ensure the tide is going out or at a low point!
Pack a picnic lunch and spend the day here (though there are no bathrooms), or just come to watch the sunset. It’s also a great spot for a morning stroll along the beach — especially if you’re staying nearby in Montecito.
- Bathrooms? No
- Dogs allowed? Leashed
- Parking? Street parking
Arroyo Burro Beach (Hendry’s)
Arroyo Burro Beach, also known as Hendry’s Beach, is north of downtown Santa Barbara. It’s a smaller beach flanked by tall cliffs on either side, which make it feel more private/secluded.
This is a popular spot for walking/running dogs along the shoreline. Arroyo Burro Beach is one of the most dog-friendly beaches in Santa Barbara. Dogs are allowed off-leash on the beach to the left (when facing the ocean) of Arroyo Burro Creek.
The parking lot is small and can fill up quickly since it’s for both the beach and Boathouse at Hendry’s, the restaurant on the beach.
Tip: Boathouse at Hendry’s is a great place to grab breakfast/brunch before spending the day at the beach!
- Bathrooms? Yes
- Dogs allowed? Off-leash
- Parking? Parking lot
Leadbetter Beach
Another one of the best beaches in Santa Barbara is Leadbetter Beach. It’s next to the Santa Barbara Harbor and at the base of Santa Barbara City College, which is situated on the cliffs. This beach has a long shoreline and a grassy beach park with picnic tables and BBQs.
The sunsets here are incredible year-round, but it has some of the best ones in winter! Bring a picnic and BBQ at the beach park, or grab some takeout from the walk-up window at Shoreline Beach Cafe and enjoy some fish tacos on the beach.
Leadbetter is a popular beach and can get crowded on hot summer days on the weekend, but it’s such a large beach you can usually still find spots if you walk further down. There is also a large paid parking lot that almost always has open spots.
- Bathrooms? Yes
- Dogs allowed? No
- Parking? Paid parking lot
East Beach
East Beach extends between Stearns Wharf and the beginning of Montecito. It’s one of the most visited beaches in Santa Barbara due to its proximity to downtown hotels and State Street. Tourists typically choose to visit this beach since many stay within walking distance of it.
This beach is a long stretch of coastline with a large sandy area, volleyball courts, and multiple parking lots. Volleyball tournaments are hosted here several times a year and are a fun event to watch! There is also a restaurant on the beach if you want to grab a bite to eat.
On Sundays, there is an art walk with booths along the sidewalk that runs parallel to East Beach. My favorite bike path in Santa Barbara also runs parallel to this beach. There are palm trees lining the start of the beach, which makes it incredibly picturesque and has the typical Southern California vibes.
- Bathrooms? Yes
- Dogs allowed? No
- Parking? Parking lot / Street parking
West Beach
Stearns Wharf is the border between East Beach and West Beach and is actually built on top of West Beach. West Beach is the smaller sister beach to East Beach. It’s along the same stretch of the coast, but not as popular at its neighboring beach.
West Beach is a great spot to watch sailors and kayakers coming and going since they often take off from this beach. If you want to swim, this isn’t the ideal beach since many boats are offshore from West Beach.
In addition to the people partaking in water activities, you’ll also see people biking past on the bike path that runs parallel to the beach and people with metal detectors searching for treasures in the sand.
With close proximity to Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara Harbor, and downtown, you’ll be near plenty of restaurants and other facilities.
- Bathrooms? Yes, at Stearns Wharf
- Dogs allowed? No
- Parking? Parking lots / Street parking
Goleta Beach Park
Just outside of the front gates of the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Goleta Beach Park is a lovely beach below the college campus on the bluffs.
This is one of the most family-friendly beaches since it has a kids’ play area, bathrooms, and tons of parking right next to the beach. It has a large grass area with picnic tables and BBQs that almost always have giant birthday parties and family gatherings in the afternoons.
There is a simple, small pier you can walk down. Fishermen will fish off this pier and there is also a boat launch open to the public. If you walk down to the end of the pier, look out for dolphins surfacing nearby in the ocean!
- Bathrooms? Yes / No
- Dogs allowed? No / Leashed / Off-leash
- Parking? Parking lot / Street parking
Devereaux Beach
In Isla Vista, the one-square-mile college town next to UCSB, there are a few beaches around the base of the cliffs. Devereaux Beach is one of the best beaches in this area and is a popular spot for the college students who live nearby.
It’s not as much of a tourist beach since it’s at the very end of Isla Vista and over 10 miles from downtown Santa Barbara. There is a short staircase down to the beach, which the tide sometimes reaches the base of. At high tide, you may need to dodge the small waves and run onto the beach as they go out.
This beach is great for tidepooling during low tide, and you can find sea anemones, muscles, small fish, crabs, hermit crabs, and occasionally tiny octopuses! Please do not pick up any sea creatures — look with your eyes only.
The bluffs above the beach are also a popular sunset spot for Isla Vista residents.
- Bathrooms? No
- Dogs allowed? Leashed
- Parking? Parking lot / Street parking
Sands Beach
Sands Beach is at Coal Oil Point, around the cliff corner from Devereaux Beach. The trail on the bluffs above Devereaux leads to Sands, or you can walk across Devereaux (at low tide) and around the corner to reach Sands.
Some areas of this beach are protected due to the endangered Snowy Plover birds that nest here. For this reason, dogs (and other animals) are no longer allowed on the beach as of early 2024.
Surfers can often be seen catching waves here, especially in winter. Even if you don’t surf, Sands is a nice beach to spend a sunny day. It feels more secluded since it’s smaller and has tall cliffs surrounding part of it. Fewer people also make the walk down the trail to get to Sands, so it’s usually less crowded than Devereaux.
- Bathrooms? No
- Dogs allowed? No
- Parking? Limited street parking + 0.6 mile walk
One Thousand Steps Beach
While there are of course not really 1,000 steps to reach this beach, there is a long staircase with a couple hundred steps. One Thousand Steps Beach is much more hidden than most beaches in Santa Barbara, making it less crowded than others.
The stairs to the beach are on a dead-end street in a residential neighborhood without any parking (aside from the small street, which doesn’t often have empty spots).
This beach is not ideal for laying out. It’s best for a short walk along the beach, tidepooling at low tide, and watching the sunset. Thousand Steps Beach is another beach that is best visited during low tide, as the tide can reach all the way up to the base of the stairs.
- Bathrooms? No
- Dogs allowed? Off-leash
- Parking? Street parking
Mesa Lane Beach
Mesa Lane is a small beach mostly only known to locals You won’t find many tourists here as the entrance is pretty well hidden within a residential area, similar to One Thousand Steps Beach.
It’s located between One Thousand Steps Beach and Hendry’s Beach. Mesa Lane is not accessible during high tide since it covers almost the entire beach, but during low tide, you can walk from Mesa Lane to Hendry’s Beach. It’s a small beach, but absolutely beautiful.
This beach also could have been named One Thousand Steps Beach, as there is a long staircase you have to walk down to reach the beach from the cliffs. You can avoid the stairs by starting at Hendry’s Beach and walking approximately one mile down the beach to reach Mesa Lane Beach.
- Bathrooms? Yes / No
- Dogs allowed? No / Leashed / Off-leash
- Parking? Parking lot / Street parking
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