Only open on Sundays 9:30am to 1pm, ($10 adult/$5 children). But still worth a visit to the lighthouse just for the views. There are steps down to both pier beach (where there is also a pier to walk out on) and Surf back Beach and a small car park that makes it quite accessible. Well maintained walking tracks along the cliff tops to Rip View lookout.
Only open on Sundays 9:30am to 1pm. ($10 adult/$5 children). But still worth a visit to the lighthouse just for the views. There are steps down to both pier beach (where there is also a pier to walk out on) and Surf back Beach and a small car park that makes it quite accessible. Well maintained walking tracks along the cliff tops to Rip View lookout.
FREE
Monarchs are usually found in Goleta from mid-November through mid-February and our docents are available on weekends from 11am-2pm during these months. The Grove is open for viewing every day during daylight hours and there is no admission fee. Plan your trip.
During the cool early mornings, you can see the largest amount of butterflies. However they are most active on warm afternoon
Heading up to Solvang, see the Lake Cachuma . Park rangers were nice and let us park free for 15 minutes. The camp grounds were packed with tents and trailers but were far enough from the water to Not ruin the view. The lake was a little evaporated but still beautiful.
Very peaceful. Very tranquil. They offer lake cruises
The drought has taken its toll on this much loved lake and the fall in water levels has had a knock-on effect on the accompanying activities - boating, camping etc. Staff are really helpful but the drought blights all. Avoid until the rains come again. as at Sept 2016
You can walk along the stretch of park, even have a picnic if you want. Walk all the way to the northern end and there are stairs you can walk down to the beach. climb down to some caves and see the kayakers
This beach gets its name from the original access which has since been “disconnected”. It is located below the Ventana Grill in Pismo Beach. There is an old spiral staircase that used to provide access from the restaurant to the beach, but it has been condemned and is no longer connected to the bluff above. Without the ramp to the old stairs there is no way to get down to the beach. The beach is small anyway and gone at high tide, but it used to provide access to sea caves in the area that were reachable at low tides. This is still a great place to stop and look over the edge. The dilapidated staircase and the shoreline here are quite photogenic
Park Description:
Walking the short trail to gaze at the falls makes what is already a stimulating setting even more memorable. Able to accommodate large groups, Nojoqui has become a favorite site for company and family outings. Its location is convenient, yet far enough from civilization to be refreshing.
Park Features:
Ball Fields, BBQ Grills, Benches or Picnic Tables, Group Picnic Areas, Hiking Trails, Playground, Restrooms.
Fun Fact!
In 1944, the initial 58 acres of Nojoqui Falls Park were donated by the Petan Company. The westerly 27 acres were purchased in 1968.
Location:
Nojoqui Falls is 1 &1/2 miles east of Highway 101 near Gaviota Pass. From Highway 101, take the Old Coast Road to Alisal Road; from Solvang, follow Alisal Road south to the park.
Get Directions to this park
Hours:
8:00 AM to Sunset
Hans Christian Andersen Park is a huge, beautiful park filled with pine trees. To enter, you drive through a castle! Then you come to the skate park which has cavernous half pipes that will challenge any skater! A small wooden playground is behind the skate park, which is handy if you have an older skater and a young child.
Continue driving through the park and you come to a playground with tall twisty slides in a grassy valley. The play structure has three levels and feels crazy high! Climb a ladder to the third level and then slide down the curved tunnel slide. It's a blast even for older kids! There's a music-making station with well-tuned chimes, and a rock-climbing wall. Plenty of trees and picnic tables are scattered throughout the park, including a child-sized picnic table at the playground. Because this playground has such wild, high slides, my kids slid and ran and laughed and climbed, more happy than they usually are at a playground and it's a happy memory.
This park is great in winter. In summer, come early in the day before the small valley where the playground is located heats to a blistering temperature.
On the way to this park, you will pass Bethania Lutheran Church on the corner of Atterdag Rd and Laurel Ave. It's the sweetest architectural accomplishment! Inside, it is themed around the seafaring Scandinavians and a ship hangs from the ceiling. Check it out!
Head over to Solvang for something to eat and to walk around the charming town. For an absolutely amazing medieval playground nearby, check out Sunnyfields Park.
Mesa Lane Beach is a narrow beach below the West Mesa neighborhood of Santa Barbara. At low tides, this beach is wide enough for sunbathing and beach sports, but at high tide there is little dry sand. It requires a hike down a steep stairway to reach the beach here. It’s ironic that it takes more stair steps to get to the beach at Mesa Lane than at Thousand Steps Beach just east of here. West of Mesa Lane Beach the beach continues to be narrow below the Douglas Family Preserve and eventually opens up at Arroyo Burro Beach, aka Hendry’s. You can get to Mesa Lane Beach by turning toward the ocean onto Mesa Lane from Cliff Drive and continuing to the end at Edgewater Way. There is no parking lot at this location, but there are street parking spaces all along Mesa Lane and other streets nearby. A paved path leads to the top of the stairs.
Thousand Steps Beach is a rock and sand beach below homes high on the bluff in the East Mesa area of Santa Barbara. It requires a long hike down a stairway to get to the beach. The concrete stairs, originally constructed in 1923, have what seems like 1000 steps, but is actually closer to 150. The spot where you land on the beach is only a short jaunt from Shoreline Park Beach just to the east. Beaches along this shoreline are not known for sunbathing, but they are excellent places for tide pool exploration at low tide, and beach walking except at high tide when the beaches are all wet. If you walk far enough west you’ll reach another long stairway at Mesa Lane Beach. Thousand Steps Beach is located at the dead end of Santa Cruz Boulevard just off Shoreline Drive. Unfortunately, there is only room for a handful of cars at the top of the stairs. Street spaces can be found along Shoreline Drive and on Santa Cruz Boulevard across the street.