Suggestions in Santa Barbara
 

Hey everyone, I'm planning a weekend trip with my girlfriend up to Santa Barbara in a week or two. I was wondering if anyone can recommend some nice scenic drives to take, restaurants, theaters, hiking trails, basically anything that is worth doing/seeing in Santa Barbara. My sister went to UCSB so the only thing that I know of is Isla Vista. Any suggestions are much appreciated! :thanks:

Scenic drives - Foothill Rd/East Valley Rd goes along the base of the mtns. The section between Carpinteria and the SB Mission is really pretty. Hwy 154/San Marcos Pass goes up and over the mtns to Santa Ynez Valley (lots of mountain and ocean views). Cabrillo Blvd/Shoreline Dr/Marina Dr. goes along the waterfront and through Hope Ranch. Even just taking 101 to the N of SB into the Santa Ynez Valley is nice (that's my daily commute).

Hiking - lots of good trails in the front country, depends on how easy or hard you are looking for. Romero Cyn, Cold Springs, Rattlesnake Cyn, Tunnel Trail, Jesusita Trail. Most of these tend to get busy on weekends. Trails themselves aren't crowded per se, but parking may suck. Over the hills in Santa Ynez area there are lots more trails, a bit longer and more remote. Too many to list!

Food - there's a lot of good stuff around here, downtown SB can be a bit pricey as it is more touristy. There are a number of good Mexican places. Seafood - Brophy Bros at the harbor, SB Fishouse (a bit $$$), SB Shellfish Co on Stearn's Wharf (small place, delicious and fresh). Again lots of options over the hills in Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez all have good places). Avant Tapas & Wine, Firestone Walker Taproom, Cecco, A-ru. . .

Welp, he just explained everything that you needed to know.

Wow, thanks cycleboy! You are like tripadvisor, yelp, and google rolled into one.

If you're coming up from the LA area and want a scenic, windy drive into town, then hop off onto highway 33 in Ventura, head up towards Ojai, get off at Santa Ana road, and take that up to highway 150. Then turn left and take that past lake Casitas and up over the mountains into Carpinteria and up into SB.

Here's a map: CLICK

Second the 33/150 drive idea too. Nice roads and views (watch the speed, there are traps sometimes and some blind turns).

I grew up in SB, live over the hills now.

A great day trip if you stay in SB would be to take 154 over the mountains into SYV for breakfast, lunch, wine/beer tasting, or dinner, then head back down 101 in the evening. There are also lots of great turnout spots on 101 to check out the ocean scenery. Lately there have been whales out there too (saw 2 the other day on my commute).

Seeing as how I make trips to LA every couple of weeks or so, I'm surprised that I haven't taken this detour yet. Looks like I'll have to take a detour on Thursday then (:

P.S. nice seeing you today at SB C&C :party0030:

Yeah man, you too. I was shocked to see an 86 there finally, then giggled when I realized I knew who it was!

I definitely recommend the drive-- it's a lot of fun and it gets you around that horrible construction zone on the 101 between Carp and Ventura. I just hate that 55 zone that goes on for miles. Everyone drives 70 through there and I don't wanna be the person who gets a ten thousand dollar ticket when they finally hide a CHP car in there somewhere.

Side note: regarding the 150, the only stretch of the mapped route where I've seen a speed trap setup is right after you turn off Santa Ana road onto the 150-- after the left turn you drive for maybe a minute and you'll find yourself at the bottom of a long straightaway that goes up a hill. I've seen cops sitting at the bottom of that straight before gunning people who are coming down the hill. Other than that I've seen cops between there and Ojai on the 150 (but you won't be on that section), and I haven't seen any on Santa Ana yet (but I don't drive that section of road too often, so take that with a grain of salt). Basically if you turned right off Santa Ana and headed towards Ojai I'd say be careful, as you see a fair number of cops as you get close to the town there, but I almost never see them between the lake end of the 150 and Santa Barbara.

Still, don't go too quickly if it's your first time driving any road. The road doesn't have any really surprising corners or anything, but it does run through the mountains, so remember to take care especially on the downhill sections. If you're driving on a weekend or in the late afternoon, watch out for cyclists, as they like to cruise the scenic hills too.