Santa Barbara County has numerous trails with a variety of terrains where you can enjoy so many view options: amazing ocean, mountain, and/or city views. Here are some of our favorite, scenic, and most popular hiking trails in Santa Barbara!
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point is a 3.4-mile trail, popular for not just hiking, but also mountain biking, and trail running with beautiful ocean and mountain views. The peak of Inspiration Point is also accessible through the Jesusita Trail.
Arroyo Burro Trail
The Arroyo Burro 10.6-mile out-and-back trail has astonishing ocean and mountain views. It is generally regarded as a challenging route and takes an average of 5 hours and 57 minutes to complete.
Grass Mountain Trail
Grass Mountain Trail’s 5.2-mile out-and-back route is generally regarded as a difficult trail and takes an average of 3 hours and 21 minutes to finish. It is an absolutely beautiful scenic hike, especially when the flowers are blooming.
Parma Park Trail
Parma Park’s 3.3-mile circular track trail takes an average of 1 hour 35 minutes to accomplish. This is not a difficult trail but can be steep uphill. It is the city’s biggest open space park, covering about 200 acres of oak forest and chaparral along Sycamore and Coyote Creeks.
Gaviota Wind Caves
The Gaviota Wind Caves is a sandstone structure in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara, about a mile from the Pacific Ocean. The round-trip journey to the wind-swept caves is about 2.5 miles long and 600 feet in elevation gain.
Tunnel Trail
Tunnel Trail’s 7.5-mile out-and-back track is worth attempting. It is generally regarded as a difficult route, and it takes an average of 4 hours and 10 minutes to finish. When dry, the waterfall is an interesting rock feature that serves as an excellent lunch/viewing place.
Mission Falls
The journey is 6 miles round-trip, with a 1,600-foot ascent on the first half to the normally dry Mission Falls. In the lower stages, enjoy the revitalized flow of Rattlesnake Creek.
Lizard’s Mouth
This 0.3-mile out-and-back track is a family-friendly course and takes an average of 8 minutes to complete. The short climb to Lizard’s Mouth provides spectacular vistas and is a simple detour for anybody driving the 154 between Santa Barbara and Lake Cachuma or Los Olivos.