Stuart Thornton - Moon Santa Barbara & the Central Coast

HANDBOOKS

STUART THORNTON

With the crisp, blue ocean and a dramatic mountain range as backdrops, Santa Barbara is surrounded by beauty. Wildflowers color the landscape like artful daubs from a painters palette. Towering palm trees decorate a skyline of stunning Spanish Colonial Revival architecture that features the most beautiful of the California missions.

With all of this natural and constructed beauty, people compare the coastal city to Old World destinations on the Mediterraneanbut Santa Barbara could only exist in California. Its unique south-facing coastline is a magnet for sunshine, with close to 300 sunny days a year. Adjacent to the Santa Ynez Mountains and the relatively undeveloped Gaviota Coast, its surrounded by the kind of open spaces that encourage both exploration and recreation. The topography of the coastline produces world-renowned surf breaks like Rincon as well as tranquil coves ideal for kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding. Easily accessible hiking trails braid the hillsides, binding the city to the backcountry. Offshore, the Channel Islands offer entry to a wild, natural world honeycombed with sea caves and teeming with wildlife.

Santa Barbara is also an easy place to spend time. The innovative local cuisine is fed by the bounty of the Pacific. Fresh ingredients from abalone to sea urchin will have your taste buds swimming. The vineyards striping the nearby Santa Ynez Valley keep the wine flowing. Spas and comfortable accommodationsfrom charming boutique hotels to luxury resortsmake relaxation easy to achieve.

Just 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara is a day-trippers dream. The surrounding area offers enough possibilities to fill several long weekends or an easygoing coastal road trip. Ventura is appropriately named the city of good fortune, with an eclectic Main Street and a surf culture all its own. Dreamy Ojai is a place of spiritual retreat in the mountains. North along the coast youll find a string of easy-to-love towns like Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Cayucos, and Cambriagateway to an opulent relic of another era, Hearst Castle. And San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles offer their own sunny mountain communities as well as another burgeoning wine industry.

On the Central Coast, the living is easy. Its an easy place to visit, an easy place to love, and an easy place to return.

With an idyllic location between the sparkling Pacific Ocean and the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara is the quintessential California getaway. Attractions include the Santa Barbara Mission, the finest in the state, as well as the underrated Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.State Street provides an easy introduction to the unique local architecture as well as shops, restaurants, and nightlife. But the biggest draw is the beauty of the coastline, which can be experienced by sunning on wide, sandy Leadbetter Beach, surfing the waves of Rincon in nearby Carpinteria, or exploring the wild, undeveloped Gaviota Coast.

Intimate tasting rooms and pleasant small towns punctuate this wine region northwest of Santa Barbara. Danish-themed Solvang is famous for its European feel and authentic cuisine, but it can be overrun with visitors. The countryside around tiny Los Olivos is spotted with vineyards and winery tasting rooms. Farther north, Santa Maria is more sprawling. Its also the birthplace of the famous Santa Maria tri-tip.

The surf vibe is strong in Ventura, thanks in part to C Street, a world-renowned wave that draws not only surfers and paddle-boarders but recreation enthusiasts of all stripes. Ventura also boasts an up-and-coming arts community, a vibrant walkable Main Street, and a mission of its own, Mission San Buenaventura. Ojai is a small town that offers a retreat to anyone seeking an off-the-beaten-path experience, spiritual or otherwise. Contemplate the scenery at Meditation Mount or wander the surrounding mountains, striped with trails and hot springs.

Channel Islands National Park offers a glimpse of the California coastline at is wildest and least developed. The most accessible islands, Santa Cruz and Anacapa, allow day-trippers to explore the natural world by kayaking, snorkeling, diving, and hiking. Inspiration Point provides a breathtaking view of the Pacific you can see nowhere else.

The charm of San Luis Obispo is in its slow pace. Visit Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa for a touch of history and the over-the-top Madonna Inn