Was a fun roadtrip got there a bit late and it was cloudy unfortunately but it was still a…read morebeautiful sight and relaxing to sit and view with your significant other

Given it being Valentine's Day Eve, it seems quite appropriate to review a Santa Barbara gem. The…read morelocals--particularly UCSB students--know it as "Kissing Point." You don't need to use your imagination why: Simply venture here at sunrise/sunset and you'll be macking with whomever is closest to you due to the natural romance in the Californian air. It also helps that the temperature is sometimes +10* warmer since it is in the mountains. ;) History: Kissing Point is about a third of the way up (or three-quarters of the way down depending on your route) Old San Marcos Road. This was the original stagecoach route to cross over the mountains prior to the current San Marcos Pass/Route 154 between 1861 and 1901. There are a few weathered historical markers along the way but anyone will easily be impressed by the hard work put into carving out the road. How to get here?: The easiest route to reach Kissing Point is by exiting off the 101 Freeway at Patterson Rd and going toward the mountains, turn right on Cathedral Oaks, then turn left when you've reached San Marcos Rd. Kissing Point consists of only two unmarked dirt pull-offs (one now with bollards due to erosion). There is also a third and fourth pull-off much further up hill but with very limited space. What do I see?: The views are from the Santa Ynez Foothills down into Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley with easy landmarks being the Santa Barbara Airport, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Old Town Goleta, the Pacific Ocean's Santa Barbara Channel, and almost all of the Channel Islands in the distance on a clear day (from north to south: San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz--the most obviously, and Anacapa Islands). I am spoiled to have this scenic drive only minutes from my house since it offers not only some of the best aerial views (ie particularly from Kissing Point) but also a backroad option to access Route 154 that goes over the Santa Ynez Mountains toward popular destinations including Lake Cachuma, Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country, and Solvang. A few tips: - I have included the precise location on the Yelp map, in addition to GPS coordinates, in the Quick Tips. - Check out my video of the drive down this twisty road with views for days: https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select_video=OgU4LsTKlJ7Eqyh60KKdcA&userid=4DyMRBKrokax6d8LCI3GAw. - People love to drive extremely fast up and down (including myself). Be cautious of mountain bikers and motorcycles, particularly around the two hairpin U-turns toward the top. - As the signs heed, put on your headlights during the night AND day. - Please clean up after yourself. Unfortunately there is plenty of trash and glass bottles left behind. Don't be this person.

Hidden up in the hills above Santa Barbara lies a sandstone cave used by the Chumash for possibly…read moreup to 1000 years. Now part of the California State Park system, it holds artwork created by the Chumash to depict important cultural concepts and themes. Protected by a gate, the Painted Cave can be visited dawn to dusk. Admission is free. Very limited parking on the narrow, curvy, mountainous road. Definitely worth the trip to see this beautiful site.

We stopped here on the way to the Cold Springs Tavern. The GPS takes you to a turn out where you…read morecan safely park and then walk up the hill. Painted Cave road is very narrow so if you pull over in front of the cave you will block others. There's a short climb to the cave which is behind a fence to protect it from vandalism. You can take lots of pictures through the fence. Since it's such a short hike you may want to combine this with a trip to Knapp Castle about a mile up the road. Very beautiful historical site.

A nice scenic short walk to the waterfall. We were able to see a deer foraging. Just be quiet to…read morenot scare it away. There's no need to stress about hopping over any streams, it is a very simple trail. Waterfall was a bit dry, but something worth looking at! There's also clean restrooms!

Nice little hike and a pretty waterfall tucked away and a beautiful forest. Was easy to get up to…read morethe waterfall and takes around 10 minutes each way. Is ample parking and even a little picnic area that we stopped at as we've got a sandwich in Solvang to eat before we took our little hike. Quiet little spot not a lot of people in very peaceful How to recommend this quick spot it's a little gem

beautiful evening after the sun had set, from Potter's Pointlove the view!!great place to rest!!!read more

Just Winging It We…read morethought we had a pretty good handle on all the major Monarch butterfly stopovers from Pacific Grove to Pismo, but somehow this place eluded us until we saw a display on it at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The Coronado Butterfly Preserve is ±9.3 acres of protected open space and--more importantly--a Monarch butterfly overwintering site. It is located in the City of Goleta and sits adjacent to Santa Barbara Shores Park. The Good: * Free to visit * Trails are flat and in great shape. They can get a bit muddy after a rain, but it wasn't terrible. * Trails lead into Santa Barbara Shores Park. * Beach access. The Meh: * Butterfly viewing can be very hit-or-miss here, as we only saw a small handful floating about. The Ugly: * Street parking in neighborhoods, which isn't my favorite, but it is what it is. Conclusion: Nice place to visit regardless of the butterfly count.

Great view, free. Not two things that go together much in an expensive place like SB. Definitely…read moreworth the little drive up.

We drove up the winding road to this park to take in the view of Santa Barbara below last week when…read morewe were visiting the area. It was a pretty view but not the best we saw in the city. I did see some people picnicking, and that seemed like the best way to enjoy the park. I did appreciate that they had reasonably clean public bathrooms! A nice park with nice views, but I wouldn't say it's a place you must visit in Santa Barbara. Nice if close to where you're visiting.

A great hiking spot with nice reward at the end. It was moderately strenuous, about 3.8-4 miles…read moreround trip. A lot of pocket of shades along the way, steady incline but not too bad. You cross a stream of water a third of the way. What's missing is direction, or sign at intersection, there is one sign that said "trail" but which trail? There is tunnel trail, jesusita trail that branches out from the main trail. I am so used to POST and Midpen trail where there are signs with the distance pointed in the right direction. The view is gorgeous. You can see a dam and the city of Santa Barbara. Easily one of the best hikes.

This is our all time Favorite Hike, a little bit of everything! Waterfalls, rocks, lots of lizards…read moreand beautiful views

Great quality and quantity fish shrimp and oysters service good great value with family meals. Our…read morego to place for fried fish

I have been catching incredible sunsets here for years. My husband finally experienced Ojai's "pink…read moremoment" for the first time last month. December and January are the best months to catch a spectacular sunset. Highway 150 is one of the most scenic drives in Ventura County, and this viewpoint is a must no matter what time of day. Ojai lies below, surrounded by mountains protected within nature preserves.

What an amazing experience we had we rode horses for an hour and a half. The horses were all so…read morebeautiful and well taken care of everyone was so welcoming and helpful during the full experience. Our guide was Jimmy he was so great told us stories and some background of the horses and the ranch. After we went to their bar and had some drinks, they were a 10 out of 10. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for some fun or romantic experience. Thank you so much :)

Went horseback riding for a friend's birthday on Saturday and it was wonderful! Driving to the…read moreranch felt like entering a fairytale! The road was filled with streams, shady trees, birdsong, and gorgeous green countryside. We brought produce for the horses to snack on and got to feed them! We did the 1.5 hour trail ride and there were only 4 of us in our group, making it comfortable with fun conversation. It was such a beautiful day and beautiful trail. Our guide was funny and kind, and helpful when some of the horses were going a bit slow (shout out to Tot and 530, the horses!). Every cowboy we encountered were also funny and kind. We truly had a wonderful experience and wish we could've stayed the whole day just hanging out at the ranch!

All Trails rates this hike as moderate by I say it's more towards hard. It is a steady steep…read moreincline for 3+ miles. All trails also says it's only 3.5 miles, that is one way! So your looking at 7 miles round trip. It's rocky but with shade the first 2 miles. After that bye bye shade and hello dry and dusty trail. You will want to wear hiking boots has it's very easy to loose gripping on the rocks and roll your ankle. I called it quits at 3 miles and went back down the trail. I was exhausted from the steady climb. I am not the most in shape person right now but I am fairly active. I just hiked 5 miles last week too. So unless you are in decent shape, be prepared to not make it all the way to the top. Bring plenty of water. As someone else said, walking through the private property portion until hitting the split off of the McMenemy trail is filled with dog poop and abandoned dog poop bags. It seems people don't take their dogs on the San Ysidro as I no longer says dog poop or bags unless they just kick it off the cliff side. On my way back down I saw a Gardner snake just off of the trail path. We started at 10:45 am and arrived back at the car at 1:42 pm.

Favorite hike in the region. Shaded, cool breeze up the ravine even though we were there in heat…read morewave during our visit. Moderate to easy hike. Loved the creek to put feet in at end and cool down with splash of water. Plenty of little critters, water striders, and other insects to entertain our kiddoes.

We decided to stop by Los Olivos since it's only a short drive from Solvang, and I'm really glad we…read moredid. It's a small town, but it has such a peaceful and relaxing vibe that it's easy to spend a couple of hours just wandering around. Downtown is full of wine tasting rooms, and while we were there, a few places even had live music for people enjoying a glass of wine outside. Even if wine isn't your thing, it's still a fun place to explore. There are cute boutiques, local art galleries, and small specialty shops that give the town a lot of personality. My favorite part was how quiet everything felt. Nobody seemed to be in a rush. People were simply sitting outside, chatting, listening to music, and enjoying the afternoon. It was a nice change of pace from the busier tourist spots. Since it's so close to Solvang, it's an easy stop if you're already in the area. We ended up staying longer than we planned because it was such a pleasant place to walk around. If we're back this way again, I'd happily spend another afternoon here.

Wow! Like we stumbled upon the perfect street of trendy beautiful shops of children's clothing,…read moresnacks, wine tasting and more. More modern by centuries than Los Alamos with lots of wine tasting, restaurants and shopping. We entered several stores and I pretty much found and bought things from each one.