Coal Oil Point Reserve - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove goes by several names including Ellwood Main Monarch Butterfly Grove as it is signed when you get there. It is located next to Ellwood Beach just west of Santa Barbara. This is one of several monarch butterfly groves in California that are home to tens of thousands of butterflies during the winter months. In November to February you can find these eucalyptus trees covered in bright orange butterflies. It is quite spectacular to see in person.

The Art, Design & Architecture Museum , formerly the University Art Museum, is located on the campus of the UCSB in Goleta, California. It was originally a gallery for art education at UCSB. Today the AD&A contains a fine art collection of over 8,500 works. It also possesses over 1,000,000 architectural drawings, historic photographs, writings, scrapbooks, and three-dimensional objects in the Architecture and Design Collection.

Goleta Point is a cape in Santa Barbara County. It is characterized by a beach cliff, crashing waves, and a view of the Channel Islands. The rock formation is frequented by shorebirds. It is one of the iconic attractions in this area and also there are so many things to see and do.

A beautiful surfing beach in Santa Barbara. It offers a fun scene with college students and families gathering and relaxing, while kids play in the sand and water. This latter beach is narrow at high tide and is shaded in the afternoons.

Goleta Beach County Park offers visitors a little bit of everything, including beautiful beaches, a 1,500 ft. fishing pier and miles of paved biking trails. There are walking trails on the bluff top west of Goleta Beach Park which lead to the UCSB Lagoon and Campus Point Beach. The 1500-feet long fishing pier is a long walk in itself with views back toward the mountains.

Haskell's beach is a great beach in Goleta that is slightly more hidden.It is nestled between The Ritz-Carlton Bacara and Sandpiper Golf Club. Soak up the sun on the sandy beach, explore the tide pools, or look for dolphins playing in the ocean.