20 Attractions to Explore Near San Marcos Foothills Preserve

This is an old 25-acre park runs up San Roque canyon with a picturesque hiking trails that criss-cross a creek and connect to the historic trails of the Santa Ynez Range. It opens up into a grassy field with picnic tables, a playground, public restrooms, and walking paths. There are also so many things to see and do here. it is one of the iconic attraction here, which is very close to nature.

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 78-acre botanical garden, containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants. Located in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains, the Garden’s 78 acres of living collections feature more than 1,200 taxa of California native plants from all regions of the state. The Garden has helped safeguard 34 highly endangered plant species, imparted the value of plant and ecological conservation to thousands of visitors.

This is a small urban forest with a year round creek. Filled with an abundance of rocks and sandstone boulders deposited there by an ancient landslide, and roofed by oak trees, the park affords a diversity of topography. The towering trees are lush and the park offers shaded picnic areas, short trails, and the area is strewn with large sandstone boulders.

Mission Santa Barbara is a Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California. Often referred to as the ‘Queen of the Missions,’ it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén. Mission Santa Barbara, like other California missions, was built as part of a broader effort to consolidate the Spanish claim on Alta California in the face of threats from rival empires.

This is a 10-acre park located at the cross section of Laguna and E. Los Olivos Street and spans between Alameda Padré Serra and Mission Ridge Road. This monument to Santa Barbara was the tenth Californian Mission built by Spanish Franciscans. The grounds contain ruins of Mission Santa Barbara’s old waterworks, tannery vats, grassed areas, and the City Rose Garden and so more.

This massive Rose Garden hosts over 1500 varieties of roses and sits across from the Santa Barbara Mission and is beautiful for a wedding ceremony. Additionally, the collection hosts beds with ancient varieties, such as Gallicas, Albas, and Damasks in various states of health. Other roses maintained within the garden include Old Garden Roses, Hybrid Perpetuals originally cultivated during the 1800s.

Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park preserves centuries old Native American artwork that graces the wall of a sandstone cave in the Santa Ynez Mountains behind Santa Barbara. The smooth and irregularly shaped shallow sandstone cave contains numerous drawings apparently depicting the Chumash cosmology and other subjects created in mineral pigments and other media over a long period ranging from about 200 up to possibly 1000 years or more.

La Cumbre Peak is a 3997-foot peak in the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara. It is a popular destination for those looking to have a grand view of the South Coast and surrounding area. It serves as a great training hike and affords nice views of the Santa Barbara area coastline and the Santa Ynez valley.

A secluded sandy beach between Arroyo Burro and Goleta Beach. Because of the remoteness it is popular with nude sunbathers. The clothing-optional beach is to the right/west once you reach the beach.

This majestic and beautiful 35-acre Skofield Park is nestled high in the foothills adjacent to Rattlesnake Canyon Trail and along Mission Creek. It is covered with large grassy meadows and numerous native shade trees. It is a best place for walking, hiking, and wildlife viewing. This is the only city park with reservable camping areas for nonprofit youth groups.

Elings Park is a 230-acre private park. It is one of Santa Barbara’s most beautiful gathering places for nature, athletics, and culture. It hosts weddings, special events, recreation activities, sports leagues, and more. The park consists of sports fields, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, wedding/special event venues, and landscaped walkways. The park is a hub for mountain biking, youth sports, paragliding, and other outdoor activities.

Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens is a stunning park spanning a square block in downtown Santa Barbara. There are 75 different tree and plant species and you can enjoy walking paths, picnic areas, and a picturesque Gazebo. The park also has a koi pond where you’ll find visitors feeding resident ducks.

Alameda Park is a two-block park in downtown Santa Barbara. As one of the city's oldest parks, it is home to a variety of rare trees and plants. These horticultural treasures include the soapbark tree, the white ironwood, and the bunya-bunya tree, just to name a few.

This is a train station building in Goleta, California constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1901. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources and is the centerpiece of the South Coast Railroad Museum.

Franceschi Park is a 15.78-acre public park located at the intersection of Mission Ridge. The site hosts a small picnic area, a large patio that serves as a group picnic area, restrooms, some trails, and a parking lot; and further serves as a resource for the pioneering horticultural work undertaken by Italian horticulturalist Dr. Francesco Franceschi.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is an art museum located in downtown Santa Barbara, California. It is home to both permanent and special collections, the former of which includes Asian, American, and European art that spans 4,000 years from ancient to modern. Its permanent collection includes more than 27,000 works of art, including paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, ceramics, glass, jades, bronzes, lacquer and textiles

This beach is just a ten minute drive along the Coast from downtown Santa Barbara. Hendry's is secluded by towering cliffs and a curving coastline. Surfers and children vie for territory as the waves tumble into shore. Hendry's is centrally located to a great deal of other fun.

This is a long sandy beach that runs along picturesque bluffs, adjacent to the Douglas Family Preserve. It is good for swimming, surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, fishing, and more. It has a reputation as a dog beach and is a popular location for dog owners to walk their pets off leash.

The 70-acre Douglas Family Preserve is located near the intersection of Cliff Drive and Las Positas Road in the Mesa neighborhood. The property spans 70 acres of undeveloped ocean-front land, and represents the largest area of coastal open space within the city limits of Santa Barbara. A walking trail loops the park perimeter, with many smaller trails across and along the interior. There are several bluffs overlooking the beach, popular for watching whales, dolphins, and birds.