Have you ever heard of the Baron Ranch hiking trail? Most folks haven’t, but it’s a fine public trail a couple miles west of Refugio State Beach and it’s worth exploring. Pronounced Bear-own Ranch, the beginning of the trail runs through a 1,000 acre ranch owned and managed by Santa Barbara County. […]
At the far west end of Goleta there’s a road that for years only locals knew about. It doesn’t really go anywhere because it ends at a locked gate, but the view is the attraction. Looking back down at the rolling empty hillsides gives you a glimpse into the past of Goleta, […]
On June 11th, 2015, officials from the City of Goleta and Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts gathered to announce that the property and structure would be donated to the city. Rumors of the donation had been circulating for a while and one press conference was cancelled, but this time it happened, or so […]
There’s been a lot of talk lately about our drought and the lack of water like it’s a new thing. But a water shortage for Goleta and surrounding areas is nothing new. In fact, it’s been a problem since Europeans settled here. Goleta enjoys a semi-arid climate that averages less than […]
Hollister Avenue. It’s Goleta’s main street and we drive on it everyday. It runs all the way through Goleta, from Haskells Beach until it turns into State Street just east of Modoc Road. But who was Hollister? And why is this main thoroughfare named after him? If anybody deserves to have a street named after […]
High above the Gaviota Coast, where the Refugio Pass reaches the crest of the Santa Ynez Mountains, there exists a grassy hollow, a level break in the dense oak and chaparral forest. Nestled in this dish shaped glade is a small lake with a few nondescript buildings scattered about. From the air, […]
Have you ever noticed there’s a street off Hollister Avenue in western Goleta called Ellwood Station Road? You may not have, because there’s not much on it and it goes pretty much nowhere. But in the late 1800’s this road led to a very important train station, and the end […]
Driving up the coast from Goleta, just before Gaviota State Beach, you may notice this rock wall surrounded by pine trees off to the right. It doesn’t look like much today, but these are the few remnants that are left of a grand plan that just wasn’t meant to be. These old iron […]
Refugio State Beach is one of the true gems of the Gaviota Coast and a longtime local favorite. Campers, fisherman, hikers and surfers all enjoy the peaceful solitude and refuge found there. The statuesque palm trees that line the cove give a distinctive and majestic look to the area.Over the past […]
Goleta is a unique place. We are surrounded by the beautiful Santa Ynez Mountains on one side and the blue Pacific Ocean on the other. The steep mountains run into the sea at Gaviota and Rincon, isolating us from the outside world. This was a predicament for the first European […]
Ever notice these signs along the side of the freeway? El Camino Real means The Royal Highway in Spanish and it was created by the Spaniards to get between the missions throughout California. Originally, the Camino Real was just a footpath, but in 1859 the Overland Mail Company started a campaign […]
Haskells Beach has long been one of Goleta’s best kept secrets. A hidden jewel that has been popular with Goleta locals for decades, but it’s much more than just a pretty beach. Haskells has been a pleasing location for humans all throughout history. While Chumash is the most commonly known name […]
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At 7 PM on Feb. 23, 1942, Goleta residents were settling in to listen to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat on the radio. The Japanese had just attacked Pearl Harbor two and a half months earlier and tensions were high for folks living on the coast. Meanwhile, a 365 foot long Japanese […]
If you ever walk from Haskells Beach towards Santa Barbara, you probably have noticed the hillside below Sandpiper golf course has a large, unruly patch of cactus growing on it. We’ve always seen it there, but never really thought much about it. We figured the oil companies planted it to […]
If you spend any time at all on the beaches of Goleta, you know what tar is. Some days it’s plentiful other days, there isn’t any. Surprisingly, a lot of people don’t understand why it’s there. Lots of folks assume it’s due to the big oil rigs out in the channel, […]
Most folks know there’s a stretch of the Gaviota Coast that’s referred to as Naples. But do they know how it got this name? It was first called Naples all the way back in 1887, by a wealthy world traveler named John H. Williams and his wife Alice. They had a […]
When you’re driving out to Campus Point, you may not even notice this obscure little hill. But before World War II, this lump of dirt was a sizeable island and in ancient times it had a huge, thriving Chumash village on it. The purple line shows the area that was […]
Most Goleta folks know of an area called Ellwood. It’s used in conversation and directions, it even shows up on maps, but do you know why is it called that? According to this map, there’s an Ellwood Oil field, an Ellwood Canyon, and Ellwood sits proudly at 86 feet above […]
When passing through the heart of Goleta on the 101, you can’t help but notice a large open space on the mountain side of the freeway, between Los Carneros and Storke. This is referred to by locals as Bishop Ranch. Over the past few years, this beautiful piece of land has […]