Our California Destinations

Lake Tahoe & Truckee Meadows in the Sierras Los Olivos and the Central Coast’s Wine Country

Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite National Park in the Eastern Sierra Corridor Napa and Sonoma Valleys

Santa Barbara San Diego San Francisco San Jose

Santa Barbara
Is Santa Barbara California’s best-smelling town? The jasmine, orange blossoms, hyacinth and more, all blend masterfully to do their part. Certainly it’s fitting that Santa Barbara smells good, it’s that kind of place.

Sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara is a unique jewel, with red-tile roofs, white stucco village streets and a seaside latitude reminiscent of the Mediterranean. It’s a highlight of the Central Coast. The problem will be leaving after your time in the American Riviera.

Five very different universities give the town a youthful vivacity and balance its yachting and affluent communities. Downtown has outstanding architectural integrity, a masterpiece of a courthouse, noteworthy cultural institutions, superb shopping and a seductive nightlife.

The original Chumash thrived in the Santa Barbara area, living in villages along the coast and in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Sebastián Vizcaíno, a cartographer for the Duke of Monte Rey, landed in the harbor on December 4, 1602 - the feast day of St Barbara, and literally put Santa Barbara on the map.

The Spanish padres with the Chumash constructed the mission, known as the Queen of the Missions, and the austere presidio. The Native American Chumash tribe is very much alive and well today and playing an increasingly important civic and communal role in all of Santa Barbara.

Easterners started arriving in force with the 1849 gold rush, and by the late 1890s Santa Barbara was an established vacation spot for the rich, famous and creative. The American Film Company, founded at the corner of Mission and State Streets in 1910, was the largest in the world for about three of its 10 years in existence. A disastrous 1925 earthquake proved ultimately to be an opportunity: tough laws were passed requiring that the town be rebuilt with its now characteristic Mediterranean look.

The Channel Islands is an eight-island chain lying off the coast of Santa Barbara. The four northern islands - San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa - along with tiny Santa Barbara island, 38 miles west of San Pedro, comprise the Channel Islands National Park. The islands have unique flora and fauna and extensive tidepools and kelp forests. Here you’ll find almost 150 mostly plant and a few animal species that are not found anywhere else in the world. This national forest truly is North America’s Galapagos. Add the history and culture of Santa Barbara to viticultural and natural attractions, and there’s a lot to do in this part of Southern California. Wineries are sprouting throughout the hills - this is Sideways country after all - and there’s a lot of nature to explore. Whether you are looking for fine wine, a backcountry hike, a lie on a beach or a night out, you’ll find it here.