The Gaviota Coast and Santa Ynez Mountains.
“The Gaviota Coast is the largest stretch of undeveloped coastline remaining in Southern California, and is representative of the only coastal Mediterranean ecosystem in North America.”
—Gaviota Coast Conservancy
Surf in the morning. Spearfish into midday. Hike the afternoon away. Ah yes, the beauty and bounty of the Gaviota Coast.
The Gaviota Coast is an especial place. It is remarkable for its rich marine and terrestrial biodiversity, desolate beaches, surf, rocky mountains and the rarity of a prodigious stretch of undeveloped California coastline.
Aside from my affinity for such exceptional characteristics it is a place of particular sentimental value to me. I lived for awhile in a canyon along the Gaviota Coast as a kid and spent much time exploring the beaches and mountains unsupervised by adults.
During this time I developed a close connection to the area that would grow, as I later spent time working at several different residences and ranch properties along this stretch of rural coastline, as well as at exclusive homes in Hollister Ranch. Even in my menial duties on remote $15 million estates the bucolic beauty of my surroundings never escaped me nor lost its luster.
The mounded peak overhead in the distance is the objective, overlook point.
The westward pointing finger of the southern Los Padres National Forest.
One of the many beauties of the Gaviota Coast are the Santa Ynez Mountains. The crest of this coastal range forms a westward pointing finger of the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) reaching Gaviota State Park, which makes it possible to access the forest on foot by way of trail from the sandy wet seashore at the park. Such beach to backcountry trail access into the LPNF is possible nowhere else in Santa Barbara County.
The Beach to Backcountry Trail in Gaviota State Park leads passed the Wind Caves and a short side branch of the trail leads to a prominence overlooking Gaviota Pass.
Gaviota Peak on the left and the overlook mountain on far right.
A view from the trail.
A view of Gaviota Peak from Gaviota Pass overlook.
Highway 101, Gaviota State Park beneath the railroad trestle and the Pacific Ocean.
Related Posts:
Gaviota Pass and U.S. Route 101 (1930s)
Motoring on the Gaviota Coast (1906)
