{"id":1593,"date":"2015-04-15T00:16:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T00:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calcoastadventures.com\/?p=1593"},"modified":"2021-01-27T23:13:20","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T23:13:20","slug":"snorkeling-beaches-in-santa-barbara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.calcoastadventures.com\/snorkeling-beaches-in-santa-barbara\/","title":{"rendered":"Snorkeling In Santa Barbara"},"content":{"rendered":"
California snorkeling is a great adventure for water lovers and ocean explorers. Grab a good mask, a snorkel, and some fins and you\u2019re set for your journey into the sea. The beaches near Santa Barbara offer exquisite spots to see kelp forests and sea lemons, one of Southern California\u2019s most commonly seen nudibranchs<\/a>. Snorkeling at Santa Barbara Beaches is often incredibly different from beach to beach, so this post will help you decide on the perfect spot to suit up and swim around!<\/p>\n Keep in mind that Santa Barbara will not be a typical tropical snorkeling experience. Our snorkeling destinations are in cooler water so a wetsuit is recommended. The sea life is also much different than in the tropics; we have minimal coral reefs and instead offer more rocky reefs. That isn\u2019t to say that you will not see an abundance of sea life at many destinations, your experience will just be very different surrounded by Giant Kelp<\/a> that often grows longer than 100 feet.<\/p>\n Refugio State Beach and Tajiguas are adjacent sites about 20 miles north of Santa Barbara. You\u2019ll find them off of highway 101 as you follow the coastline west out of Santa Barbara toward San Luis Obispo. There are numerous beaches along the coastline that are accessible via parking along the 101 freeway.<\/p>\n Named after a Chumash Indian<\/a> village that used to be near the Tajiguas creek here, this undeveloped beach with free parking offers great photo opportunities in the water. You won\u2019t find as many fish in the inshore reefs at Tajiguas as you will at Refugio, but the anemones and nudibranchs cover the rocks and will delight your eyes. This is a great spot to relax on the beach away from the crowds of downtown Santa Barbara Snorkeling Beaches.<\/p>\n You will find a lot more fish if you decide to snorkel at Refugio. The beach is 1.5 miles of beautiful sand and surf. This is a great Santa Barbara snorkeling site only about a mile and a half south of Tajiguas. The calico bass, opaleye, or sheepshead are prolific but can easily be spooked by lots of bubbles so you may choose to do some free diving to really get in and amongst the fish. Thankfully there are more snorkelers than SCUBA divers so you will have a lot of space to yourself.<\/p>\n At each end of the cove at Refugio beach, there are reefs you can easily reach by swimming. Snorkeling at these locations is great fun. The sporadic low-lying reefs to the east are only about 50 yards out. This is a great halibut hunting ground. If you\u2019re looking for sea hares, anemones, sea stars, and sponges you\u2019ll also find them there. The western reef is a bit further out and more remote but still easy to access if you\u2019re snorkeling. These kelp forests are a great spot for sightseers and photographers looking for rockfish, sheepshead, and cabezon. This is a spot the divers are not likely to visit often, leaving the marine life virtually undisturbed.<\/p>\n Unlike Tajiquas, Refugio is a developed site with showers and restrooms, campsites, and beautiful hiking and biking trails. And if your traveling buddy is more of a fisherman than an avid snorkeler, this spot will make everybody happy. A beautiful right-hand point break often breaks here that is super fun for longboarders and beginner surfers<\/a> alike.<\/p>\n If you want to take your Santa Barbara snorkeling seclusion to the next level, you can rent a kayak<\/a> from Cal Coast Adventures to get out to some more untouched beaches without road access! This will also allow you to explore some more offshore reefs that may entice you near Coal Oil Point.<\/p>\n Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area<\/a> (SMPA) is a great option because of easy access, wide-open beaches, and nearby amenities. This SMPA is designed to protect and preserve sensitive sea life that inhabits this area from Campus Point past Coal Oil Point. This 10 square mile area is a no-fishing area.<\/p>\n At Coal Oil Point on the Northside, you will find a wide-open beach known as Sands Beach. This is not a great spot considering that there is often swell coming into this beach. There is a beautiful reef that I often surf over on the Southside of the point. This spot is not recommended when there is a lot of swell in the water because of the surfers in the water and the waves that may sneak up on you. This spot is much more protected than Sands Beach so the swell often will not make it into the cove.<\/p>\n Along the outer stretch of the point is best for exploring the reef. However, if you are interested in searching for leopard sharks, then moving closer towards the sandy shore more inside the cove is the best place. My girlfriend and I often surf, then wade into only waist-deep water and become surrounded by them.<\/p>\n Offshore from Isla Vista a little closer to UCSB<\/a> from Coal Oil Point is a surf spot that I refer to as Dreamies. It breaks over a reef and kelp beds that I would love to go out and explore more in-depth. This is a spot where having a kayak may help with ease of access. Although swimming out towards the kelp beds is not unreasonable.<\/p>\n Campus Point is another popular surf spot, especially for beginners. This spot has some kelp beds offshore to the southeast, as well as some reef and rock bed spots ideal for near-shore snorkeling in Santa Barbara County. Be careful here with other beachgoers and stingrays often populate this beach during the summer months. Remember the stingray shuffling of your feet when you are getting into the water!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Santa Barbara area has quite a few beaches that offer snorkeling and even spearfishing<\/a> as well. These beaches will typically be more crowded than the other spots I have mentioned above, although the further offshore you go the more the crowds will thin out, obviously.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mesa Lane will take you to a long staircase down to a beautiful sandy beach lining the cliffs. There are often surfers directly offshore, but a little to the left and offshore you will see a large kelp bed. I come to this spot often and it was actually the first place I snorkeled in the area! When I first moved to Santa Barbara I checked the surf here and it was flat. The water was crystal clear and glassy so I called my friend and we grabbed our snorkel gear and swam around for an hour just for fun.<\/p>\n From here you can move south towards Leadbetter Point, also known as Santa Barbara Point. There is an abundance of seagrass lining the seafloor closer to shore, with bladderwrack along the rock outcrops. The further out you go the more Giant Kelp you will see, at around 15-20 feet depth. There are many spearfishermen that frequent this area, but there is plenty of room to spread out if you don\u2019t want to be near them.<\/p>\n Leadbetter\/Santa Barbara Point is another surf spot so closer to the point will tend to have a lot more swimmers in the water. Just be careful and be aware of your surroundings and you shouldn\u2019t have an issue. There are often leopard sharks<\/a> and stingrays here as well!<\/p>\nNorth Goleta Area Snorkeling In Santa Barbara
\n<\/span><\/h2>\nTajiguas<\/h3>\n
Refugio State Beach<\/h3>\n
Remote Beaches<\/h4>\n
Isla Vista and UCSB Area<\/h2>\n
Coal Oil Point<\/h3>\n
Dreamies<\/h3>\n
Campus Point<\/h3>\n
Santa Barbara Proper<\/h2>\n
Mesa Lane to Leadbetter<\/h3>\n