Ellwood Beach in Goleta, CA - California Beaches

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About Ellwood Beach in Goleta, California

Ellwood Beach at Santa Barbara Shores Park and Ellwood Mesa Open Space is surrounded by open spaces that invite exploration. Ellwood Mesa is also home to the Goleta Monarch Butterfly Preserve.

The county purchased this land on the mesa to protect it from ever encroaching development. This ensures that the public has access to the mesa, the beach, and the butterfly grove.

There are trails for hiking and mountain biking all over Ellwood Mesa which fills the gap between the Sandpiper Golf Club to the north and Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve to the south. Bikes and horses are allowed on the open mesa trails but not in the wooded area signed for the butterfly grove.

Access to Ellwood Beach requires quite a walk from the parking lot. Look for the parking lot entrance off Hollister Avenue across from Ellwood Elementary School (lot is signed for the butterfly grove).

To find the beach, walk on the trails due south all the way to the bluff’s edge and then turn left until you find a route down. Due to this remote beach access, it won’t be packed like better-known beaches in the area.

If you walk south on the beach you will eventually get to Sands Beach at the Devereux Slough Lagoon entrance and if you walk north it leads to Haskell’s Beach at the Barcara Resort.

To see the Goleta Butterfly Preserve, just follow signage that starts at the parking lot. These beautiful butterflies spend winter here between November and February so that is the best time to visit. The preserve is actually closer to an alternate Ellwood entrance at the end of Santa Barbara Shores Drive, but the parking in that area is limited.

Dogs are allowed on leash west of the Santa Barbara Shores Drive access, however new rules prohibit dogs on the mesa during snowy plover nesting from March to August.

Address: 7686 Hollister Ave
Goleta, CA 93117
Phone: 805-961-7578
Park Name: Santa Barbara Shores County Park, Ellwood Mesa Open Space, Goleta Monarch Butterfly Preserve, Sperling Preserve
Other Names: Santa Barbara Shores Beach
Owner: City Open Space
Fees: Free parking
Activities: Hiking, Walking, Mountain Biking, Horseback Riding, Beachcombing, Tidepooling
Amenities: Trails, Tide Pools, Butterfly Grove, No Facilities
Links: Water Temps
Tide Chart