Shoreline Park

Located in the East Mesa neighborhood of Santa Barbara, Shoreline Park Beach is a narrow rock-and-sand beach with light brown sand. This beach is situated below a blufftop oceanfront recreational park known as Shoreline Park. Shoreline Park Beach does not have lifeguards. 

However, the blufftop park above this beach has many amenities including restrooms, a children’s playground, benches, barbecue spots, picnic tables, and walking paths. Dogs without a leash are allowed on the beach. 

Shoreline Park Beach offers many fun activities including beachcombing, fishing, sunbathing, wildlife watching, swimming, surfing, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, tide-pooling, picnicking, kayaking, canoeing, and boating. If you are planning to go into the water near Shoreline Park Beach, we recommend being careful as the water here is known to have rip currents.  The water near this beach is home to many animals including seals, sea lions, and dolphins.  Depending on the time of the year, you can also watch migrating whales in the water near this beach.  The beach offers an amazing Instagram-worthy view of the nearby Channel Islands and the Pacific Ocean.  If you are a geology enthusiast, the bluff side along this beach has interesting shapes, patterns, and geological formations that you can explore.

The blufftop Shoreline Park situated above this beach offers fantastic views of the nearby Santa Ynez Mountain Range.  In addition, the park also offers a Japanese garden and an observation area that is used by visitors to watch migrating whales passing through the Pacific Ocean near this park.  This park is also popular with families as it has a playground and picnic spots.

Getting to Shoreline Park Beach is easy - the wooden access stairway to the beach is located near the intersection between Shoreline Drive and San Nicolas Avenue, where there are multiple free parking lots.  We recommend visiting this beach during low tide as during high tide this beach is significantly submerged and inaccessible.

There are many attractions near Shoreline Park Beach. Mission Santa Barbara is a Catholic mission built in the 18th century and is widely known as the "Queen of the Missions" due to its splendid beauty. This mission offers docent-led and self-guided tours around its premises and offers visitors an interesting insight into the rich history of Southern California. The Santa Barbara County Courthouse was constructed in 1929 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and is a National Historic Landmark. You can explore the courthouse’s alluring premises through self-guided tours. In addition, the courthouse’s lush tropical gardens are extremely popular among visitors and also host many interesting festivals throughout the year. If you are looking for another attraction near Shoreline Park Beach, Stearns Wharf was originally built during the 19th century and offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Santa Barbara shoreline. This wharf also has many interesting shops and restaurants and is also a great fishing spot.  

If you get hungry, there are many restaurants near Shoreline Park Beach. The Black Sheep offers delicious fusion dishes with influences from Latin American, Asian, and Italian cuisines with a primary focus on French culinary style. Joe’s Cafe offers amazing American dishes including sandwiches, seafood pasta, steaks, soups, and salads. In addition, the restaurant also serves amazing breakfast dishes. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Shoreline Park Beach, La Super - Rica Taqueria offers many amazing Mexican dishes including tacos, chile Rellenos, and tamales. In addition, this restaurant has been praised by the MICHELIN Guide and was also reputedly frequented by the famous chef and cookbook author Julia Child. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Shoreline Park Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 5-Star El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel, Santa Barbara offers many amenities including an infinity pool, a fitness center, a spa, and a restaurant. As another upscale option, the 4-Star Palihouse Santa Barbara offers many amenities including a bar, complimentary breakfast, a pool, in-room spa services (for a fee), and gardens. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Beachside Inn that has many amenities including complimentary breakfast and a pool. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Shoreline Park Beach, the modestly priced 2-Star Quality Inn Santa Barbara offers many amenities including a pool with sun loungers and complimentary breakfast.