 © Lisa Rupe
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
State Park Location Maps:
(click here to zoom and navigate local map)
(click here to zoom and navigate regional map)
View TOPO Maps!
Get directions to this park:
State Park Photo Gallery:
volunteer positions open
 © Lisa Rupe
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
State Park Link:
Gaviota State Park
Nearby Parks:
Refugio Beach State Park
El Capitan Beach State Park
|
| State Park Contact Information: |
 |
Gaviota State Park
#10 Refugio Beach Rd.
Goleta, California 93117
Phone: 805-968-1033
Reservations: 800-444-7275
Email: gaviotahoist@parks.ca.gov
|
| Adopt-A-Park Contacts: |
|
Photography: add your photos
|
| State Park Reservations: |
|
Reservations: 
|
|
| State Park Overview: |
| Gaviota State Park takes its name from the Spanish word for seagull, given to the area by soldiers of the Portola Expedition who supposedly killed a seagull while camping here in 1769. Marked by a tall Southern Pacific railroad trestle that crosses Gaviota Creek high above the day-use parking lot, the park is a popular spot for swimming, picnicking, surf fishing and camping, despite high winds that often blow through the area. A pier on the west end of the beach is used by anglers, and scuba divers and surfers use a boat hoist on the pier to access the waters of the Santa Barbara Channel. Visitors can explore the rugged upland portions of the park from a trailhead in the parking area. Ambitious hikers can climb to Gaviota Peak that offers a spectacular view of the coast and the Channel Islands. |
| Reviews By Park Visitors: |
| Be the 1st to Review Gaviota State Park. You can rate it, post a comment on it, or do both. |
| |
| Trails: |
| Beach-to-Backcountry, Overlook, Hollister Trails To Gaviota Pass Overlook is 5 miles round trip with 700-foot elevation gain;loop via Overlook and Hollister Trails is 8.5 miles round tripwith 800-foot elevation gain
It would be unfair to say no one stops in Gaviota Pass. The pass hosts a Caltrans rest area, site of the only public restrooms along a 250 mile length of Highway 101 between Los Angeles and the hamlet of Bradley north of San Luis Obispo.
Most motorists who stop, and the multitudes who do not, remain oblivious to the area?s historical importance and natural attractions. Too bad, because Gaviota Pass and its pathways are too good to pass up.
Most of the pass?the green scene on either side of Highway 101?is the rolling backcountry of 2,775-acre Gaviota State Park. Park trails meander across oak-dotted potreros and travel ridgetops that afford hikers grand vistas of Gaviota Pass and the wide blue Pacific.
Surely the most memorable view of the pass, to moviegoers anyway, occurs in The Graduate when lost soul Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) drives a beautiful new Alfa Romeo through the mist and into the Gaviota Tunnel.
Explorer Gaspar de Portol?ed his party through the pass in 1769. Expedition diarist, Father Juan Crespi dubbed the coastline here San Luis in honor of the King of France. However, Portol? soldiers figured that La Gaviota, Spanish for seagull, was more appropriate.
Gaviota earned its small place in California history as a place to avoid. During the short Mexican-American War, General John C. Fr?nt and his 700 men were marching south toward Santa Barbara when they learned that the Mexican californio troops awaited in ambush at Gaviota Pass. American forces were led through nearby San Marcos Pass by rancher Benjamin Foxen on Christmas eve 1846. Thus, the Americans occupied Santa Barbara without bloodshed on Christmas day.
Gaviota State Park offers hiking on both sides of the pass. Eastside trail attractions include a hot springs and connections to Los Padres National Forest footpaths. On the west side of the pass, the park?s trail network honeycombs a delightful backcountry and offers the hiker a number of loops of varying distances and difficulties. |
| |
| |
| | Advertise your park related business
on stateparks.com
...vacation cabin, weekend getaway, log cabin rental, romantic cottage, vacation home, resort, hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, country inn, campground, RV park, horseback riding stable, canoe livery, river rafting, outfitting, sporting goods store, guide service, RV rental, etc read more.... |
|
| Related Links: |
| Gaviota State Park - Gaviota State Park Photo ? Debbie Stock Photo ? Debbie Stock - 805-968-1033. Beach and Campground. 10 Refugio Beach Road. Gaviota, California 93117. Santa Barbara County. The Gaviota Coast in... | | Gaviota State Park - ... information about the park, please call (805) 968-1033 805-968-1033 Visit Gaviota State Park, Beach & Campground as you travel north California Tour: Santa Barbara California---Cities Web site ... | | Santa Barbara.com - Camping: Gaviota State Park - Home > Activities > Camping > Gaviota State Park Hwy 101 between Buellton and Santa Barbara 805-968-1033 Web site: parks.ca.gov ... come to signs for Gaviota State Park. Be very careful, however ... | | Santa Barbara.com - Camping & RV Parks - ... a wonderful private "resort campground" with safari tents, cabins and regular tent camping. Gaviota State Park - set between ocean and mountains, this ocean-front park features a fishing pier and ... | | Area Campgrounds | | |
| Directions: |
| The park is located 33 miles west of Santa Barbara on U.S. 101. |
|
|
| |
|
USA
