Carpinteria State Beach

With a beautiful, wide, mile-long beach and lots of picnicking, walking, playing and camping opportunities, Carpinteria State Beach has a lot to offer. In addition to outstanding swimming, surf fishing, body surfing and watchable birds and marine mammals, the southeastern part of the park features tide pools. Carpinteria Creek also forms a seasonal lagoon that attracts a lot of wildlife.

For camping, there is a hike or bike campground, as well as many other campsites, for which reservations https://www.reservecalifornia.com/CaliforniaWebHome/ are highly recommended. Also, the Tomol Interpretive Play Area is a highlight for children, combining fun play activities with Chumash village interpretive features.

This is a very special place to visit and appreciate for all of its great, classic, recreational beach features.

Details

Location

205 Palm Ave, Carpinteria

Managed By

California State Parks

Website(s)

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=599

Distance from UCSB

22 miles (biking)

How To Get There

Bike, Bus, Drive

Things To Do

Beach Activities, BBQ, Birdwatching, Camping, Historic/Cultural Interest, Other Recreational Activities (Surf Fishing), Picnicking, Playground, Playing on Grass Activities, Relaxing, Running, Studying/Reading, Surfing, Swimming, Viewing, Walking, Watchable Wildlife

Fun Facts

The Chumash Indians thrived here. Because this area was a center of trade and canoe-building, it was called “Mishopshnow,” which means “correspondence.” The Chumash used naturally occurring tar for many purposes, including caulking plank canoes. After seeing Chumash craftsmen making and shaping driftwood planks into canoes here in 1769, the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola called the village La Carpinteria, meaning the carpentry shop. The park now includes a play area honoring Chumash traditions and history. The visitor center also has interpretive displays.

Other Information

The State Beach has an informative online brochure. There is also a great live cam of the beach to check out weather and surf conditions.

This destination has many accessible features; to review, click here.

Best Time To Visit

All Year, but especially Summer