Painted Cave

Chumash Painted Cave is located about 12 miles northwest of Santa Barbara off of the San Marcos Pass Road (Highway 154). The start of this highway is directly across from the start of upper State Street at the 101 freeway. The cave is on Painted Cave Road, an extremely narrow steep road that winds its way up the face of the Santa Ynez mountains. You will quickly climb in elevation for a few miles and then you will level out and drive for another few miles. The cave is situated on the left side of the road. There is little parking; expect to park on a narrow shoulder of the road. The cave is just a few hundred feet up a trail, above the road. The cave entrance is covered with a metal screen. Inside are brightly painted pictographs on the cave walls painted by the Chumash Indians hundreds of years ago. This artwork is believed to have religious connotations. If you are going to take pictures I would recommend taking a short zoom lens and a flash. There is a very steep trail that continues on up the hill from the cave, presumably to some smaller caves and pictographs. Note: There are no services here, not even water.

Knapp's Castle

Knapp's Castle: On East Camino Cielo Road - just before you reach the ridge with the excellent views there is a small single track dirt trail that leads to Knapp's Castle. Knapp's Castle used to be a large stone mansion perched below the ridge overlooking the scenic Santa Ynez Valley. All that is left of this castle are several stone archways and part of the foundation. The views from here are excellent - be careful of the poison oak that grows in abundance in this vicinity. It is about a 10 minute walk to the castle from the paved road. There is a locked gate with the property owner's phone number painted in yellow hanging on a sign.

This gate is located right next to the main road with the trail situated right next to the gate. Walk down the trail and take the short road to your right - this will climb up to Knapp's Castle. If you do not turn off the trail and take the short road that leads up to Knapp's Castle you can continue down the ridge to the bottom of the Santa Ynez valley. This is a single track biking trail and is best for mountain biking, not walking. The trail is quite steep in places so be quite careful if you are biking this. If you do decide to bike down here you can either have someone meet you at the bottom with a car or you will have to bike all the way back up the ridge via Cold Springs paved road

Lake Cachuma

Lake Cachuma: If you continue on highway 154 you will come to Cachuma Lake. This is a large human made lake which offers great fishing. The lake is stocked with approximately 150,000 rainbow trout annually. Tent and RV camping are offered. Also check out the popular Yurts for accommodations near the lakefront. Boating is a popular activity here, there are rentals available. Because it is the source of Santa Barbara's drinking water, swimming is not allowed.

Regularly scheduled naturalist hikes are given. Some of the wildlife in the area are bears, deer, wild pigs, and other small animals. The American Bald eagle is a year round resident of the area. The park naturalists conduct a two hour "Eagle Cruise" from November through February, while wildlife cruises are conducted throughout the year.

In the wintertime the tallest of the Santa Ynez mountains which tower above Lake Cachuma in the east, are often covered with snow. On a crisp clear winter day this is a beautiful site.

For more information about activities associated with Cachuma Lake call PHONE NUMBER (805) 568-2460 or for up to date fishing information call the Cachuma Fish watch at PHONE NUMBER (805) 688-7724.

For additional information about Lake Cachuma visit: www.sbparks.com/DOCS/Cachuma.html