Pet Travel Information

Santa Barbara is very pet friendly and many hotels and tourist attractions in the area allow you to bring your pet. The following is a list of places that are pet friendly and Pet Travel Information:

Hotels that allow pets in Santa Barbara

• Adobe Motel 26 E. Haley St, Santa Barbara
• Beach House Inn & Apts 320 W. Yanonali St, Santa Barbara
• Blue Sands Motel 421 S. Milpas St, Santa Barbara
• Canary Hotel 31 W. Carrillo St, Santa Barbara
• Casa Del Mar Inn 18 Bath St, Santa Barbara
• Country Inns & Suites 1455 Mission Drive, Santa Ynez
• Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara
• Four Seasons Biltmore 1260 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara
• Harbor House Inn 104 Bath St, Santa Barbara
• Hotel Mar Monte 1111 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara
• Ivanhoe Inn 1407 Castillo Street, Santa Barbara
• La Playa Inn 212 W. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara
• Marina Beach Motel 21 Bath St, Santa Barbara
• Motel 6 3505 State Street, Santa Barbara
• Motel 6 5897 Calle Real, Goleta
• Motel 6 Carpinteria 4200 Via Real, Carpinteria
• Motel 6 Carpinteria 5550 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria
• Pacifica Suites 5490 Hollister Ave, Goleta
• San Ysidro Ranch 900 San Ysidro Ln, Santa Barbara
• Secret Garden Inn & Cottages 1908 Bath St, Santa Barbara

Parks
If you're looking for an off-leash experience, the Douglas Family Preserve is excellent. It a long stretch of gorgeous water front, rustic and partially developed land where dogs are welcome to be off-leash. It is important that your dog be okay with other dogs, however, as this is a popular place for running and fetching! Other great parks for leashed dogs are Chase Palm Park, Shoreline Park, Oak Park.

Beaches
Generally, it is forbidden to have dogs off leash during the summer but if you're here in the off-season, it's usually okay. Great beaches for dogs are the Carpinteria State and Local Beach, the stretch of unnamed beach below Shoreline Park and west of Leadbetter Beach, which you can only get to during low tide, and El Capitan Beach is wonderful if you don't mind a bit of a drive.

Restaurants
Many, many restaurants in Santa Barbara have patio seating. Make sure to ask the staff, but most are more than happy to let your leashed dog hang out with you and some even provide a bit of a treat to make your pet happy.

Care Hospital - 301 E. Haley St, (805) 899-2273 - CARE Hospital is a state-of-the-art veterinary center offering advanced medical and surgical procedures for your pets.

Pacific Emergency Pet Hospital, 2963 State St. (805) 682-5120. Open nights and weekends, this emergency hospital is staffed by vets from the areas regular services. Superb with cats and dogs. Exotic animals will find hit or miss, as you never know which vet may have a unique specialty. Call ahead if you have birds, reptiles or small mammals (rabbits, guinea pigs)

Refugio State Beach

This beach is unique among Santa Barbara beaches. Many locals find that they come here to over other beaches closer into town. It just feels different than the others.

It might be the abundance of picnic tables and grills or maybe its all the quirky little palms that dot the thin strip of border grass. It could also be the camp grounds that bump right against the beach.

Who knows for sure, but this beach is worth the drive from the city. It's a long 1.5 miles of beach that offers plenty of sand and surf. If you feel adventuresome, this is a great beach for diving and snorkeling. Hiking and biking trails round out the list of things to do while here.

HIGHLIGHTS: BBQ Pits, BBQ Grills, Camping, Dogs OK, Fishing, General Store, Lifeguard, Picnic Area, Playground, Restroom, and Showers

Directions: Take the 101 north of the city. Go beyond El Capitan and follow the signs.

Goleta Beach

This beach has a little bit of everything for just about anybody. A long sandy beach is flanked by a grass. There are plenty of grills and picnic tables and a brisk wind keeps bathers from getting over heated. There is a busy walking trail nearby.

The parking is free. A fishing pier, restaurant and snack bar, volleyball nets, restrooms, and large areas for group picnics provide plenty of amenities. Although it is close to the University and the airport, ground and air traffic seem very far away.

PLEASE NOTE: The area is rich in oil deposits, which occasionally give it a tar smell. It is a very busy beach and parking can be difficult to find. Since it is right off the highway, it isn't possible to park on the road.

HIGHLIGHTS: BBQ Gills, BBQ Pits, Bike Paths, Boat Launch, Dogs OK, Fishing, Pier, Gift Shop, Lifeguards, Picnic Area, Playground, Restrooms, Showers, Restaurant, Tidal Pools, Volleyball Courts.

Directions: From the 101 take the 217 until you come almost the end. Take the airport exit and at the bottom of the ramp turn left. Go under the bridge and turn right into the parking lot.

Gaviota Beach

Most people - even long time Santa Barbarans - don't even know this beach is here. It is a ways out of the city - 33 miles west of Santa Barbara to be exact.

This is a great beach for the surprise element. You actually have to walk under the train trestle to get to the sand. Very cool!!!

If the swimming and fishing don't get you, the hike to Gaviota Hot Springs might!

PLEASE NOTE: The wind can get pretty wild along this stretch of the coast. Except on the hottest of Santa Barbara days, you will probably wear a coat here rather than a swim suit.

HIGHLIGHTS: BBQ Grills, BBQ Pits, Boat Launch, Camping, Dogs OK, Fishing, Pier, Gift Shop, Hiking Trails, Lifeguards, Picnic Area, Restroom, Showers, Snack Bar, Volleyball Courts

Directions: Take the 101N from Santa Barbara until you come to signs for Gaviota State Park. Be very careful, however, if you are going northbound as you will be crossing oncoming highway traffic!

El Capitan Beach

This is a beautiful beach for those who love beaches. It's not the biggest in town, but it has plenty of sand, and the level of privacy is delicious. Since it is away from the city there is a sense of getting away, even though you don't go too far.

The beach is part of a State Park, so there are plenty of facilities. One of our favorite aspects of this park is how true to Southern California it is in many ways. There are more live oaks than palm, more chaparral than ice plant. You might even be able to find some cactus if you looked.

PLEASE NOTE: It's on State Park, which means you have to pay a $5 per car entrance fee. It's good all day or if you go for just 20 minutes. There's not a lot of "entertainment," as far as volleyball or rollerblading go. However, if you're looking for swimming, surfing, or sunning, this is the place to go.

FEATURES: BBQ Grills, BBQ Pits, Bike Path, Camping, Dogs OK, Fishing, General Store, Hiking Trails, Lifeguard, Picnic Areas, Playground, Restrooms, Surfing, Showers, Snack Bar, and Volleyball Courts.

Directions: Take the 101N past Goleta and drive until you reach the El Capitan signs. The road will take you right into the park. The park is approximately 10 miles out of town.

Hendry's Beach

Officially named Arroyo Burro Beach, this beach is just a ten minute drive along the Coast from downtown Santa Barbara.

Hendry's is secluded by towering cliffs and a curving coastline. Surfers and children vie for territory as the waves tumble into shore.

Hendry's is centrally located to a great deal of other fun. Elings Park is a half mile up Las Positas so you will often see hang gliders and paragliders launching from nearby cliffs. Right next door to the beach is the Douglas Family Reserve, which features some of the most pristine cliffside terrain in all of Santa Barbara.

BEACH HIGHLIGHTS:

BBQ Pits, Dogs OK, Fishing, Lifeguards, Public Areas, Restrooms, Showers, Snack Bar, and Tidal Pools

DIRECTIONS:

Take 101 to Los Positas. Turn away from the mountains. When you come to a T-intersection and turn right. Take the second left at the base of a cliff.