Santa Barbara Trolley Tour
Guided tours are one of my favorite ways to see a new city with kids, especially if your time is limited. You can knock out some must-see stops during this 90-minute jaunt around the city, including the Old Mission Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Courthouse and even some highlights in nearby Montecito. You can use the trolley as hop-on hop-off transportation to get to all of the sightseeing on your list, or you can settle in for an hour and a half and listen to the delightful conductor share stories and fun facts about the city.
Enjoyable for both children and adults, the tours start at 10 and returns to the Visitors Center for the last time at 4:40 p.m.
I hesitate to call this place a museum since the word calls to mind stiff and quiet environments. The MOXI is quite the opposite, encouraging both parents and children to ask questions, get involved and learn through play.
This was easily one of the biggest highlights of the trip for my kids and Ive never heard so many shrieks of delight from them as they raced from one exhibit to the next. Its honestly fun for all ages. There are three floors to explore, including the rooftop Sky Garden. Set aside at least 2 hours for your visit and look forward to playing with the gigantic Speed Track, learning about gravity and centripetal forces in the Fantastic Forces Courtyard and creating your own sounds and rhythms at the Sound Track.
Swim At East Beach Santa Barbara
East Beach
Anchor your family at East Beachknown as one of the best family beaches in Californiaa sandy swath with mostly mild waves for swimming, sunning, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding. Rental equipment is available. Spread out your beach towel and picnic, and watch locals play volleyball at the beachs popular courts.
Cabrillo Boulevard Bike Path
For a break from the sand, pedal the shoreside Cabrillo Boulevard Bike Path toward West Beach and Stearns Wharf. En route, watch local skateboarders do tricks at Skaters Point Skate Park.
Wheel Fun Rentals has bikes or signup via smartphone with Santa Barbara Bcycle for pedal-assisted electric bikes from the docking stations along the waterfront.
Santa Barbara Family Hotels
If youre looking for somewhere to stay while visiting Santa Barbara with kids, my top pick among local hotels is Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore, Santa Barbara. Its one of my favorite luxury hotels precisely because its so welcoming to kids and the atmosphere is very relaxed.
Theres also a lot to do, both on and near the property. Weve taken advantage of the bike rentals many times. Their summer Kids for All Seasons has supervised activities for kids ages 5 through 12. Its easy to book babysitting through the hotel and enjoy a little grownup time during your family vacation.
TIP: When youre ready to book a Santa Barbara hotel, keep in mind that you have access to exclusive VIP amenities. If you book through my Santa Barbara Virtuoso page*, youll get extras like complimentary breakfasts, room upgrades, and spa credits that make family travel a lot easier.
*You may need to be on the desktop version of Virtuoso.com to search rates and book online. To enable the desktop version of a hotel page from a mobile device, scroll down to the navy blue section at the bottom of the web page and click Full Site. When searching rates, do not input children ages 17 and under as they will be priced as adults. Im notified when you book and will add them when I contact you about your reservation.
What are your favorite things to do in Santa Barbara with kids?
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Santa Barbara With Kids: 11 Top Things To Do
Written by Karen HastingsSep 14, 2020
Soaked in year-round sunshine, Santa Barbara is a wonderland for wiggly kids. Nature scores top billing here, and children of all ages will find a range of exhilarating outdoor adventures, from whale watching cruises and harbor seal sanctuaries to action-packed playgrounds, calm beaches, surf breaks, and beachfront bike paths.
The city is also home to a fantastic zoo, where kids can hand-feed giraffes and come face to face with western lowland gorillas. For a small-town, Santa Barbara also features an impressive medley of museums, including an excellent natural history museum, a maritime museum, and sea center.
Children will also enjoy some of Santa Barbara’s fun parades and festivals. Favorites are the Summer Solstice Parade in June and the week-long August Fiesta celebrations, when kids love to dress up in colorful Spanish costumes and crack confetti-filled eggs.
Plan your Santa Barbara family vacation with our list of the top things to do in Santa Barbara with kids.
Feed A Giraffe At The Zoo
With its ocean views and beautiful park-like setting on 30 acres, the Santa Barbara Zoo is a real stunner. More than 500 animals representing 160 species of mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects make their home here in replicated natural habitats. Small and manageable, the whole zoo can be explored in a few hours. Highlights for little ones include a ride on the miniature train and hand-feeding the Masai giraffes.
Cal Coast Adventures / Visit Santa Barbara
The best way to explore Santa Barbara’s waterfront is by pedaling the coastal bike path that runs along East Beach. Wheel of Fun Rentals offers a wide selection of pedal-craft, from mountain bikes, beach cruisers, and tandems to surreys and deuce coupes. Adventurous families can head to the Los Padres National Forest right outside of Santa Barbara where singletrack trails range from moderate to strenuous and offer a bird’s eye view of the coast.
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Carpinteria Museum To Host Marketplace For Saturday
COURTESY PHOTOSAt left, Freshly baked Einkorn, an ancient grain bread, will be available for purchase Saturday at the Carpinteria Valley Historical Society and Museums Marketplace. At right, the Carpinteria Valley Museum of History is located at 956 Maple Ave., Carpinteria, and hosts 10 Marketplace events per year.
The Carpinteria Valley Historical Society and History Museum will host its Marketplace from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the museum, 956 Maple Ave., Carpinteria.
Admission is free.
In response to our vendors, attendees, and museum volunteers, were starting a new tradition of having the holiday-themed Marketplace in December rather than Thanksgiving weekend, said Jayme Yahr, executive director and curator of the nonprofit organization.
As usual, the marketplace will be filled with a large variety of goods such as handcrafted gifts, toys, antiques, furniture, jewelry, clothing, plants, musical instruments, household items including quilts, kitchenware, and chinaware, among other treasures. Of special note are the 25-cent and $1 tables at Grannys Attic, the booth operated by the museum.
For more information or orders, Ms. Welch can be contacted on Instagram @dinkelbrot_carpinteria or 805-451-1327.
The Marketplace will include live music by the Sweet Strings Sisters, which consists of the acoustic duo of Michele Harris-Padrón and Christi Hudson. The two former educators play folk, traditional, oldies, and original tunes. For more information, go to .
Explore Downtown Santa Barbara On Two Wheels
Downtown Santa Barbara
Cycling with your teens in downtown Santa Barbara is a fun way to see the city. A designated bike lane runs along State Street from Stearns Wharf to West Constance Avenue.
Cafés, restaurants, and shops dot the lively strip. The ten or so blocks of State Street from Gutierrez to Sola are a pedestrian promenade with outdoor cafés and vendor stalls.
Since your teens are bound to like snacking and browsing along this European-style walkway, pedal the section that allows bikes, then lock your wheels, and stroll.
Stearns Wharf
You can also cycle to many of Santa Barbaras most famous sites. Start at Stearns Wharf, then stop at the Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and El Presidio.
To get your wheels the easy way, use your smartphone to sign up with Santa Barbara Bcycle. Then get your grab-and-go, pedal-assisted electric bikes from one of the 80 docking stations in popular city areas.
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Learn About Dinosaurs At The Santa Barbara Museum Of Natural History
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Photo by Vahe Martirosyan on Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Tour the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History with your kids to learn about the regions long-time inhabitants, both people and animals.
Gaze at the 72-foot-long skeleton of a blue whale to comprehend the size of the worlds largest animal, affectionately named Chad by the museum staff. Roar back at a tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus, and other formidable animatronic dinos residing in the museums woods.
Indoors, view dioramas of a bear, pygmy mammoth, California condor, and other creatures. Baskets, a plank canoe, arrow-making kits, and other artifacts detail the lives of the Chumash, Native Americans who have inhabited the Santa Barbara region for centuries. The Gladwin Planetarium, meanwhile, takes you to the stars and planets.
Explore The Santa Barbara Museum Of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Photo by Jllm06 on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
With 25,000 works from antiquity to the present in its permanent collection, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art stakes its claim as a West Coast artistic force, especially after its August 2021 renovation.
Although exhibits of permanent collection items vary, you and your teens might see paintings by pop artist James Rosenquist and canvases by Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, and Hieronymous Bosch.
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Day : The Natural History Museum State Street The Santa Barbara Botanical Garden Eat At Lucky Penny
Enjoy breakfast at Jeannines. Its a Santa Barbara institution that started by serving scones to the community more than 30 years ago. Since then its opened three locations, the most recent on State Street, and enhanced its menu to Kahlua-soaked banana french toast, lobster Benedict, and a buttermilk pancake breakfast that will get the whole family smiling and ready to start the day.
Explore the National History Museum, which is a relatively small museum and not at all overwhelmingjust perfect for kids. The museum is housed in Spanish Revival-style buildings on an extensive property with lush gardens and most of your visit will be spent outdoors. The 72-foot Blue Whale skeleton that greets you upon entrance will have kids excited to see more. The current Butterflies Alive exhibit is a must-see. There are more than 1000 butterflies, many from Costa Rica and theyre spectacular to see them up close and personal. Youll need to wait in a short line outside of the pavilion as they only allow a certain amount of guests in at a time.
Fuel up with lunch on State Street. Its the place to stroll through shops and stop for a frozen treat at Tondi Gelato.
Visit the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden where kiddos can walk and wander through 78 acres of Californias endemic plant life. It is a great place to walk and wander, though they offer plenty of more structured, docent-led tours. Theres also a Japanese teahouse on-site worth checking out.
Museum Of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara
Location: 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa BarbaraHours: WednesdaySunday 11 a.m.5 p.m.Pricing: Free of charge
Built in 1976, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara encourages creativity and inspires critical thinking through displaying modern works of art. Located in the heart of Downtown Santa Barbara, this museum is the premier locale for getting a contemporary art fix between L.A. and S.F. and did we mention its free of charge? In addition to displaying some of the most thought-provoking works of art, the museum organizes over 30 super fun events annuallyyou got to keep an eye open for future events.
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Santa Barbara Museum Of Natural History
With more than 3.5 million artifacts and specimens in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, vertebrate and invertebrate biology, geology and paleontology, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History provides access to one of the largest collections in the state. Located a mile from downtown, the museum maintains a diverse set of educational programs for all age levels through the involvement of the museums scientists and the power of hands-on nature experiences.
Neal Taylor Nature Center
The Neal Taylor Nature Center is located inside the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area where it offers hours of educational fun for the whole family. The great news is that entrance to the center is free which makes this a great budget-friendly option for the family. You can check their website to see which of their regular activities are on during your visit to Santa Barbara these include Guided Nature Walks and Junior Ranger programs every Saturday, Wildlife Cruises and Eagle Cruises . Children and adults can attend trout fishing workshops and bat viewing lectures from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Neal Taylor Nature Center, Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, 2265 Highway 154, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, Phone: 805-693-0691
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Santa Barbara Museum Of Art
With more than 25,000 pieces spanning 5,000 years of human creativity, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is dedicated to integrating art into our lives. Conveniently located on State Street in Santa Barbaras historic downtown, the museum is home to examples of some of the most important art ever created including the largest collection of works by legendary French Impressionist Monet on the West Coast to Portrait of Mexico Today, 1932, the only intact mural in the United States by David Alfaro Siqueiros.
Take In Sweeping Ocean Views At Stearns Wharf
Stearns Wharf
One of the classic things to do in Santa Barbara with kids is to take in the harbor views from Stearns Wharf. The iconic 2,300-foot long structure, built in 1872, reigns as Californias oldest working wooden wharf.
Stearns Wharf
For close encounters with wildlife, scan the horizon for dolphins, fish from the pier , and visit the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural Historys Sea Center. You can gently touch sharks, sea stars, and sea urchins, view jellyfish and octopuses, and learn how scientists take samples from the ocean.
For a snack after your visit, try one of the 32 flavors of locally-made ice cream served at the wharfs Great Pacific Ice Cream Company. To get out on the water, the Lil Toot water taxi cruises from the pier to the Santa Barbara waterfront near West Beach.
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Santa Barbara Trolley Company
If you are visiting Santa Barbara for the first time the Santa Barbara Trolley Company offers a great way to get an overview of all the sights and attractions. The company has a fleet of renovated trolleys which offer visitors the chance to see and explore all the major attractions on a jump-on-jump-off basis. For families with little people who cannot walk long distances this service offers an ideal solution and children under the age of twelve travel free. You can stop off as long as you like at any of the attractions and then continue your tour when you are ready. A few of the highlights include Stearns Wharf , the Harbor, East Beach and the Old Santa Barbara Mission.
Santa Barbara Trolley Company, 1 Garden Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, Phone: 805-965-0353
Admire Spanish Colonial Architecture
Old Mission Santa Barbara
Founded in 1786 by the Spanish Franciscans, four years after the El Presidio de Santa Barbara, the Old Mission Santa Barbara sits on 15 acres with enviable views of the San Ynez mountains. History-minded teens with an interest in architecture are likely to appreciate this National Historic Landmark.
Old Mission Santa Barbara
The current Mission church, an active parish, was completed in 1820 and reconstructed after a massive 1925 earthquake. Known as the Queen of the Missions for its beauty, the Spanish Colonial-style church features a pale pink façade and two graceful bell towers.
On a self-guided tour, view the church, recreations of the living quarters and the kitchen, plus artwork, and artifacts in the museum. A small, but lovely garden blooms at the property. The Old Mission Santa Barbara is the only mission continuously managed by Franciscan friars since its inception.
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Discover Seafaring History At The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
At the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum on the harborfront, children can learn all about the region’s rich maritime history through fun hands-on exhibits.
Favorites include the deep sea fishing simulator, dress-up corner, antique diving suits, and oil rig models. Other exhibits unveil the fascinating local history of the Channel Islands, as well as abalone diving, surfing, shipwrecks, and the Chumash Indians. Best of all, kids can follow a treasure hunt with a map that takes them through the museum.
After viewing all the exhibits, pop up to the top deck for sweeping views of the harbor, and if you’re looking for a fun lunch spot, one of Santa Barbara’s most popular seafood restaurants, Brophy Bros., is nearby.
A fun way to access the maritime museum is aboard the Lil’ Toot water taxi, which runs between Stearns Wharf and the Santa Barbara Harbor.
After your museum visit, stroll around the docks, so the kids can watch all the boating action.
Address: 113 Harbor Way, Ste 190, Santa Barbara, California
Stroll To The Carpinteria Harbor Seal Rookery
Wriggly wildlife-lovers who want to blow off steam and see harbor seals in their natural habitat at the same time should head to the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve. Along the soaring sea cliffs here, you can hike to a seal rookery viewpoint along the scenic Coastal Vista Trail, one of the top hiking trails in Santa Barbara.
This flat one-mile trail accommodates off-road strollers and is an easy walk for older children, but be sure to take care along the cliff edge.
The best time to visit is from December through May, when the seals rest on the beach to give birth and nurse their pups. At this time of year, the beach below is closed so that the seals can birth without disturbances, but you can observe them from the clifftop viewpoint. Docents are usually here to answer questions, and if you visit from February through April, you may be lucky enough to see a harbor seal give birth.
Look for dolphins and whales offshore, as well as ground squirrels and lizards along the path. From the seal rookery, follow the trail through the coastal salt marsh, where you can spot more than 200 species of birds. It’s a good idea to bring binoculars, so little eyes can see the wildlife up close.
If you’re looking for a kid-friendly lunch spot after your wildlife-watching adventure, head to Padaro Beach Grill in a park-like seafront setting, about 3.4 miles north on US 101. Here, little ones can dig in the large toy-filled sand pit while you eat in peace.
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