California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

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LosPadres
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Santa
Barbara

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p194

(http://santabarbaramission.
org; 2201 Laguna St; adult/
child $5/1; h9am-5pm),
California’s ‘Queen of
the Missions.’ Then take
our self-guided walking
tour of downtown’s
historical buildings and
museums (see p194), all
on or just off State St,
which leads downhill to
the ocean and splintered
wooden Stearns Wharf,
the West Coast’s oldest
continuously operating
pier. A few blocks
inland from the beach,
follow Santa Barbara’s
Urban Wine Trail (www.
urbanwinetrailsb.com), where

boutique wine-tasting
rooms are typically open
from noon to 6pm daily
(tasting fees $5 to $10).

54 p193
The Drive » In the morning,
take a short drive north on Hwy
101, then follow winding, narrow
Hwy 154 up into the Santa Ynez
Mountains and over San Marcos
Pass. About 9 miles from Hwy
101, turn left onto Stagecoach
Rd, passing the 1860s Cold
Springs Tavern. After 2 miles,
turn right on Paradise Rd.

2 Los Padres
National Forest
Off Paradise Rd, the tall-
treed Los Padres National
Forest (www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf;
c) contains several good
hiking trails for all ages,
all easily accessed off
Hwy 154. Starting beyond
the family campgrounds
and river crossing on
Paradise Rd, the creekside
Red Rock Trail leads for
a mile to rocky pools and
waterfalls where you can
sunbathe or swim.

The Drive » Backtrack along
Paradise Rd, then turn right and
follow Hwy 154 northbound past
Lake Cachuma and the rolling

hillsides for over 13 miles. Turn
left onto Hwy 246 and keep
motoring five more flat miles
through the Santa Ynez Valley
west to Solvang.

3 Solvang
Loosely translated as
‘Sunny Fields,’ this
touristy Danish village
was founded in 1911 on
what was once a Mexican
rancho land grant. Filled
with knick-knack stores
and storybook-esque
motels, the town is
almost as sticky-sweet
as the Scandinavian
bakery pastries gobbled
by day-trippers. Wine-
tasting rooms and
windmills decorate the
village’s pedestrian-
friendly streets. Where
locals gather for after-
work drinks, Tocatta
Tasting Room (www.llwine.
com; 1665 Copenhagen Dr;
tasting fee $8-12; h11am-
5:30pm) specializes in
Italian varietals and
robust Tuscan blends.
On a residential side
street, the tiny Elverhøj
Museum (www.elverhoj.
org; 1624 Elverhoy Way;

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

g


Around San
Luis Obispo
Want more wine, but
beaches too? Drive Hwy 101
north of Santa Ynez Valley
for 45 miles to Pismo Beach.

s


Mission Trail
Trace the path of
Spanish colonial history
at La Purísima Mission, 18
miles west of Solvang via
Hwy 246.

LINK
YOUR
TRIP

CENTRAL.CALIFORNIA.

17
.SANTA BARBARA WINE COUNTRY
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