The Arroyo Hondo Preserve now encompasses the entire 900-plus-acre watershed, from ridge tops to its creek’s outlet to the ocean, with the addition of two recent parcels. The historic adobe ranch house, now clad in wood, was built in 1842 and serves as the preserve’s visitor center and museum.
The Arroyo Hondo Preserve now encompasses the entire 900-plus-acre watershed, from ridge tops to its creek’s outlet to the ocean, with the addition of two recent parcels. The historic adobe ranch house, now clad in wood, was built in 1842 and serves as the preserve’s visitor center and museum. Credit: Brent Winebrenner photo

Twenty-five years ago, the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County faced a challenging decision: whether to purchase Arroyo Hondo, a picturesque and pristine 782-acre canyon six miles east of Refugio State Beach, for $6.2 million. 

Founded just 11 years earlier, the trust’s goal is to protect local open space, wildlife habitat and agricultural land for today’s residents and future generations. 

“It was such a big deal as we had one staff member and a volunteer board who did all the work,” said longtime board member Ken Marshall, a retired land use planner. “The vote wasn’t unanimous, but we took the leap.” 

This year marks the silver anniversary of the Arroyo Hondo Preserve, which is owned and managed by the Land Trust. A place as rich in history as it is in natural beauty, the canyon was protected in perpetuity. 

“When you fast-forward to now, it is clear that we’ve had a huge impact, especially on educating the next generation,” Marshall said. “A visit here gives a perspective and appreciation for nature that they might not have had before.”

Since its establishment in 2001, the preserve has grown to 910 acres and has welcomed more than 111,000 visitors, including 30,000 schoolchildren. 

To celebrate this milestone, the Land Trust will host a free birthday celebration at the preserve from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, with nature tours, stream ecology exploration, arts and crafts, and more. Find out more about the party and ongoing twice-monthly weekend walks on the website.

Arroyo Canyon Preserve features one of the most pristine creeks on the Central Coast, flowing unimpeded for 6 miles from headwaters to the sea. Free weekend hikes are held twice monthly.
Arroyo Canyon Preserve features one of the most pristine creeks on the Central Coast, flowing unimpeded for 6 miles from headwaters to the sea. Free weekend hikes are held twice monthly. Credit: Blake Bronstad photo

The “Seagull” Coast 

The Gaviota Coast begins at Point Conception, where the shoreline takes a sharp eastern turn and runs for nearly 70 miles before curving north-south again. Over eons, cascading streams have chiseled more than a dozen canyons through the southern-facing Santa Ynez Mountains to the sea.

The Chumash lived here for thousands of years, inhabiting villages such as Tayiguas (Tajiguas Canyon) and Sisuchi. The region’s modern name came from Gaspar de Portolá’s 1769 expedition, named for the seagulls, or gaviotas, the soldiers encountered. 

Twenty-five years later, Portolá’s chief scout, José Francisco Ortega, received a massive 26,500-acre Spanish land grant spanning the spectacular coast, including Arroyo Hondo Canyon. He was Santa Barbara Presidio’s first commandante and is the “capitan” of nearby El Capitan State Beach.

The October 2021 Alisal Fire scorched 95% of the Arroyo Hondo preserve (below), but native plant restoration areas have rebounded spectacularly (above).
The October 2021 Alisal Fire scorched 95% of the Arroyo Hondo preserve (below), but native plant restoration areas have rebounded spectacularly (above). Credit: Sally Isaacson photo at top; courtesy photo at bottom

Rancho Arroyo Hondo was created in 1827 when 782 acres were carved out of the grant. Ortega’s grandsons built an adobe ranch house in 1842 that still stands. Now clad with wood siding, it serves as the preserve’s visitor center and museum, and previously was a stagecoach stop and a bar and eatery for railroad and highway workers. It is rumored that the rugged canyon once hid bandits such as Joaquin Murrieta. 

“Deep Creek Canyon”

While highways, landfills and development reshaped neighboring canyons, Arroyo Hondo remained insulated from human disruption, save for cattle ranching. (Cows return each spring to graze near the adobe to reduce fire fuel.) 

Translating to “deep creek canyon,” Arroyo Hondo is a steep, V-shaped watershed that drops 2,500 vertical feet to sea level in just four miles. Its creek flows unimpeded into the ocean. 

The canyon holds microclimates from sage chaparral to cool, damp fern grottos, deep granite ravines, and grassy meadows. Slowly eroding ancient Vaqueros sandstone cliffs form the canyon walls. 

Jennie B. Hollister purchased the canyon from the Ortega family in 1908. It was her grandnephew, John James “J.J.” Hollister III, who negotiated the Land Trust transfer nearly a century later. 

Thanks to recent acquisitions, the entire 900-plus-acre drainage basin is now part of the preserve. 

Facing Mud and Fire

John Warner co-manages the preserve with his wife, Jennifer Dunn. The couple live in the adobe. 

“I have 21 years on this ground,” he said. “It is and has been a place of learning for Jennifer and me. The canyon is still awe-inspiring for us; we are constantly amazed at what we bear witness to.”

Sally Isaacson, left, has served as Arroyo Hondo Preserve’s education manager for 15 years. “I love how kids suddenly become excited when they get into this wild space,” she says. “Some come in being cool or are a little afraid, but they love spotting a butterfly or even a sowbug. A turtle or fox is even better.”
Sally Isaacson, left, has served as Arroyo Hondo Preserve’s education manager for 15 years. “I love how kids suddenly become excited when they get into this wild space,” she says. “Some come in being cool or are a little afraid, but they love spotting a butterfly or even a sowbug. A turtle or fox is even better.” Credit: Linda Blue photo

That includes last January, when they awoke to find the adobe surrounded by 2 feet of mud from landslides. Trails are still being rebuilt, and erosion control measures are underway, such as wattles to slow runoff. 

The Alisal Fire scorched 95% of the preserve in October 2021. Historic structures were saved, Warner said, thanks in part to proactive brush clearing, including sheep grazing. But all 10 native plant restoration study plots, planted more than a dozen years in four different habitats, were burned. 

Today, few signs of the fire remain, and the restoration plots have regrown spectacularly, outperforming mustard and other invasive plants.

“Mustard poisons the soil for other plants, and if restoration sites are disturbed, it will come back unless you have planted with native species that have their stems underground,” Warner said. “These rhizomatous plants grow faster than the mustard can take over.” 

Preserve manager John Warner, left, and longtime Land Trust board member Ken Marshall prepare to celebrate the 25th birthday party at Arroyo Hondo Preserve on Saturday.
Preserve manager John Warner, left, and longtime Land Trust board member Ken Marshall prepare to celebrate the 25th birthday party at Arroyo Hondo Preserve on Saturday. Credit: Julia McHugh / Noozhawk photo

A horticulturist, he is co-owner and founder of Santa Barbara Natives, a wholesale native plant nursery. In 2004, his nursery sat on the ranch adjacent to Arroyo Hondo. 

“I came over and knocked on the door,” he recalled. “We collected seeds here in 2005 and grew plants for restoration. When the manager position came open, I put my hat in the ring.” 

Protected in Perpetuity

Warner and Marshall agreed that Arroyo Hondo offers valuable experiences for all visitors but especially for children. School groups visit twice a week during the school year, led by dedicated volunteer docents. Slots are nearly full for the coming year. 

“This is a unique setting, and many kids who come here have never been out in nature. I saw deer as I was driving in, and it’s only 25 minutes from my home off Cliff Drive,” Marshall said. “The more urbanization we have, the more the need for these kinds of places.”

Warner reported that “everything that’s supposed to be here is here,” referring to the wildlife found in the preserve.

Arroyo Hondo Preserve co-managers John Warner and his wife, Jennifer Dunn, live in the historic 1842 adobe built by José Francisco Ortega’s grandsons. In January 2026, the couple awoke to 2 feet of mud from landslides surrounding the building.
Arroyo Hondo Preserve co-managers John Warner and his wife, Jennifer Dunn, live in the historic 1842 adobe built by José Francisco Ortega’s grandsons. In January 2026, the couple awoke to 2 feet of mud from landslides surrounding the building. Credit: Courtesy photo

“There seem to be more large predators,” he said. “We’re seeing groups of bears in the lower canyon, and there’s a mother mountain lion with three yearlings, along with badgers, bobcats, foxes and other animals.” 

Treasured resident trout were wiped out after the Alisal Fire, when mud and debris filled the creek bed. However, the 2025 Palisades fire brought a benefit: 260 critically endangered steelhead rainbow trout were relocated here from Topanga Canyon Creek. They have since spawned. A fish passage under Highway 101 allows adult fish access to and from the ocean. 

Endangered tidewater gobies, threatened red-legged frogs, Western pond turtles and California newts also live in the watershed, while peregrine falcons nest in the sandstone ridges. 

In addition to their ongoing research, the preserve is the site of many collaborative studies, including genetic testing of lizards, an examination of predation at the beach and monitoring of the creek steelhead.

There’s good news. The transplanted trout had a visitor this summer when a 13-inch steelhead swam up from the ocean via the fish passage. 

This is an encouraging sign for this historic, picturesque canyon, where a pristine creek is protected in perpetuity, thanks to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County.

The Arroyo Hondo Preserve was made possible by a huge outpouring of community support. Find out more at sblandtrust.org/celebrate-25-years-arroyo-hondo-preserve/.