Low tides, warm winter weather, and a lazy stroll on the beach combine to create a wonderful afternoon.

But where to head?

The usual access points such as Hendry’s, Thousand Steps, Shoreline Park or Butterfly Beach? Or perhaps Haskell’s in the Goleta area or Santa Claus Beach in Carpinteria?

Or possibility something even more adventurous?

A visit to a beach you haven’t been to or one of the more secluded stretches of shoreline along the Gaviota Coast?

Perhaps even a point-to-point walk with a shuttle back to your starting point?

When the tides are low, the options are wide open.

The Low Tides Are Coming

The winter months always feature extremes in tides, especially in January and February when alignment of the earth, moon, and at times the sun exert a stronger pull on the ocean waters.

The effect is an ebb and flow, at times pulling the sea water towards the county coastline, and hours later tugging it away from us. At the extreme of these daily cycles, the lows become really low and the highs much higher.  

It’s the lows that make walking the beaches so inviting, opening up smooth sand and access from point to point along parts of the coastline that otherwise would be submerged.

A New Year’s Resolution

This year my resolution is a simple one: take advantage of the low tides to walk all of the beaches from Rincon Point to the Gaviota Pier. It’s just under 50 miles from one end to the other.

Not necessarily in that direction and definitely not in any particular order, but doing so is important to me. 

I have always loved walking on the beaches. Perhaps it is because I grew up so close to them, never living much more than a mile from the ocean, that they have become a part of me. 

I love the mountains, the sound of the water cascading over the rocks, the canyon wren whistling in the distance, and the smell of the sage washing over me. But when I feel like a quiet walk, it is always to our beaches that I head.

The word ‘beach’ has such a pleasant sound to it. It is almost impossible to have a bad beach day, except perhaps when the tide is high enough to keep one from venturing too far. 

One of the good things about beaches is that it’s easy to walk a ways and before you know you’ll find yourself all by yourself, just you and the sand, the waves and the gulls, and loads of time all to yourself.

Remembering  Another Day

The day was the kind that beckons you to the beach: clear skies, temps in the 70s, and a minus 1.5 low tide.

There were just four of us — Gerry, Barry, Yvonne and me — a perfect number for what we were about to do, which was to walk the coastline from El Capitan down to Haskell’s Beach.

This is one of Santa Barbara’s very best beach walks. 

Though the highway is never more than a half mile away, the tall cliffs swallow the sound of the traffic. and the feeling once you round the first corner is of being in a very far away place. 

Along the way the are long stretches of hard-packed sand, boulder fields where you can stop and explore for all sorts of things, and tide pools filled with sea stars and huge, purple slugs feeding on the kelp.

And lots of barnacles and sea urchins, too. 

We started on a falling tide, a bit earlier dropping off one car at Haskell’s Beach and leaving a second car in the El Capitan parking lot.

Days Long Past

The walk around the top of El Cap Point reminded me of days long past, surfing the point. When it is up, the El Cap point break is the best Santa Barbara has to offer — at least in my opinion. 

There are a few surfers out as we carefully make our way over the boulders to the bottom of the cove where the sand begins. I salute them silently. 

The first half mile of the walk leads along a beautiful stretch of sandy beach, an easy walk at low tide. Fifteen minutes later we are around the first point, and the state park disappears behind us.

We see a few fishermen and a couple who have lugged a small cooler down the beach; otherwise it is deserted. What a treat.

There is a succession of small points, each of them covered by water at higher tides, but today the walking is easy.

Just before noon we come to a point  covered with huge boulders, two-to-three feet in diameter, jumbled together. Edwards Point, close to the halfway mark on our adventure.

The boulders create perfect resting spots. It’s lunch time, we all agree,. 

Treasures to be Found

As we continue on down the coast, there are more treasures to be found. The beaches are wide, a hundred yards of sand, rocky outcroppings and scattered pools uncovered by the extremely low tide. 

I still remember the deep purple sea slugs lazing about in a number of isolated pools, patiently waiting for higher tides to rescue them. A few minutes later, we spot a half dozen dolphins moving down the coast with us.

The remaining few hours of the walk were just as pleasant. Plenty of time to let the psyche wind down, to re-adjust the soul to more pleasing rhythms, and to re-awaken acquaintanceships with old friends. 

This is the essence of Santa Barbara’s many beach walks: places where you can walk for long distances, often in complete solitude; or shared with friends, where there is almost always a surprise awaiting just around the corner.

Walking the Entire Coast

If not the El Cap to Haskell’s walk on one of the upcoming low tide afternoons, there’s plenty more to consider. But if you do, consider the following.

Most of the point-to-point walks can be done in 2-4 hours, which is plenty if you begin your walk a an hour or two before the low point in the tide — or more if lowest near the end of the day.

As a general rule, having the sun at your back is a good idea given the lack of shade on the beaches. That means walking up the coast on morning low tides and down coast on afternoon low tides.

Have a phone with you, and if you are unfamiliar with this part of the coastline, use an app to keep track of your location. Have a headlamp if you plan on being out close to sunset.

While most of the coastline is accessible at tides below a 1.0, storm surge or big surf may impact how far in the waves may come. 

Large stretches of the coastline have steep cliffs and almost no way off the beach. Know where the access points are if an emergency should occur.

You should also know that dogs are not permitted on any of the state park beaches and on the beaches stretching from Shoreline Park to East Beach.

Get an app like TideGraphPro or Tide Guide to help you with planning the best time for your walk, and to keep track of the changing tides while you are out there.

If You Go

Whether as a commitment to walking the entire coastline or you are looking for a walk you haven’t yet done, feel free to check out a guide I put together a few years ago titled Santa Barbara Beach Walks .

Click the link above. It is free to download and provides a detailed guide to our South Coast beaches and access points. A caution, the PDF may take a while to load.

Happy Walking!

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January Minus Tides, time of day and tide level. All of the low tides during daylight hours are in the afternoon.

Jan. 2 — 1:40 p.m.  -0.3

Jan. 3 — 2:20 p.m.  -0.6

Jan. 4 — 2:56 p.m.  -0.8

Jan. 5 — 3:29 p.m.  -0.8

Jan. 6 — 4:01 p.m.  -0.8

Jan. 7 — 4.32 p.m.  -0.7

Jan. 8 — 5.04 p.m.  -0.6

Jan. 18 — 1:40 p.m.  -1.0

Jan. 19 — 2:24 p.m.  -1.5

Jan. 20 — 3:07 p.m.  -1.9

Jan. 21 — 3:49 p.m.   -2.0

Jan. 22 — 4:31 p.m.   -1.9

Jan. 23 — 5:12 p.m..  -1.6

Approximate point-to-point distances from Rincon Point to the Gaviota Pier.

1. Rincon Point to Santa Claus Beach: 5.69 miles

2. Santa Claus Beach to East Beach: 6.79 miles

3. East Beach to West Beach: 2.77 miles

4. Shoreline Steps to Hendrys (2.33) and Goleta Beach: 7.44 miles

5. Goleta Beach to Haskell’s: 6.26 miles

6.  Haskells to El Capitan State Beach: 7.1 miles

7.  El Capitan to Arroyo Hondo: 6.95 miles

8.  Arroyo Hondo to Gaviota Pier: 5.1 miles