Nearby Parks & Preserves

Several parks and preserves sit next to Carpinteria State Beach, each run by someone else. The City of Carpinteria runs the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, Tar Pits Park, the harbor seal rookery and part of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Santa Barbara County runs Rincon Beach Park. Their rules differ from the state beach's, especially for dogs.

Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve

The City of Carpinteria says this land was bought by the Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs and the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County in 2000, and the Land Trust gave it to the city as open space to be kept forever. Inside are the Lois Sidenberg Coastal Overlook and a winding stretch of the Carpinteria Coastal Vista Trail. The city names whale watching, ocean views and birding as the popular activities.

• Parking: at Viola Fields or the preserve's parking area at Bailard Avenue.
• Restrooms: at the Lois Sidenberg Overlook.
• Next door: Viola Fields, about 5.6 acres of ballfields with restrooms shared by players and hikers.

Carpinteria Salt Marsh

The Carpinteria Salt Marsh, also called El Estero, is a rare salt wetland. The city says the remaining estuary was restored in the late 1990s by local citizens with the City, UCSB and the Land Trust, and the city-owned eight acres became the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park in 1997, with walking trails and interpretive signs for self-guided visits. Dogs and bicycles are prohibited there.

The Land Trust, which finished a four-year restoration in 2008, calls the marsh one of the largest and most ecologically important coastal estuaries in California. A pedestrian bridge links the Nature Park with the Land Trust's quarter-mile public trail, which it rates as easy and fairly level. Part of the marsh is the University of California's Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, a research reserve run through UC Santa Barbara.

Tar Pits Park

A City of Carpinteria park east of the state beach, named for its tar seeps, with bluff-top views of the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands, hiking and biking trails and a few benches. The city suggests reaching it from the state beach: walk southeast along the beach and climb the stairs. See tar seeps.

Harbor Seal Rookery

East of Tar Pits Park, by Casitas Pier. The city closes the rookery beach from December 1 to May 31 and recommends watching from the bluff overlook on the Coastal Vista Trail, parking at 499 Linden Avenue. See harbor seals.

Rincon Beach Park

A Santa Barbara County park about 3 miles east of Carpinteria at the Ventura County line, open 8 a.m. to sunset and reached from the Bates Road exit. State Parks, separately, manages a parking lot and the access trail to Rincon Point. See Rincon Point.