Parking & Directions

Carpinteria State Beach is at 205 Palm Avenue in Carpinteria, on Highway 224 off U.S. 101, about 12 miles south of Santa Barbara. Day visitors park in the state beach's day-use lot for $10 a vehicle. When the lot is full, a car that leaves is not guaranteed reentry.

Getting There

California State Parks gives the directions simply: the park is on Highway 224, off U.S. 101, twelve miles south of Santa Barbara. The campground map gives the street address as 205 Palm Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013, which is the address to put in a phone map. State Parks' park page also links a Google Maps route and an online park map.

The Day-Use Lot

The day-use area has beach access, restrooms, barbecues and picnic tables, with a boardwalk to the sand. The campground map sets its rules:

• Open 7 a.m. to sunset.
• $10 a vehicle (special rates may apply at peak times; see hours and fees).
• Vehicles that exit are not guaranteed reentry when the lot is full.
• Limited parking for vehicles with a combined length over 21 feet, so a long RV or a car with a trailer may not fit.
• No alcohol in the day-use areas.

Accessible parking is available in the day-use area, according to State Parks' accessibility page, and there is limited accessible parking at the visitor center.

Parking for Campers

Your campsite fee covers one vehicle, and it must stay inside your site's limit lines, on the pavement. Extra vehicles cost $10 a night and go in one of three extra-vehicle lots named on the camping page: Tarpits, Jellybowl or the main day-use lot. Display your camping registration on the lower left of the windshield. Trailers or RVs too long for the reserved site are turned away; the park's maximum is 35 feet. See camping.

Other Places to Park Nearby

Two nearby parking spots are run by the City of Carpinteria, not State Parks:

• Linden Avenue: street parking along Linden Avenue is the city's, and State Parks names it as extra parking for the Tomol Interpretive Play Area at the northwest corner of the park.
• 499 Linden Avenue: the city's recommended parking for the Coastal Vista Trail to the harbor seal rookery overlook, about 1.3 miles away.

For Rincon Point, State Parks runs a separate parking lot down the coast; see Rincon Point.

Walking or Biking In

At most California state parks, State Parks charges day use per vehicle, and walking or biking in is free. Inside the park, bicycles are allowed only on paved roads, riders under 18 must wear a helmet, and the speed limit is 15 mph.