Songs of the Wilderness

The Gaviota Coast extends west from Goleta towards Point Conception. The largely undeveloped stretch of coastline provides numerous opportunities to explore some of southern California’s more remote and scenic beaches.

Along the Gaviota Coast are three state beaches that provide direct access to the coast, as well as camping and other recreational opportunities. Heading west from Goleta they are El Capitan, Refugio, and Gaviota.

When the tides are low enough it’s possible to hike between the different state beaches. The hike from Refugio to Gaviota is about 9.5 miles one way and is best done as a shuttle hike. The area can also be explored by starting at either end and hiking as far as the tides permit before turning back.

Scenery along the Gaviota Coast

To get to Refugio from Santa Barbara, take Highway 101 west. Continue past the exit for El Capitan State Beach to the exit for Refugio State Beach. To reach Gaviota State Park, continue further up the coast. Currently, the turn off for Gaviota is closed and you will need to continue to the exit for State Route 1 and double back. Parking is found at both Refugio and Gaviota and is $10 per day for day use.

From Refugio, head down to the beach, and continue west around the point that defines the cove at Refugio. The point is one of the more narrow sections along the hike and serves as good indicator whether the rest of the route is passable. Ideally, you’ll want to time your hike to be midway at the lowest point of the tide. A minus low tide is best in that it affords one the best opportunity to complete the hike at a reasonable pace.

About a mile from Refugio, the route leads around another point and the views open up dramatically to the west. From here, one can spot in the distance the train trestle at Arroyo Hondo.

At about the 4.5-mile mark, roughly midway through the hike, one arrives at Arroyo Hondo. Here, the beach is also narrow, but improves as you continue towards Gaviota. Behind the trestle is the arch bridge that served as the original route for Highway 101 across the canyon. The bridge can visited from the nearby Vista Point along Highway 101. From the Vista Point, there is also an informal access down to the beach.

The exposed rocks along the coast at Arroyo Hondo offer some of the best tide pooling along the hike. Here, one can find sea anemones, mussels, limpets, chitons, black turban snails, and a fair amount of starfish.

The long beach walk also affords an opportunity to observe our local shorebirds. Overhead, California brown pelicans regularly flyby in formation. At the water’s edge are long-billed curlews and sanderlings foraging, and of course plenty of seagulls. Depending on what’s washed ashore, one can also find turkey vultures scavenging along the beach.

As the hike continues west, its rounds a number of points on the way to Gaviota. While most of the canyons and points seem to alternate, Cañada de Molina, about 1.5 miles west of Arroyo Hondo, is unique in that the sycamore-lined creek flows out almost at the point.

At about the 7-mile mark from Refugio, the coast rounds another point and Gaviota Pier comes into view. As the hike continues, it arrives at Cañada San Onofre, which is recognizable by the freestanding outcropping of Monterey shale that can be seen at the mouth of the creek.

The coast rounds one final point, before arriving at the mouths of Cañada Alcatraz and Cañada del Cementerio. The two creeks meet the ocean next one another, and both have unique and somewhat forgotten histories.

In 1897, Alcatraz Asphalt Company built a plant and pier at the site to process asphalt. The company’s owner, William F. Crocker, part of the San Francisco banking family, had leased the oil rights to Sisquoc Ranch, where the asphalt was located near La Brea Creek. Two pipelines were built between the sites, one that carried liquid asphalt to the coast, and another that carried naphtha to the mine, which was used to liquify asphalt. Four years later operations ceased when cheaper sources of asphalt were developed in Carpinteria and where UCSB is now.

When oil was discovered south of Santa Maria in the early 1900s, the site was converted to an oil refinery. It was owned by various oil companies over the years, and later served as a marine terminal. Tanks at the site can be seen from the freeway near Mariposa Reina.

Just west of Cañada Alcatraz is Cañada del Cementerio. In 1774, the De Anza expedition, following the route established by Portolà five years earlier, passed through the area. Here, they found a deserted Chumash village and its cemetery, and named the site El Cementerio.

In December 1900, the canyon become our own local version of Promontory Summit when the railroad along the coast was finally completed. For years there existed an unserviced section between Santa Margarita and Ellwood known as “The Gap”. Due to terrain and the resistance of some landowners it wasn’t until 1900 the Southern Pacific line was completed, providing direct service between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

About a mile past Cañada Alcatraz, one arrives at Gaviota. On August 24th, 1769, the Portolà expedition camped here while on their way to Monterey. When they arrived, there was a Chumash village of about 300 people called Onomyo, which the Spanish named San Luis Rey de Francia. It’s said that when a soldier looking for firewood shot a seagull the site became known as Gaviota, Spanish for seagull.

Serving as a scout in the expedition, José Francisco Ortega, later help found the Santa Barbara Presidio and served as its first commandant from 1782-1784. In 1795, Ortega retired from military service. The previous year he had been awarded a land grant from the Spanish Crown, which he named Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio, Our Lady of Refuge.

The grant covered 26,529 acres from Refugio to Cojo Bay, and inland into the Santa Ynez Mountains. Over the years, the grant was broken up and sold off by his heirs.

During the 1850s, the Hollister and Dibblee families acquired most of land that was part of Ortega’s original land grant, as well as Rancho San Julian to the northwest.

William Welles Hollister, moved to California in the early 1850s, and established a successful sheep ranching operation in Monterey County. After he sold the operation, he moved to Santa Barbara County, where he began purchasing land, including property in Tecolote Canyon, which he named Glen Annie, after his wife, Hannah Annie James Hollister. The road leading to their ranch is now known as Hollister Avenue.

Albert and his brothers Thomas and Henry Dibblee arrived in Santa Barbara County around the same time as Hollister and also began purchasing land.

Seeing mutual advantage, the Hollisters and Dibblees formed a partnership. Together they ran one of the largest sheep ranching operations in the state, controlling close to 140,000 acres of land in Santa Barbra County.

As part of their ranching operation along the coast they built a wharf at Gaviota in 1874, near where the current pier is now. The pier was later destroyed during a storm in 1912.

Over the years, the facilities at Gaviota were expanded to include a stage coach station, inn, and general store that also served as a post office. When the railroad arrived, the site became a railway station.

In the late 1880s, the Hollisters and Dibblees dissolved their partnership and divided up their holdings.

In 1926, the county of Santa Barbara purchased 8.8 acres of land around the beach for a county park, and in 1951, built a new pier. The pier suffered storm damage in 2014, and is currently closed.

In 1952, the county deeded the park to the State of California, but maintained the campground under a lease until 1969. In 1964, the state acquired additional land expanding the park into the Santa Ynez Mountains, and three years later purchased the land around Las Cruces.

Today, Gaviota State Park encompasses 2,787 acres and has over 30 miles of trails. The site features 39 campsites, although currently the park is only open for day use; the campsites are scheduled to reopen in March. For more information about the park go to http://www.parks.ca.gov.

This article originally appeared in Section A of the January 23rd, 2017 edition of Santa Barbara News-Press.

The Gaviota Coast from Goleta out towards Point Conception is one of the more scenic sections of coastline in our area. It is rich with history and offers numerous opportunities for long, quite beach walks. The coastline runs parallel to the Santa Ynez Mountains, and the different canyons and contours create a variety of points and coves to explore.

The are three state beaches along the coast that provide direct access to the beach, as well as camping and other recreational opportunities. Heading west from Goleta, the first is El Capitán, followed by Refugio, and then Gaviota. When the tides are low enough it’s possible to hike between the different sites.

The hike from Refugio to Gaviota is about 9.5 miles. The easiest way to set up the hike is as a shuttle trip and the best time to go is when there’s a minus low tide. One can also start at either end and hike as far as the tide permits and then turn back. It’s best to time your hike so the lowest point of the tide is roughly midway through your hike.

View looking west near Tajiguas Beach

To get to Refugio State Beach from Santa Barbara, take Highway 101 north and continue past El Capitán State Beach. Take the exit for Refugio State Beach and continue into the park. Day use at the park is $10.

The first people along the coast were the Chumash, with sites dating as far back as 13,000 years ago. The Chumash had a number of villages along the Gaviota Coast at different points in their history. The village of Qasil was located along Refugio Creek, near where the state park is now.

The village likely served as a trading port between the islands and the interior, with Chumash tomols, or wooden plank canoes, carrying goods back and forth between Santa Cruz Island. From Qasil there was a trail over the mountains to the villages in the Santa Ynez Valley. There was also a trade route along the coast to Mikiw and Kuya’mu in Dos Pueblos Canyon. Another route likely went up the coast to Osomyo, where Gaviota State Park is now.

In 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first European to sail up the coast of California, stopping at the Channel Islands. However, the first overland expedition wasn’t until 1769, when Gaspar de Portolà set out to establish an overland route to Monterey. The expedition had already traveled from Baja California to reach San Diego and continued north through what is now southern California passing through Santa Barbara and along the Gaviota Coast on the way to Monterey.

Tajiguas Beach

In the expedition, serving as scout, was José Francisco Ortega, who had been recruited by Portolà. Ortega was a Spaniard living in Baja California. A former soldier, he was serving as the mayor of a mining community when Portolà asked him to re-enlist.

Ortega was one of the first Europeans to see San Francisco Bay, and later founded the Presidio in Santa Barbara in 1782, serving as its first commandant. In 1795, he retired from the military.

The previous year the Spanish Crown had awarded him a land grant, which he named Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio, Our Lady of Refuge. The grant extended along the coast from Refugio to Cojo Bay, and inland into the Santa Ynez Mountains, covering 26,529 acres. Ortega built his home near Refugio Creek. When he passed away in 1798, his descendants inherited the grant.

In addition to cattle and farming, it’s said that one of the main activities of the ranch was smuggling. Prior to Mexico’s independence from Spain, only Spanish ships had permission to trade along the coast. Ships from other nations wanting to engage in trade needed to find secluded places and willing participants for their commerce. Refugio Bay proved an ideal location, and with the limited supply of goods available legally, the Ortegas became one of the wealthiest families in California.

In 1818, Hippolyte Bouchard, a privateer in the service of the newly independent Argentine Republic, sailed to Monterey, where he looted and burned the city. Bouchard had heard of Ortega’s wealth and continued down the coast to take it. However, the Ortega’s had been tipped off of his arrival, hid their valuables, and fled over the mountains to Mission Santa Ynez. Finding little to take, Bouchard burned the Ortega’s home and killed their livestock. When the Ortegas rebuilt their adobe it was further inland.

Over the years, the original land grant was broken up and sold. In the early 1900s, the land at Refugio Creek was acquired by Stephen and Jessie Rutherford.

During the 1920s, with automobiles becoming more common and people visiting the coast, the Rutherfords saw a business opportunity. They built cabins for rent and a store at the beach, and also planted the long row of palms trees still seen there today.

In 1950, the Rutherfords sold the land to the State of California, and 13 years later it became a state beach.

Today, Refugio State Beach has 69 reservable campsites, including three group sites, as well as picnic areas and a convenience store. Reservations can be made at http://www.parks.ca.gov.

For the beach hike, head west along the coast, rounding the point that defines the cove at Refugio. The rocky point is one of the narrowest along the hike, and a good indicator of whether the rest of the route is passable. The coast near Arroyo Hondo, roughly halfway, is another narrow point between Refugio and Gaviota. By starting 2-3 hours before the tide is at its lowest and keeping a reasonable pace, it is possible to make it all the way to Gaviota.

The main rock type along the coast is Monterey shale, and through one section, with a little imagination the large pieces of eroded rock can look like fallen Roman columns. Amongst the crevices of these rocks one can find numerous striped shore crabs hiding out.

The low tide also offers an opportunity to see some of the marine life that is often hidden by the water. Along the hike it’s possible to see mussels, limpets, chitons, and sea anemones on the exposed rocks.

After about a mile, the hike rounds a point and the views open up dramatically to the west. The scenery extends along the coast and is framed by the Santa Ynez Mountains. In the distance one can spot the train trestle at Arroyo Hondo.

About a mile later, one arrives at Tajiguas Creek. The creek passes under the freeway and railroad through a cement tunnel, and so the main landmark here is a large, lone eucalyptus tree next to the beach. On August 23, 1769, Portola’s expedition camped along Tajiguas Creek on their way up the coast.

Another mile further is Arroyo Quemada, which is easier to identify. Here, the canyon is more open and one can see houses overlooking the beach. Please respect private property.

Continuing along the coast, the beach begins to narrow as it approaches Arroyo Hondo, however there is a long cement retaining wall that can be used if the tides are against you.

At about the 4.5-mile mark from Refugio, one arrives at Arroyo Hondo. Across the canyon is a large railroad trestle, as well as the bridge that served as the original route for Highway 101. The bridge can also be visited from the Vista Point along Highway 101. There is an informal access from the Vista Point down to the beach.

Arroyo Hondo was the last parcel of land from the original Nuestra Señora del Refugio grant to pass from the Ortega family. The property was sold in 1908 to the Hollister family. In 2001, the Hollisters sold the land to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, which now manages it.

From here, it’s another five miles to Gaviota State Park. The route becomes even more scenic and a little easier in terms of the tides. There are still some rocky points, but overall they’re not as narrow as the area near Arroyo Hondo and the point at Refugio.

This article originally appeared in Section A of the January 16th, 2017 edition of Santa Barbara News-Press.

A striped or thin-lined shore crab watches from the rocks