provided by
Gaviota State Park takes its name from the Spanish word for seagull, given to the area by soldiers of the Portola Expedition who supposedly killed a seagull while camping here in 1769. Marked by a tall Southern Pacific railroad trestle that crosses Gaviota Creek high above the day-use parking lot, the park is a popular spot for swimming, picnicking, surf fishing and camping, despite high winds that often blow through the area. A pier on the west end of the beach is used by anglers, and scuba divers and surfers use a boat hoist on the pier to access the waters of the Santa Barbara Channel. Visitors can explore the rugged upland portions of the park from a trailhead in the parking area. Ambitious hikers can climb to Gaviota Peak that offers a spectacular view of the coast and the Channel Islands.
Getting There
The park is located 33 miles north of Santa Barbara on U.S. Highway 101.
The Day Use Annual Pass is accepted at this park.
The park is located 33 miles north of Santa Barbara on U.S. Highway 101.
The Day Use Annual Pass is accepted at this park.
Seasons/Climate
Summers are mild, with little rain; winters are slightly cooler. Temperatures depend on where you are in the park. Strong winds often blow southward through narrow Gaviota Pass, occasionally making Highway 101 dangerous to trailers and campers and tent camping a challenge.
Summers are mild, with little rain; winters are slightly cooler. Temperatures depend on where you are in the park. Strong winds often blow southward through narrow Gaviota Pass, occasionally making Highway 101 dangerous to trailers and campers and tent camping a challenge.
Operating Hours & Contact
The park is open daily from 7am until sunset. Campground is accessible for those with reservations at all times.
For a recorded message about this park, please call (805) 968-1033;
The park is open daily from 7am until sunset. Campground is accessible for those with reservations at all times.
For a recorded message about this park, please call (805) 968-1033;
Camping
Campsites are now available by reservation. 37 of the 39 campsites at Gaviota State Park can now be reserved in advance between the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Between October 1 and March 31 the campground is closed.
Trailers up to 25 feet and RV’s up to 27 feet are allowed.
Two vehicles maximum per site. Trailers count as a vehicle. Site occupancy is limited to eight people.
Make Campground Reservations
Campsites are now available by reservation. 37 of the 39 campsites at Gaviota State Park can now be reserved in advance between the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Between October 1 and March 31 the campground is closed.
Trailers up to 25 feet and RV’s up to 27 feet are allowed.
Two vehicles maximum per site. Trailers count as a vehicle. Site occupancy is limited to eight people.
Make Campground Reservations
Activities
Trails
Dirt fire roads and hiking trails lead into more than 2,000 acres of oak woodland and chaparral backcountry. Check with park staff or a camp host before starting your hike – conditions change frequently. This is mountain lion country. Safety tips are available from the rangers.
Overlook Fire Road: This 3-mile round trip is worth the climb - at the top you are greeted by a sweeping vista of the Channel Islands.
Gaviota Hot Springs: From a parking lot about 2.5 miles north of the park entrance, where Highway 1 separates from U.S. Highway 101, a somewhat steep Gaviota Peak Fire Road trail leads to two small sulfur springs which are open to the public.
Gaviota Peak (Los Padres NF): The trail to the top of 2,458-foot Gaviota Peak is a strenuous 6-mile round trip. A clear day brings vistas of Point Conception, the Channel Islands, Gaviota Pass and the Lompoc Valley.
Mountain bikes may be used on designated paved and dirt roads and trails.
Boating and Fishing
Boating and fishing are popular activities at Gaviota, where the public fishing pier is equipped with an electric boat hoist launching facility. A fishing license is not required when fishing from the pier. Limits and seasons are enforced.
Use of the boat hoist is subject to satisfactory completion of the park’s Boat Hoist Training Program. Entry and launch fees must be paid. For further information on the Boat Hoist and the training program visit the Gaviota Boat Hoist section of the park's website or send an email to gaviotaboathoistupdate@hotmail.com.
Trails
Dirt fire roads and hiking trails lead into more than 2,000 acres of oak woodland and chaparral backcountry. Check with park staff or a camp host before starting your hike – conditions change frequently. This is mountain lion country. Safety tips are available from the rangers.
Overlook Fire Road: This 3-mile round trip is worth the climb - at the top you are greeted by a sweeping vista of the Channel Islands.
Gaviota Hot Springs: From a parking lot about 2.5 miles north of the park entrance, where Highway 1 separates from U.S. Highway 101, a somewhat steep Gaviota Peak Fire Road trail leads to two small sulfur springs which are open to the public.
Gaviota Peak (Los Padres NF): The trail to the top of 2,458-foot Gaviota Peak is a strenuous 6-mile round trip. A clear day brings vistas of Point Conception, the Channel Islands, Gaviota Pass and the Lompoc Valley.
Mountain bikes may be used on designated paved and dirt roads and trails.
Boating and Fishing
Boating and fishing are popular activities at Gaviota, where the public fishing pier is equipped with an electric boat hoist launching facility. A fishing license is not required when fishing from the pier. Limits and seasons are enforced.
Use of the boat hoist is subject to satisfactory completion of the park’s Boat Hoist Training Program. Entry and launch fees must be paid. For further information on the Boat Hoist and the training program visit the Gaviota Boat Hoist section of the park's website or send an email to gaviotaboathoistupdate@hotmail.com.
Natural History
A variety of elevations, soils and topography combine to form a number of habitats.
Oak woodlands, primarily coast live oaks and some valley oaks, provide habitat for California legless lizards, American ravens, Nutall’s and downy woodpeckers, broadhanded moles and bobcats.
Grasslands, primarily annual grasses and purple needlegrass, shelter such reptiles as western fence lizards, western Pacific rattlesnakes and common king snakes. Bird species include western meadowlarks, turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks. Mule deer, gray foxes, California ground squirrels, striped skunks, coyotes, and California voles are also part of this habitat.
Chaparral and coastal sage scrub shelter side-blotched lizards, western whiptails, California thrashers, white-crowned sparrows, scrub jays, coyotes, dusky-footed wood rats, and many species that also occupy oak woodland areas. Sensitive species include cactus wrens and San Diego horned lizards.
Riparian areas occur along mostly seasonal streams and year-round Gaviota Creek. Destruction of coastal streams has resulted in a number of sensitive animal species, including California redlegged frogs, two-striped garter snakes and yellow-billed cuckoos. Gopher snakes,
California pocket mice, various bat species, Anna’s hummingbirds, and Cooper’s and red-tailed hawks also live here.
Freshwater aquatic habitats traverse the park’s watercourses. Game fish include rainbow trout and the endangered steelhead.
Freshwater marshes are usually associated with riparian areas, giving shelter to common gallinules (also called marsh hens), American coots, red-winged blackbirds, garter snakes, and Pacific tree frogs.
Coastal strand features shrubs and low-growing sand plants. Wildlife includes western fence lizards and side-blotched lizards, house finches, California thrashers, white-crowned sparrows and California ground squirrels. The globose dune beetle is a sensitive species.
Coastal salt marsh - an endangered habitat - is home to common and snowy egrets, American avocets, clapper rails, willets and western sandpipers. Norway rats and house mice also live here. The endangered tidewater goby is found near the mouths of some streams.
Marine habitats are diverse along Gaviota’s five-mile coastline. Halibut, surf perch and yellowtail are common in the coastal waters.
A variety of elevations, soils and topography combine to form a number of habitats.
Oak woodlands, primarily coast live oaks and some valley oaks, provide habitat for California legless lizards, American ravens, Nutall’s and downy woodpeckers, broadhanded moles and bobcats.
Grasslands, primarily annual grasses and purple needlegrass, shelter such reptiles as western fence lizards, western Pacific rattlesnakes and common king snakes. Bird species include western meadowlarks, turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks. Mule deer, gray foxes, California ground squirrels, striped skunks, coyotes, and California voles are also part of this habitat.
Chaparral and coastal sage scrub shelter side-blotched lizards, western whiptails, California thrashers, white-crowned sparrows, scrub jays, coyotes, dusky-footed wood rats, and many species that also occupy oak woodland areas. Sensitive species include cactus wrens and San Diego horned lizards.
Riparian areas occur along mostly seasonal streams and year-round Gaviota Creek. Destruction of coastal streams has resulted in a number of sensitive animal species, including California redlegged frogs, two-striped garter snakes and yellow-billed cuckoos. Gopher snakes,
California pocket mice, various bat species, Anna’s hummingbirds, and Cooper’s and red-tailed hawks also live here.
Freshwater aquatic habitats traverse the park’s watercourses. Game fish include rainbow trout and the endangered steelhead.
Freshwater marshes are usually associated with riparian areas, giving shelter to common gallinules (also called marsh hens), American coots, red-winged blackbirds, garter snakes, and Pacific tree frogs.
Coastal strand features shrubs and low-growing sand plants. Wildlife includes western fence lizards and side-blotched lizards, house finches, California thrashers, white-crowned sparrows and California ground squirrels. The globose dune beetle is a sensitive species.
Coastal salt marsh - an endangered habitat - is home to common and snowy egrets, American avocets, clapper rails, willets and western sandpipers. Norway rats and house mice also live here. The endangered tidewater goby is found near the mouths of some streams.
Marine habitats are diverse along Gaviota’s five-mile coastline. Halibut, surf perch and yellowtail are common in the coastal waters.
Park History
For thousands of years, Chumash territory extended from southern Monterey County to present day Malibu Canyon and east into today’s Kern County. The typical Chumash house was a 12 to 20-foot rounded dome of willow poles, covered with overlapping layers of bulrush or cattails. The Chumash hunted or trapped game, caught fish and gathered shellfish, plants, roots, seeds and berries. They were skilled at beadwork, basketry, woodcarving and cave art – a stunning example of their cave paintings can be seen at nearby Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park. Noted for their skills in ocean navigation, the Chumash constructed seagoing redwood plank canoes (tomol) as much as 30 feet long.
At first the Chumash welcomed what they saw as the material and spiritual benefits of European civilization. The rapid spread of disease, harsh treatment by some of the newcomers, and the loss of their former life ways caused many Chumash to reconsider, but by then it was too late to turn back. Today the Chumash traditions are being rediscovered by many of their descendents.
In 1542 Juan Cabrillo, traveling the Santa Barbara-Ventura coast, stopped at what is now Gaviota. In 1769 Gaspar de Portolá and his crew camped in this area as they sailed up the coast looking for the port of Monterey. Father Juan Crespi, who kept a journal of the expedition, noted that “the soldiers know it as La Gaviota, because they killed a seagull there.” Gaviota has appeared as a place name in Spanish documents since 1795. In 1846 Captain John C. Frémont’s volunteers marched toward Santa Barbara through the passage now known as Gaviota Pass. However, when he got wind of a planned ambush by the entire garrison of the Santa Barbara Presidio, he led his men over the more rugged San Marcos Pass and seized the now unprotected city of Santa Barbara.
The 1860s saw stage line service through Gaviota Pass, but the route was abandoned in 1871 when the stage company opened a new route through San Marcos Pass. In 1875 Colonel William Welles Hollister built a wharf at Gaviota to ship lumber, wool, cattle and grain to Atlantic markets. But the key to future growth along the Gaviota coast was the railroad. In 1900 workers closed one of the last remaining gaps in the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Coast Route with an 811-foot trestle over Gaviota Creek. On March 31, 1901, full train service between San Francisco and Los Angeles began.
For thousands of years, Chumash territory extended from southern Monterey County to present day Malibu Canyon and east into today’s Kern County. The typical Chumash house was a 12 to 20-foot rounded dome of willow poles, covered with overlapping layers of bulrush or cattails. The Chumash hunted or trapped game, caught fish and gathered shellfish, plants, roots, seeds and berries. They were skilled at beadwork, basketry, woodcarving and cave art – a stunning example of their cave paintings can be seen at nearby Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park. Noted for their skills in ocean navigation, the Chumash constructed seagoing redwood plank canoes (tomol) as much as 30 feet long.
At first the Chumash welcomed what they saw as the material and spiritual benefits of European civilization. The rapid spread of disease, harsh treatment by some of the newcomers, and the loss of their former life ways caused many Chumash to reconsider, but by then it was too late to turn back. Today the Chumash traditions are being rediscovered by many of their descendents.
In 1542 Juan Cabrillo, traveling the Santa Barbara-Ventura coast, stopped at what is now Gaviota. In 1769 Gaspar de Portolá and his crew camped in this area as they sailed up the coast looking for the port of Monterey. Father Juan Crespi, who kept a journal of the expedition, noted that “the soldiers know it as La Gaviota, because they killed a seagull there.” Gaviota has appeared as a place name in Spanish documents since 1795. In 1846 Captain John C. Frémont’s volunteers marched toward Santa Barbara through the passage now known as Gaviota Pass. However, when he got wind of a planned ambush by the entire garrison of the Santa Barbara Presidio, he led his men over the more rugged San Marcos Pass and seized the now unprotected city of Santa Barbara.
The 1860s saw stage line service through Gaviota Pass, but the route was abandoned in 1871 when the stage company opened a new route through San Marcos Pass. In 1875 Colonel William Welles Hollister built a wharf at Gaviota to ship lumber, wool, cattle and grain to Atlantic markets. But the key to future growth along the Gaviota coast was the railroad. In 1900 workers closed one of the last remaining gaps in the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Coast Route with an 811-foot trestle over Gaviota Creek. On March 31, 1901, full train service between San Francisco and Los Angeles began.
Accessible Features
Beach/Shore Access: A beach wheelchair is available. Please contact Camp Host at site #38 or a Lifeguard to reserve it.
Combination restrooms with showers in campground have accessible toilets and usable showers. Latter may require assistance reaching controls from folding benches.
Beach/Shore Access: A beach wheelchair is available. Please contact Camp Host at site #38 or a Lifeguard to reserve it.
Combination restrooms with showers in campground have accessible toilets and usable showers. Latter may require assistance reaching controls from folding benches.
Community Trips
I haven't been in this area for about 18 months. I realized that 29 geocaches had been added to this trail since I was last here. So I set out to capture all of them. I managed to get 25 of the 29. Not bad stats if you ask me.
