Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara California: 82 great hikes [Paperback]

Robert Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

Santa Barbara is a captivating, inviting community that is located in a beautiful, natural setting along the Pacific coast. The temperate climate and refreshing ocean breezes, very similar to the Mediterranean, have distinguished this area as "the jewel of the American Riviera." The landscape around the city includes mountainous terrain, preserved forests and wilderness areas, and stretches of undeveloped coast, allowing this scenic area to have miles of quiet, secluded hiking trails.

Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara is a comprehensive guide to 82 day hikes within a 50-mile radius of the city. The hikes include an excellent cross section of scenery and difficulty level, ranging from coastal beach walks to steep canyon climbs. Highlights include oceanside bluffs; beaches; tide pools; wetland preserves; sculpted gorges; rock outcroppings with caves; numerous waterfalls and secluded pools in mossy canyons; mountain ridge trails; historical sites; and stunning overlooks of wide mountain valleys, towns, and the Pacific Ocean. All hikes can be completed within a day (although map sources and references are included for extending the hike).

Each hike includes its own map, accurate driving and hiking directions, and a quick overview of distance/time/elevation. The summaries allow the hiker to choose a trail appropriate to their ability and desire. This 184-page book is a comprehensive hiker's guide to the area around Santa Barbara.

Companion hiking guides, also by Stone, include Day Hikes on the California Central Coast, Day Hikes Around San Luis Obispo County, and Day Hikes Around Ventura County.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara is the comprehensive, essential guide to day hiking in this beautiful, captivating area. An excellent collection of 82 day hikes accommodates every level of hiking experience. Highlights include oceanside bluffs, tidepools, sculpted gorges, waterfalls, rock outcroppings, mountain ridge trails, stunning overlooks and some of southern California's best scenery.

About the Author

For more than a decade, veteran hiker Robert Stone has been writer, photographer, and publisher of Day Hike Books. He resides summers in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and winters on the California Central Coast. This year-round temperate climate enables him to hike over 200 trails throughout the year. When not hiking, he is researching, writing, and mapping the hikes before returning to the trails. He has hiked every trail in the Day Hike Book series. With 20 hiking guides in the series, he has hiked over a 1000 trails throughout the western United States and Hawaii.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Day Hike Books, Inc.; 2nd edition (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573420425
• ISBN-13: 978-1573420426
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For more than a decade, veteran hiker Robert Stone has been writer, photographer, and publisher of Day Hike Books. Robert resides summers in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and winters on the California Central Coast. This year-round temperate climate enables him to hike over 200 trails throughout the year. When not hiking, Robert is researching, writing, and mapping the hikes before returning to the trails. Robert has hiked every trail in the Day Hike Book series. With 20 hiking guides in the series, he has hiked over 1,000 trails throughout the western United States and Hawaii.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Santa Barbara, February 21, 2004

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara California: 82 great hikes (Paperback)

I've traveled all over the world and the most beautiful natural setting I've seen is Santa Barbara. The ocean, the mountains, the vegetation, flowers and incomparable climate make this a unique paradise. Hiking here is a sublime experience and its possible to do it year-round since the temperatures rarely dip below 50 degrees. If you're a dedicated hiker and have missed Santa Barbara, please try and remedy this. You'll spend some of the best hours of your life hiking in this incredible place.

This book is one of the best hiking guides I've found for the Santa Barbara area. If you're a beginner, there are plenty of short treks for you, mostly clustered around the beach or city. There are also a dozen moderate hikes and quite a few trail descriptions for streunous jaunts, all of these in the mountain areas. The descriptions of each trail is quite good and the driving desriptions to the trailheads is adequate (I haven't gotten lost yet from following their directions). I recommend this guide for everyone fortunate to hike in this beautiful locale.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Santa Barbara Day Hikes, August 15, 2005

By 

Sven Klein "Sven Klein" (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara California: 82 great hikes (Paperback)

I have been a Santa Barbara resident for over twenty years and my family and I have enjoyed many of the featured hikes in the book. The driving directions and hike descriptions are excellent. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is looking to enjoy the beauty of the Santa Barbara mountains.

Sven Klein - Santa Barbara, CA

3.0 out of 5 stars Some trail descriptions not accurate, September 14, 2010

By 

Boston Shopper (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara California: 82 great hikes (Paperback)

This is a nice reference if you'd like a list of the trails in the area. Many of the trail descriptions are confusing, and the mileages listed are incorrect. When the author describes the "round-trip" mileage, it is usually the one-way mileage. Sometimes the listed mileage is simply incorrect. Seems like the author may not have been on many of these hikes recently or at all.