Family Friendly California Beach Town
Welcome to CARPINTERIA, CA!
Carpinteria is situated in between Ventura, CA and Santa Barbara, CA. It's a comfortable and very laid back beach town with an adorable downtown area that is very walkable. It's less touristy than the beach area in Santa Barbara proper but with a wonderful small town feel. After our first visit here we were hooked and have loved coming back.
Here's our top stops *with links* of where to visit while in the cute little beach town of Carpinteria, CA
1. Carpinteria State Beach
This is the state beach itself and is such a nice low key beach. It's relatively flat and the wave break is enough for some body surfing and boogie boarding but not out of control.
Part of the beach is dog friendly and part of it is not. It's great for the option of being able to let your dog roam but also nice for families who don't love pets coming right up to them on their beach day.
There's even a campsite right here on the beach if tent or RV camping is your thing!
For more details, here's the link to the state park website: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=599
2. Hiking Trails
These are 2 different trails you can take right from the beach and are both easy to bring kids along.
Tar Pits Park
Some paved path, some not, that goes along the bluffs of the water. You go through park of the campsite and then over the water.
If you head off the trail just past the campsite there's an area of tidepools to explore at low tide too.
This trail is a great way to spend an hour or two exploring through.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/tar-pits-and-carpinteria-bluffs-loop
Salt Marsh
Majority of this area has boardwalks or open trails. Dogs, bikes, etc. aren't allowed on in this trail however as it can disturb the wildlife.
This trail is about a mile long and very quiet. It moves inland from the beach and can feel a bit like a corn maze in some parts.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/carpinteria-salt-marsh-trail
3. Train Ride into Santa Barbara
There's a train station right in the center of the beach town that you can walk to and hop on with a digital Amtrak ticket and head up to Santa Barbara for the day. The entire ride from Carpinteria to SB is about 15 minutes. Super quick!
From Carpinteria to Santa Barbara it was $8 per person (kids under 2 are free) and made it super easy to avoid any traffic, parking fees, etc. Our 2 year old loved it and we were able to easily bring our stroller on so that we could walk around the city of Santa Barbara with our toddler when we arrived.
If you're wanting to go farther, the train goes all the way up to San Luis Obispo and all the way down to San Diego and runs along most of the California Coast. There's a dining car and a viewing deck and makes for an incredibly relaxing and scenic ride along the Central and Southern coast of California.
4. Local Park- Tomol Interpretive Play Area
This park is a 5 minute walk from the Carpinteria State Beach. There's lots of shade, a few slides and different play areas for kids to climb around on.
It's a nice spot to let kids mingle and give everyone a different spot to hang out if you need a break from the sun at the beach.
There's a large open grassy area here as well. We picked up lunch beforehand and ate on the grass then let our little guy go play in the play area afterwards.
https://www.californiabeaches.com/attraction/tomol-interpretive-play-area/
Favorite Places to Eat
- Pacific Health Foods (great acai bowls, lattes, quick and healthy foods)
- Rincon Brewing (bar eats, local beer)
- Dang Burger (burgers and fries with nice outdoor patio)
- Siam Elephant Thai (wonderful Thai, we did takeout)
- Lucky Llama Coffee (great local coffee and cute patio)
Favorite Shops
- Heritage Goods and Supply (such cute kids items, home items and gifts)
- Rincon Designs Surf Shop (beach gear, surf shop, clothes)
For more videos and pictures of our favorite Carpinteria places, follow us @saltwater_trail
And don't forget to pack your favorite Saltwater Trail kid's hats for your next adventure!