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Lake Los Carneros Park

4.5 (14 reviews)

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Spring!
Kristy O.

Great spot to walk/run in Goleta. I like seeing all the dog walkers (leash required). Lots of ducks in the lake at spring time and you see the occasional cotton tail rabbit or crane. It's a small lake so I usually do a couple loops around, each loop only takes about 20 min at a leisurely pace. There are several little side paths that weave into the trees and benches on both sides of the lake to sit and relax to enjoy the view.

Lake Los Carneros
Kim V.

I kept hearing that there were some good places to jog/ walk around the Goleta area, and this is a hidden treasure. Since I live close by, I walked there, but I have read online that you can park in a lot close to the fire station of Los Carneros Rd. It's a beautiful place where people take their families and dogs to go on walks and ride their bikes. I have also read that they allow fishing if you have a license. Some of the path is paved, and some of it is dirt, but the trails are well maintained. I'll definitely be making use of this park.

Wooden bridge over the marsh
Chelsea B.

Lake Los Carneros Park is a great hidden spot that you wouldn't even know was in Goleta. The park actually contains several children's attractions (the Stow House and Railroad Museum), but once you park you'll find access to several dirt trails. There is also a gorgeous old house with a beautiful lawn I saw people picnicking on. The whole thing is a large loop around the lake--there are dirt trails through wooded or brush areas, a wooden deck over the marshland and a blacktop portion of trail with great views of the lake and mountains. I would say the whole length of trail around the lake is about a mile, but there are several offshoots leading into more grasslands. Tips: There are several doggie bag dispensers and benches. Signs say dogs must be on a leash, but I saw a few dogs off-leash. There are bathrooms behind the museum shop (I saw the sign but didn't try them out). There are lots of ducks, swans, birds and other critters. Directions: Take the Los Carneros exit off Hwy. 101 and head toward the mountains. Go straight through the roundabout and make the first right at the fire station. Parking is free.

Dead flowers and zig-zag bridge
Brian U.

Most of the property is scrub, but has one very interesting feature - a zig-zag bridge across the lake's marsh flowers (see pic). Unfortunately, the flowers weren't in bloom when I was there. The lake looks like a waterway that feeds mountain run-off to the ocean, but it's land-locked and there are trails that surround the entire lake. I entered the bridge by walking behind the Stow House (see separate Yelp listing) and found this sign (see pic) which leads to the bridge.

Parking at the railroad station is easy and close to historical sites

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11 years ago

Don't know how I didn't find this hidden gem sooner! Such a nice place to go on a calm walk.

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Ask the Community - Lake Los Carneros Park

Is fishing allowed here?

City of Goleta website: "With multiple trails, users can enjoy walking, biking, observing wildlife and FISHING."… 

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Review Highlights - Lake Los Carneros Park

The park actually contains several children's attractions (the Stow House and Railroad Museum), but once you park you'll find access to several dirt trails.

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Goleta Beach Park

Goleta Beach Park

4.0
(87 reviews)
1.8 mi

We spent 4th of July weekend in Goleta and hit Goleta Beach on our Saturday afternoon. Was it the…read moreprettiest beach in Santa Barbara? No. But it was pleasant and super easy, with free parking and zero crowd. We'd be lucky to have a beach like it in L.A. The sand wasn't especially nice, I guess, coarse and rocky and full of ocean debris. There was also a water quality advisory out for the day we went, which we only discovered once we had all our stuff set up. Otherwise, though, I have no complaints. The view was beautiful, and we were able to claim a prime spot to put down our friends' massive cabana. We brought chairs and beach toys and spent the afternoon relaxing, as all five kids in our crew were thoroughly entertained. My older boy even enjoyed the rockiness of the beach, collecting several interesting rocks that he requested to take home (we let him pick two). If you're looking for a quiet beach to lay out and entertain children, Goleta Beach is a great option. We had a lot of fun here and would be happy to go back for more rocks and sun.

I love a walk along a pier, so I ended up here namely for the pier. I had a little wander around…read moreand appreciated the sand and ocean. There might be some renovations going on; there were chain link fences everywhere -- starting from just right of The Ellwood down a bit. The fences made my walk a little more challenging to navigate and a little less scenic, but hopefully they are temporary. I'm happy I stopped, but know for the future to come prepared with anything I might need (e.g. there isn't a coffee shop nearby, so if I want a cup of tea for my walk, come with it.) Since I'm not from the area, I found it a little random to get to, but can see that it's closeby to the airport, the campus, etc. And it has a pier! 2025: 30/100

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Enjoying the views, even on a "May gray" day
Enjoying the views, even on a "May gray" day
View
View
Much pelicanos!

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Much pelicanos!
Girsh Park

Girsh Park

4.2
(17 reviews)
2.0 mi

Stayed at Marriott down the street and came here to get the wiggles out. Lovely little park with…read morelots of amenities. I saw baseball and soccer practices, pick up games on the courts, dog walkers, stroller moms, all the usual community park participants. The playground is small and aimed at toddlers but kids will play anywhere there's a slide or stuff to climb on. The grounds were clean and well manicured. One star off for broken bathroom stalls. Also the flowering bushes planted outside the bathrooms attracted tons of bees, which is great! Unless you put them right next to the playground. Terrible horticulture planning IMO.

Girsh Park is a major reason why I love this neighborhood! Our whole family enjoys walking through…read morethis park every couple of days. The park is beautifully maintained - clean, with nice short grass, decent bathrooms, and good resting and picnicking spots. It's so convenient for a pleasant walk to and from the Camino Real Marketplace - no need to go along busy streets. This is a great park for dogs - lots of space to walk on-leash, hang out on a blanket, or play off-leash fetch. My pup and I also appreciate that they provide dog bags and have plenty of trash cans along the walkway. The park seems very safe. For a year I came here at night with one or two other women, to work out on the basketball court, and we never ran into any trouble. There are also some fun events here - local craft fairs from time to time, and of course the Lemon Fest. Enjoy!

Photos
Lemon fest area 51! Beep beep!
Lemon fest area 51! Beep beep!
Happy 4th 2017
Happy 4th 2017
4th of July 2017

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4th of July 2017
Decker's Cabrillo Park

Decker's Cabrillo Park

5.0
(1 review)
1.5 mi

I happened upon this beautifully maintained park up on a hill overlooking the Santa Barbara Airport…read moreand behind Decker's Headquarters. For me, it's the perfect spot to take my dog for a walk. (Note that pets should be leashed.) There are multiple loop gravel trails all under 1 mile--check out the map here: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/deckers-cabrillo-park-goleta?select=GfzL-X1iVYKRzcnrrhRm5w). It's quite shocking how quiet it remains given its proximity to the airport and being directly in the flight path. For kids, it is fun to watch planes take off and land, just bring earplugs. There is a large, green grassy area with a basketball court, volleyball net and picnic tables. When you go down a small hill, you enter Decker's private property so be respectful. This trail is pleasant and among native plants with lizards, bunnies and other creatures running about. Shockingly there was quite a lot of history here since the area was originally a native Chumash settlement (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/deckers-cabrillo-park-goleta?select=iXs_k01LUwoGxavV9dQGfA). Many locals have no idea that the Pacific Ocean's tides use to reach where Hollister Avenue presides... Later, the area became more industrial with the technology and engineering companies moving in to the area. One being Delco which has a plaza here several signs about how it transformed the area and improved technology. Check out, enjoy and care for our local parks!

Photos
Airplane landing/take-off direction light towers
Airplane landing/take-off direction light towers
Available trails aim the park
Available trails aim the park
Be respectful--it's technically private property

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Be respectful--it's technically private property
Coronado Butterfly Preserve

Coronado Butterfly Preserve

4.5
(94 reviews)
3.0 mi

Just Winging It We…read morethought we had a pretty good handle on all the major Monarch butterfly stopovers from Pacific Grove to Pismo, but somehow this place eluded us until we saw a display on it at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The Coronado Butterfly Preserve is ±9.3 acres of protected open space and--more importantly--a Monarch butterfly overwintering site. It is located in the City of Goleta and sits adjacent to Santa Barbara Shores Park. The Good: * Free to visit * Trails are flat and in great shape. They can get a bit muddy after a rain, but it wasn't terrible. * Trails lead into Santa Barbara Shores Park. * Beach access. The Meh: * Butterfly viewing can be very hit-or-miss here, as we only saw a small handful floating about. The Ugly: * Street parking in neighborhoods, which isn't my favorite, but it is what it is. Conclusion: Nice place to visit regardless of the butterfly count.

They have a parking lot at Santa Barbara Shores park, which is located across from Ellwood School…read moreon Hollister Ave. This parking lot has an entrance to the preserve with a general map for viewing. We followed directions through Yelp however; and it brought us to a neighborhood street where we could park and enter the preserve via a trail. This worked great until we realized the trails are not marked and it was hard to know where you were headed and if and when we would loop back to our car. I highly suggest parking in the lot and using a different map than the one through Yelp. That being said the preserve was a different habitat for us to walk through with so many tall trees to shade you and create wonderful places for the many birds we could hear and see. We did see a couple of butterflies, so that was nice. This preserve seems to be a work in progress and donations are being accepted to aid in their goal. I think it is going to be a fabulous asset to the community when it is completed.

Photos
Coronado Butterfly Preserve
Coronado Butterfly Preserve
Coronado Butterfly Preserve
Trail through Eucalyptus Trees

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Trail through Eucalyptus Trees

Lake Los Carneros Park - parks - Updated July 2026

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