Camping here requires a reservation a couple months in advance, make sure to plan accordingly for…read moremajor holidays as it fills up quick months in advance, we stayed a couple nights and it is peaceful and lovely. The amenities include some good showers with hot water, pick up coins at the entrance before setting up. Restrooms available as well, take something to clean the seats, sometimes people leave a little mess, but overall the cleanliness is good for a campsite restroom/shower.. Great town for bike riding and some hiking along the coast. Weather can be a bit unpredictable, sometimes really windy sometimes calm, gets cold at night. If you prepare with care, the campsites are an awesome time, the beach can get windy and cold, check the weather.

I used to stay in the other Anacapa Loop about once a year until I moved to Sacramento area 6 years…read moreago and it was way more crowded than I remebered it being. This time stayed in a Electric/Water site and it was so small and jammed right into the people on either side of you. Serviced the perpose of a place to sleep while hiking the Channel Islands, but not sure I would go back.

It's quiet and the water is warm. Very clean beach. I brought my girls for the first time and they…read moreloved it. I highly recommend this place.

Last month, on a weekday in the middle of summer, is when I dropped in to this beach known by…read moreseveral names... Santa Claus Beach (unofficial name) and Padaro Beach (offical name). It was so hectic to get to this beach due to all the road construction. And the beach was packed due to the various local children's summer camps and tourists. First, thing to note is the road construction. Possibly it's over by now. But when I visited, the road had no parking for the stretch right along the public access to the beach. It's free access and parking. The normal spots were taken by the construction crew and their equipment and materials. They were digging up the road. I saw a lot of folks parking in the road construction zone. The crew were calling tow trucks depending on where those cars were parked. Anyway, we parked really far away and hoofed it in while dodging dozers, street traffic, and construction crew. The access to the beach is limited to the open stretch where so happened the construction was occurring. Other access points are private property. Don't be tempted to cut through, it's illegal. Once you get to the public access area, you'll need to hike a wee bit of sandy elevation to cross the train tracks. Have your wits about while trekking near and on the tracks. Look both ways from afar and be ready to move to a safe distance if there is an incoming train. We ventured further to the far edges of the beach. The beach was clean. Sand was soft. Good vibes. Watch out at high tides if you venture to the far sides, the beach shrinks at high tide. And a rocky outcropping is beyond the sand. Plus there are no plumbed public restrooms, but I did see porta toilets.

52 acres of open space. It's between freeway 101 and the Pacific Ocean. It has fields of…read morewildflowers and native plants, eucalyptus grove of trees, walking paths that connect to the Carpinteria Bluffs Trail, and access to a low tide beach and seal rookery. Since the preserve is on a cliff, the sunsets are gorgeous. Catch the sun as it dips slowly into the ocean horizon. The colors melting into the ocean. Perfection. The access and parking to the preserve is free. FREE! You gotta luv that. Since the preserve is on a bluff, the beach is elevated below. So accessing the beach requires some trekking skills. Plus there are active live train tracks between the beach and preserve. Trains often run through. Always have your wits about you when you're near train tracks. And keep a considerable distance from the moving train. Next to the bluffs are ball fields with actual real turf. There are public restrooms there. I can't offer any additional info on those, I didn't use them. Both the preserve and ball fields have their own parking lots. Also I want to acknowledge the citizens of Carpentaria for fighting off land developers to keep this land undeveloped and forming a land trust to permanently safeguard it.

Why have I never been here ? Living in LA for over thirty years and often driving to Santa…read moreBarabara with many stops I never knew this beautiful pathway is here. It's a nature preserve with so many plants and flowers all around. Along the beach and train tracks you can walk over a mile, it's family friendly and safe. You can see trains passing by and also stop by the seal sanctuary overlook. It's was beautiful during this time of the year. So many flowers and cool weather. My family and I really enjoyed our time here. So lovely. Will be one of usual stops now.