SANTA BARBARA, CA: The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

SANTA BARBARA, CA: The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

• Location: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
• Address: 1212 Mission Canyon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
• Website: sbbg.org

Getting There

If you are staying in downtown Santa Barbara along the beach, then the botanic garden is only a 12 minute drive. It’s worth it if you are looking for a serene place to quietly walk along trails surrounded by towering trees.

BONUS: If you follow the route in the map below, you can make a stop at Old Mission Santa Barbara first. This historic landmark is a 1786 Spanish mission with artifacts to see and gardens to wander.

Tips

1. Check the hours before you go. We arrived about a half hour before they closed so the volunteer let us enter for free (we still donated money to the garden). I recommend giving yourself enough time to walk around at a leisurely pace, rather than rushing through like we did. You’d probably need 1-2 hours.
2. The botanic garden uses a sticker as an admission ticket. If you stop in the gift shop you can ask for an extra for your travel journal.
3. Don’t go for the wildlife since you won’t see much – just some lizards and birds.
4. Great place to go if you are looking for some nature to sketch.

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Picturesque Trails

The trails were beautiful and you can’t beat that view when you first walk in.

The botanic garden is 78-acres featuring flora and fauna native to California and has trails winding throughout.

It was a beautiful walk and I would definitely visit again. Next time I would make sure to give myself a couple hours to wander the trails and sketch from one of the garden benches.

Happy Travels,

Laura

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