Hike to Santa Ynez Falls

The Santa Ynez Canyon Trail is located 10 minutes away from the beach providing you the opportunity to do this hike early in the morning and spend the rest of the day hanging out at the beach. To get to the trailhead, take Vereda de la Montura Road until you reach the private residential area (the road ends at a gate). Parking is limited and only street parking is available, so arrive early to secure a spot. The entrance is right before the residential area. Signage along the trail is limited, but the trail is marked on Google Maps, so you can use that as a guide.

Follow the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail for about half a mile. This portion is well maintained and a relatively easy hike. At about the half mile mark, there is fork in the trail, right takes you to the waterfall trail, left keeps you on the canyon trail. The falls trail is not maintained, so be sure to wear long pants and a long shirt since there is plenty of poison oak throughout the hike. The entire trail is shaded by several trees, so you don't have to worry about the heat from the sun. After you pass the sign indicating that the trail is not maintained (see attached picture), you'll have to cross the creek, which takes you to another fork. The trail to the falls continues left, but it's easy to miss, so keep your eyes open for the fork. From this point on, you'll cross the creek several times, but the trail is very obvious and hard to miss. The last quarter of a mile requires scrambling over rocks and can be very slippery, so proceed with caution!

Once you reach the falls, you can turn back, or climb the rope to the left, which will provide you with a birds-eye view of the area.