Point Faria Beach

This is the pretty area you see as you are driving up to Santa Barbara along the 101. You come to a part where the coast curves around to the north at Faria Point, and there are lovely little mountain peaks behind it, with bright green orchards at their base. It's so pretty! The subdued greens of the mountains, the brightest green of the orchards, and the blue of the ocean.

The beach is quite nice, a small beach with a cozy feel because of its slight curve, and a view of the mountains. Families from the nearby beach houses play here. Some famous surfers have beach houses because there can be an awesome wave north of the point when there is the right combination of wind, swell, sand, and tide. Beginners come to learn to surf on the small waves on the inside of the point.
Parking can be hard because some of the Pacific Coast Hwy is lined with "no parking" signs. Try to find a spot, climb over some big rocks, and maybe they'll let you on their beach!
Note: The area between Carpinteria and Ventura is suffering from severe erosion. In some places, the freeway is almost in the sea! As a result there aren't many beaches along the way. I stopped and looked at all of them. This coastline is mostly used only by RV campers (in really awful-looking sites like Faria or Hobson or Emma Woods that are more like parking lots than campgrounds) and surfers, who climb the rock walls and surf to their heart's content.

Directions

Click "satellite" to see how pretty this is!
This beach is located in front of the beachhouses at 3400 W. Pacific Coast Hwy. Park along the road wherever the signs let you- you must climb over large rocks to get to the beach.
To get here, exit Highway 101 at Seacliff, and drive south along Pacific Coast Highway- soon you will reach the 3400 block.

Click on map for interactive view