Gaviota State Park Beach

Gaviota State Park Beach sits at the mouth of Gaviota Creek on the western Santa Barbara coast, where a towering Southern Pacific railroad trestle frames the entrance to the sand. Visitors walk under the trestle to reach the beach. The wind is nearly constant here, the water runs colder than the protected coast east of the point, and there are no permanent lifeguards on duty. The pier that once extended from the beach has been closed since storm damage in 2014 took out the outer 100 feet, and it remains closed indefinitely. The 2,742-acre park unit climbs into the hills behind the beach, with the Gaviota Hot Springs trail running into the backcountry. The Chumash village of Kashtayit, meaning "place of willow," stood near here, and the marine protected area offshore carries the name.

The beach itself, a wave-exposed sandy shoreline, is a surf zone biome. Beyond the surf, the sandy areas where the SMCA's rules allow spearfishing for California halibut form a sandy flats biome. The surrounding Kashtayit SMCA also encompasses rocky reef structure and an offshore kelp forest, both reachable by snorkeling or freediving from the beach, which is why the spot carries the rocky-reef and kelp-forest tags in addition to the surf at the sand. Surf fishing and spearfishing for halibut under the SMCA's limited-take rules are the most common uses of the water, with snorkeling and freediving productive on calmer days. Surfing is occasional given the wind, and there are no reports of scuba diving here.

Parking is in the day-use lot at the park entrance, which charges a posted fee. Take is regulated within the Kashtayit SMCA. Rock scallops and mussels may not be taken. Recreational take of finfish, including California halibut by spear, stays legal, as does take of the other invertebrates, and giant kelp may be harvested by hand. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians holds a special take exemption.