Hendry's Beach
Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara County · California
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Updated 10:00 AM PT today · July 28, 2026Dawn is the clearest window. A late-morning onshore builds surface chop and gives up a few feet by the afternoon.
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34.404° N · 119.744° W
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Hendry's Beach
Hendry's Beach is the local name for Arroyo Burro County Beach Park, the main public beach on Santa Barbara's west side. The shoreline is a wide sandy stretch flanked by sandstone bluffs at the mouth of Arroyo Burro Creek. The Boathouse restaurant sits on the sand, open from breakfast through dinner with dogs welcome on the patio. East of the creek mouth is one of only three legal off-leash dog beaches in Santa Barbara, with dog wash stations on the upper lawn and a Watershed Resource Center on site. The beach is more a family and dog-walking destination than a dive site, though it picks up rideable surf on a west or northwest swell.
The shoreline is a long sandy beach with open shore habitat and a creek-mouth break, which makes it a surf zone biome.
Two free paved lots sit at the Cliff Drive entrance off Las Positas Road, and they fill by mid-morning on weekends. Fishing and spearfishing are legal here under standard California regulations.
Surf Zone
The surf zone biome consists of sandy beaches and breaking waves. The action of surf disturbing the sand and kicking it up exposes marine invertebrates, buried in their shallow dens. This natural exposure of invertebrates attracts all kinds of fish, looking for an easy meal. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryTarget Fish Species
Nearby beaches
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