Goleta Beach Park

This beach was perfect for an afternoon picnic. Easy to get to, free and lots of parking. Restrooms were sparkling clean. Not over crowded. Very relaxing with nice views and you get to watch the planes as well.

There’s a lovely LONG pier that has wonderful views. Off to the left you have kinda like flat lands and then to the right you see UCSB. Quiet beach, nice amount of parking although right now their doing some construction so (the beach) is kinda blocked off.
I’m sure if u wanted to touch the water or take a couple pictures you can walk through the barricade.
Bike paths everywhere so you can run/​bike/​walk. Nice place to swim, kayak boat whatever your plea

I love this place! Great grass area for the kids, nice playground, and also nice beach! One of my favorite places to be!

We came here at night as this was the closest beach to our hotel last weekend.
Tons of free and easy parking and not much going on on the beach or pier, perfect.
The views are amazing, the sand pearly white and super fine, perfect for a barefoot stroll.
Beach café right at the pier to grab some coffee and enjoy the views, great stop while in the area!

I wish this was my hometown beach.
Parking on a gorgeous, picture-​perfect Saturday was plentiful and FREE. Suck it, Huntington city and state beaches!
A mix of local Gauchos and families cooking some AMAZING smelling food on the grills here.
It’s nice to find a beach where parking is easy, doesn’t cost a thing, there are grills that you can use, there are benches you can sit on, and there’s a ton of shade too!
I LOVE THIS TOWN AND I LOVE THIS BEACH.

This is a small beach park, ideal for quiet (or not-​so-​quiet) picnics. There are nice picnic benches with grills and there is even a spacious communal picnic area that is shaded for large groups. Spots can be reserved for parties. If you prefer to be closer to the shore, I’ve seen a particular couple with a super sweet set-​up right on the sand with the water calmly lapping at the shore just feet away from his and hers beach chairs with attached shade, portable picnic table with wine and cheese, the whole jazz. Now, that’s an idea.
As for me, I like to come here and chill with a sandwich or something but the resident sea-​gulls seem to have the same idea about MY sandwich. Please don’t feed them. Drop a piece of bread and they seem to multiply right before your eyes. Gulls come at you from all sides and now you’ve got to deal with squack-​y gull-​cries and many angry flapping wings as the birds have a spartican war over your crumbs.
Aside from the birds, it’s a cool spot. You really can’t go wrong with SB beaches.

Not the nicest beach but easy, free parking and direct access to the water from beyond the the grassy area. They have a park with kids play structure, picnic tables, BBQs and lots of trees. Beach is only feet from parking lot, easy to view beach from grassy area. Kids liked playing on sand and in water. No tar other than 2 tiny spots on one foot.

Nice beach with a great pier to fish on. But at the moment the water is no good. Ever since the oil spill, all you get is tar covered feet and some nasty water to wade in. The waves are very calm but still it’s hard to do anything since the oil spill. Don’t let your kids play in it, you never know what they might get.

Great beach. Went there yesterday with the kids. My 7 year old swam to the buoy with my nephew who is 18. No rocks, family waves.

One of my new favorite beaches. It doesn’t have a lot of things around it. Maybe one restaurant and very close to UCSB. Has good parking and just enough tables for some family picnic.
During our stay in SB, we came and visited this beach twice. The first time, it was low tide and we walked the beach for almost 2 hours! It was a weekend around 5PM, not crowded at all and the further you walked east, it becomes slightly secluded. I guess it’s connected to either beach houses or hotels, idk. But just being there with no annoying kids, couples or teenagers made it perfect for some relaxing, thinking — whatever. They also have these odd black rocks just sitting by the beach which makes for good photo op. If you’re into that stuff. Lol!
This is definitely one of my go to beach if I were ever in the area again and recommend the place to everyone :)

Easy to get to location fron the airport. Also this beach is dog on leash friendly which is nice. Picnic tables that overlook the Pacific, you can’t beat that. Check out the beachside restaurant if you have a chance.

Beautiful beach. When the tides are low, you can cross the little body of water that divides the beach and explore more. Fishing here is around $ 15 for a day license but heck, just fish on the pier and no license is required. It’s easier and less messy anyway!
Plenty of parking at this beach, very cool.

Free parking and excellent spot to see the sunset and the seagulls dive for fish! Many families come here to BBQ or just to hang out and relax. It’s also right next to UCSB so you’ll see a lot of students exercising here.

This is an excellent spot to relax and enjoy the Santa Barbara sun. Located next to UC Santa Barbara (Go Gauchos!), Goleta Beach Park offers many amenities: barbecue grills, picnic areas, horseshoe pits, bathrooms, volleyball courts, benches, grass areas, palm trees, a huge pier to fish from, and, best of all, free parking! Easily accessible by foot, bike, or car, most of the people here are students or local families, and the vibe is laid back and friendly.
I spent many a day studying here while I was a student (okay, replace «studying» with «lounging») and I try to stop by whenever I’m in town. It’s not as crowded as the main Santa Barbara beaches and there is plenty to do. I’d often meet friends or family on the pier to drink a few beers and do some fishing (tips: no fishing license is necessary and there’s a great snack shack that serves a pretty good tri-​tip sandwich). The Beachside Bar Café is also here and it’s a good place to have a drink before walking around the area.

A great (and underrated) beach!
Pro: Free parking, Lots of BBQ/​picnic areas, Horseshoe pits, pier and restaurant nearby, Close proximity to UCSB, Bike paths everywhere, Typically uncrowded, Great views.
Cons: The beach is eroding slowly but surely = not a ton of sand, not many volleyball courts, the «park» needs some minor improvements to the grass areas and infrastructure.
I’ve been here countless times to: picnic, lay out, play volleyball, fish off the pier, run /​exercise, birthday parties, work events, eat, scuba dive… pretty much anything you can think of. Having been to nearly every other public/​private/​secret beach on the SB coastline, I would say that this is one of the most under appreciated beaches around. I feel Goleta Beach is the most well-​rounded beach in the area. There’s not much surf here (campus point is around the bend), but you can pretty much do everything else.
This is also a great place to run. If you start at the pier and head East (South in SB speak) you run along one of the most secluded and scenic stretches of beach in the area (a similar run is going West (North) from the parking lot of Hendry’s Beach). It’s not long, but you can always do a few laps and you will likely find that no one else is around. Also, you’ll typically see artists painting the cliffs/​seascapes on this side of the pier, pretty cool.
The fact that you can easily bike in and out of this beach is icing on the cake. I really wish the city would look at possible remedies to the beach erosion because it’s really starting to take its toll. If you want proof, check out the pictures inside of the Beachside Café (near the pier). Also, the grass areas could use some reseeding and the parking lot could use a fresh coat of asphalt.
I highly recommend this spot.

Goleta Beach is a nice spot for enjoying the ocean without enjoying the beach. There are lots of trees and grassy areas to lay out a blanket and enjoy the sea view. The beach itself is not the most inviting… there was a ridiculous amount of seaweed bundles and kelp all over the place, and it was so rocky that I didn’t want to walk barefoot. But once I spread out my beach towels on the grass and just enjoyed the sound of the waves, I didn’t mind that my feet weren’t freezing in the water.
Nice perk — it’s a free beach.

Seriously gorgeous. There’s a really nice grassy area right before the beach with rows and rows of palm trees and free parking. The sand is pretty soft but it’s got a lot of kelp and plant shards in the sand. There’s a restaurant with great views too, but I would skip it for a picnic. The beach has lighted volleyball courts and kayak rentals.
As you get to the wetter area there’s a lot of jumpy water fleas and translucent shrimp, which is really cool for kids. We saw a couple of surfers and paddleboarders but overall it doesn’t seem like a place for anything other than wading or swimming — the water is super kelpy and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of waves.
The pier is super fun — on a typical day there’ll be a lot of people fishing off the side, and it seems to be overrun with some pretty audacious pelicans too. Really pleasant walk. Sadly the beach faces south so you can’t really see the sunset over the water, but you can watch the sun set through the palm trees which is really gorgeous.

This is one of my favorite beaches because it’s right off the bike path from UCSB, it has a gorgeous pier (great for fishing), historical lagoon, it has a little tar (for a SB beach), I see dolphins here all the time, and if you’re old enough to drink and you clean up after yourself it is legal to drink on the beach here. There are nice lifeguards, benches, grills, and pits for horseshoe. And for those who want to drive (please do responsibly) there is a lot of parking available in the parking lots and its all free.
From 11 to 3 there is a stand that sells goods and Bud Lights (in the can) for $ 2. There is as well a great little sea food place right on the beach called Beachside Bar-​Café that is good for happy hour.
Overall I think this is a great beach for both college kids and families with children.

This beach was located near our hotel so we drove here to give the kids some beach time.
The university is nearby so the beach was full of students more than families. I have to say I prefer to go to beaches with families then college drinking cussing 20 yr old’s around. Don’t get me wrong, I was in college once too, but I watched my sailor mouth around kids.
It was kind of kelpy but the kids had fun and it was a nice afternoon to relax and hear the ocean waves. There is a pier that runs in between the beach so maybe I should have checked out the other side because being near the volleyball courts wasn’t ideal. Overall it wasn’t crowded but I wouldn’t come running back.

No gas grills, leave ‘em at home.
One of the few beaches in California you can drink on left.