Santa Barbara / Channel Islands

Santa Barbara is a US city in California that lies between the Pacific Ocean coastline and the Santa Ynez Mountains. This contiguous urban coastal city is also known as the American Riviera with a climate best described as Mediterranean. It includes several surrounding cities like Goleta, Carpinteria, Isla Vista, Montecito, Mission Canyon, Hope Ranch, and Summerland. The Channel Islands include a total of eight islands along the Pacific Ocean’s southern California coast along the Santa Barbara Channel. Some of the significant city points include the Santa Barbara Airport, Amtrak, and US Highway 101—which is the primary connection between Los Angeles in the south all the way to San Francisco in the north. Behind the city are several areas of remote wilderness within the Los Padres National Forest, as well as the Channel Islands National Park. The peaks of the Santa Ynez Mountains reach as high as over 4,000 feet and rise dramatically behind the city, making for a scenic and notably iconic backdrop; occasionally, the mountains get dusted with snow, but never enough to stay longer than a few days.