May 24, 2023
During our first three weeks trekking the California Missions Trail, we visited six of the missions comprising Spain’s Alta California network. In the process, we hiked along the coast and walked through urban cities. Now, moving to a more rural area, we had the opportunity to walk on some of the same roads and paths as the Franciscan priest missionaries and Native peoples did over 200 years ago. We would also visit three more missions, including one structure restored to the 1820s era.
Through Coastal Closed Roads and Along the Rails to Santa Barbara
After our rest day in Ventura, we had 31.7 miles of hiking distance to Santa Barbara. We began the two-day stretch by leaving Ventura on a cool, drizzly day to hike along the coast. The route ran along a bike path adjacent to US Highway 101 for much of the 16.9-mile stage to Santa Barbara County and the city of Carpinteria.
Hiking on the bike path along US Highway 101; looking back at the coast and highway
A short section actually took us on to the beach.
Toward the end of the day we turned on to a path close to the train line. I was a little nervous walking through this portion, but we passed several other pedestrians and cyclists doing the same. At least a train didn’t come while we were there.
The trail ended at a bluff, where we could look down to a harbor seal sanctuary. We were surprised to see so many seals below us on the sand.
The next day, we walked a 14.8-mile stage to Santa Barbara. The trail routed us through the community of Summerland, where we stopped for a late morning brunch.
Back on the trail, we negotiated through closed road and bridge signs to stay on course and make our way to the community of Montecito. I am not a rule breaker. So whenever we saw a “Road Closed” or “Do Not Enter” sign, it always gave me pause. Darren, on the other hand, is more flexible, so he kept persuading me to continue forward. I just hoped we wouldn’t have an active road paving operation ahead of us that would damage my shoes, like last year on our Kerry Way trek in Ireland.
Walking through the closed route signs
Before leaving home, we purchased two California Missions Trail books that detail the route. One book is written for walkers (and stays close to roads and services) and the other book is for both walkers and bikers, using more bike paths and some dirt trails. When we created our own daily routes, I primarily used the walking book, but for this stage I included some bike paths near the beach.
The Butterfly Beach bike path in Montecito was one of our favorite portions of the entire trek to date. We loved walking above the coastline along the beautifully manicured trail.
When the bike path ended, we had the opportunity to walk directly on East Beach.
Soon, we could see Santa Barbara’s Stearns Wharf, which is California’s oldest working wharf.
The sun broke through the clouds, and we looked away from the ocean to see the mountains peaking through.
Leaving the beach at the pier, we turned to walk up State Street and joined the crowds of tourists.
Dolphin Family statue at the wharf; looking up State Street
While walking uphill, we stopped briefly at the Santa Barbara Presidio. It was established in 1782 as the last of four military outposts built by the Spanish along the coast of Alta California.
Even though it was late in the afternoon, we decided to detour to the Santa Barbara Mission and take a few exterior photos in the sunshine, in case the weather was cloudy when we visited the next day. The sunlight was perfect, and we were happy with our photos. After checking into our hotel a short distance away, we relaxed for the evening.
A Visit to the “Queen of the Missions”
On our rest day we visited Mission Santa Barbara. Known as the “Queen of the Missions,” it stands on top of a hill with a view of the Pacific Ocean (on a clear day). We were glad we had detoured to take photos the previous afternoon, as it was overcast when we arrived at the mission.
Established as the 10th mission in 1786, Santa Barbara has the only twin church towers in the system, and the six bells are each dedicated to a saint.
We learned quite a bit about the Native Chumash people in the mission’s museum. Expert basket weavers, they also used canoes to travel back and forth to the Channel Islands, located up to 65 miles away from the coastline.
Over 4,000 Native people are buried in the mission’s cemetery, including Juana Maria, a Nicoleno woman who lived alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island. She was the inspiration for the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Viewing the mission cemetery
As we entered the vast church, we marveled at the altar, which contains statues from Mexico.
As we were leaving, we noticed an old El Camino Real sign with the distances to and from the adjacent missions. Even though the distances were by car, looking at the sign gave us pause as we briefly imagined a person setting off by foot 200 years ago, not unlike us, to begin a walking journey to the next mission.
A Southern California Coastal Finale and a Reverse Highway Walk
Back on the trail for Stage 20, we hiked an 11.8-mile distance the next day from Santa Barbara to the city of Goleta.
Again, using a combination of the two books, I first routed us out of Santa Barbara on a beautiful preserve trail and a bike path to the ocean.
Walking along the preserve trail and bike path to the coast
Reaching the coastline once again, we ate lunch at the Goleta Beach County Park.
Just a short distance away was the University of California Santa Barbara campus. Just like we did in San Diego, we took some time to explore the area. UC Santa Barbara is the third-oldest University of California undergraduate campus, after UC Berkeley and UCLA. Its current campus sits on a converted World War II Marine Corps air station.
Walking through the UC Santa Barbara campus
After leaving UC Santa Barbara, we hiked a few more miles to end our day at an Airbnb on the edge of Goleta. Staying at this Airbnb for two nights was a strategic decision to position us for the next couple of trekking stages.
We now needed to hike inland by climbing over the Santa Ynez Mountains. It was about 30 trail miles from our Airbnb to the city of Solvang – too much distance to cover in one stage. And there were no affordable accommodations between our two locations. So we decided to get creative.
To date, we had been hiking in a northerly direction since leaving San Diego on April 26. But for the next stage we walked in the reverse direction. By hiking back to the same Airbnb where we spent the previous night, we saved money and kept our distance to a manageable 15.8 miles.
To begin the reverse stage, we took an Uber halfway up Refugio Road in the Santa Ynez Mountains to a ranch. Once we were dropped off, we began walking downhill from there.
The road was scenic, with lemon trees on one side and large sycamore trees and streams on the other.
Views from both sides of Refugio Road
After about 3.5 miles we arrived at the coast and entered Refugio State Beach. Our route joined the 2.5-mile Aniso Trail that runs along the coast to El Capitan State Beach. The weather was clear, and we had beautiful views of the coastline.
After we hiked most of the way on the Aniso Trail, we were surprised to discover a closed sign due to coastal erosion. We spotted some cyclists coming from the other direction, and after speaking with them, we felt comfortable continuing through the half-mile eroded section. It was quite a steep drop off, so I quickly made my way across.
Walking along the closed and eroded trail
At the end of the path, we took a lunch break in the picnic area at El Capitan State Beach. Just a short distance away we came across a large rattlesnake sunning itself – the first one we have seen so far on this trek.
We left the coast and joined a frontage road before venturing onto US Highway 101 to walk five miles on the shoulder of the road. It felt strange to be walking past signs that said “Do Not Enter, Wrong Way” as we entered the highway against the oncoming traffic. Even though we had cars whizzing by us at 65 miles per hour (or more), there was a wide shoulder and we felt pretty safe.
Views from our walk on US Highway 101
After leaving the highway, it was just a short distance back to our Airbnb and the end of our reverse stage.
Up and Over the Santa Ynez Mountains and a Mission Visit
After checking out of our Airbnb the next morning, we took an Uber back to the same location where we started the previous day. This time we headed uphill.
After 3.5 miles and 1,700 feet of steep climbing, we arrived at Refugio Pass and the end of the paved road. It was an overcast day, and we hiked for a time in the clouds.
While the road had been open on the ascent, it was closed on the other side.
Signs informing of the road closure on Refugio Road
As we headed down, the sun came out and we had a brilliant landscape before us of large trees and green hillsides. It was an idyllic scene.
That soon changed as the terrain became uneven and rocky. In places there were rockslides with significant erosion. It took us quite a while to pick our way through it all. At one point I even had to slide down a steep descent on my bottom.
Erosion, trail blockage, and difficult terrain on the way down Refugio Road
Finally, we came to an open, paved road again. After turning onto a busy state highway for a short distance, we arrived at Mission Santa Ines at the end of our 14.1-mile stage.
Established in 1804, Santa Ines was the 19th in the network and last of the Southern California missions. Known as the “Mission of the Passes,” visitors arrived via the San Marcos Pass (today’s California State Route 154), the Gaviota Pass (today’s US Highway 101) or the Refugio Pass (the route we just took).
We visited the small museum, which again highlighted the contributions of the Chumash Native people to mission life. A church service had just ended when we arrived, so we were able to view the interior and the colorful altar.
After seeing the church interior, we delighted in the courtyard that was full of blooming flowers.
As we left through the back of the mission, we were thrust into the heart of the city of Solvang. Founded in 1911 by Danish-Americans to create a Danish community in a warmer climate, Solvang evolved into a tourist destination with its themed-architecture, bakeries, and restaurants. It is known as the “Danish Capital of America.”
We had been to Solvang several times before. So we enjoyed walking around and exploring a bit before checking into our hotel.
A Long Highway Stage to a Living History Mission and a Rest Day
We got an early start on our longest day of trekking yet – 20.1 miles to our next mission visit and a rest day. Almost our entire stage was spent walking on the wide shoulder of California State Route 246.
Walking on a highway for the entire day is not exciting, but we knew we needed to balance these longer days with the more scenic ones. In addition to listening to music and podcasts, we passed the time viewing scenery on both sides of us, including vineyards, farms, and even an ostrich zoo.
Views from our highway hike
After about 17 miles we turned off the highway to a uncomfortably narrow and busy road that took us to the Mission La Purisima entrance. Several times, Darren and I had to scoot off the road and wait in the tall grass to let cars pass.
This mission visit was different from our eight previous ones, as La Purisima is one of only two missions that is no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church. Instead, this mission is part of the state park system. The 11th mission built in the network of 21 missions, La Purisima once covered almost 300,000 acres. It was also the only mission built in a linear style when it was established in 1787.
At its peak, there were over 2,000 residents, who herded up to 24,000 cattle and sheep. Weaving was a specialty here, with an average of 1,000 blankets made each year. Some were shipped to the Santa Barbara Presidio for their use.
The mission has been restored to the 1820s era, and the state park provides living history re-creations of life during that time.
Even though we still had over two miles of walking to complete our stage, we took our time exploring the area. And we left with a better appreciation of what life was really like in one of the missions.
As we left the mission, we actually hiked on an original section of the El Camino Real dirt road. It wasn’t hard to imagine what it would be like to arrive at this mission after walking all day, just as we had done.
After a rest day in the city of Lompoc, we will keep hiking north to San Luis Obispo and our next mission visit. As we venture into the more rural and remote reaches of the mission network, our hope is to continue to experience what it was like for those who walked this way before us, as we retrace their footsteps during our trek.
Watch our latest summary video with the highlights from this 93.5-mile section of trekking.