Santa Ynez Mountains

La Cumbre Peak is a 3,997-foot (1,218 m) peak in the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara, California and located within the Los Padres National Forest. Composed of boulders and slabs of the Matilija Sandstone amid groves of pine trees, it is the highest summit in proximity to the city. Adjacent to La Cumbre is Arlington Peak (3,258 ft (993 m)) and Cathedral Peak (3,336 ft (1,017 m)). Other peaks within the Santa Ynez Range include Santa Ynez Peak, 15 miles (24 km) to the west, and Divide Peak, 15 miles (24 km) to the east. East Camino Cielo (originally known as Ridge Route) was constructed between October 1930 and June 1931 as a single lane road that extended 18 miles (29 kilometres) from San Marcos Pass to the summit of La Cumbre Peak. The intermittently curvaceous road was opened to the public, built with frequent turnouts and a set maximum speed limit of 15 mi (24 km) per hour. Today the road is frequently used by runners and cyclists for training, as the elevation gain is substantial and sustained, while there is relatively little car traffic. Construction of a fire lookout station upon the summit featuring a seasonal glass house was completed in the summer of 1923 by the US Forest Service, but may have been impacted by a fire that approached it from three sides in September of that year. In 1946, "La Cumbre Peak Lookout" was built to replace a California Region 5 Plan 4AR cabin that was mounted on a 10 ft (3.0 m) open timber tower. Utilizing an "innovative experimental design" that employed relatively high walls and sloped glass, the newer structure was considered to be expensive for its time (at a cost of $6,500) and was therefore the only model of its type to be constructed. The lookout was listed in the National Historic Lookout Register on June 19, 2010.

Arlington Peak is a 3,258-foot (993 m) high peak within the Santa Ynez Mountains located north of Santa Barbara, California, adjacent to the south of La Cumbre Peak and to the southeast of Cathedral Peak. The name of the peak purportedly originated in 1889 from the staff of the Arlington Hotel who referred to the area comprising the three peaks as The Arlington Crags. Arlington Peak was officially named in 2004 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.The peak is accessible via a 4.1-mile (7 km) "out and back" trail used for hiking and rock climbing, which is rated as difficult. There have been occasional incidents where hikers were injured and required evacuation.

The San Marcos Foothills Preserve is a 301–acre open space located between Santa Barbara and Goleta, California and owned by the County of Santa Barbara Parks Division. The preserve provides views of the nearby Santa Ynez Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the Channel Islands. The preserve provides feeding grounds for many dozens of birds, including American kestrels, kites, hawks, roadrunners, and for other animals including bobcats and coyotes. The preserve is open for low-impact recreation to the public, which includes hiking/running on trails, and bird watching. The preserve is considered a bird watching “hotspot” by the birding community Since it is a nature preserve, high-impact uses such as bicycling, horseback riding and off-leash dogs are not allowed.

Gibraltar Dam is located on the Santa Ynez River, in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California, in the United States. Forming Gibraltar Reservoir, the dam is owned by the city of Santa Barbara. Originally constructed in 1920 and expanded in 1948, the dam and reservoir are located in a remote part of the Los Padres National Forest. The main purpose of Gibraltar Dam is domestic water supply. It provides about 4,600 acre-feet (5,700,000 m3) of water to Santa Barbara each year, supplying almost 30% of the city's needs. Water diverted from the dam also powers a small hydroelectric plant. Due to having lost a massive portion of its capacity to sediment build-up, the lake can often fill and spill after a single storm, while drying up completely in some years. As of February 2019, sedimentation has reduced the reservoir's capacity to 4,314 acre-feet (5,321,000 m3), only 19% of its designed capacity.The dam is built in a part of the Santa Ynez River called the "Gibraltar Narrows" that gave its name to the Gibraltar (or Sunbird) mercury mine, which operated next to what is now Gibraltar Reservoir between the 1870s and 1990s.

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 78-acre botanical garden (32 ha), containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants. It is located in Mission Canyon, Santa Barbara, California, United States. The purpose of the Garden is to display California native plants in natural settings. There are approximately 9.2 km (5.7 mi) of hiking trails within the garden. Mission Creek flows through the premises, and includes a rock dam which was constructed in 1806 by Native Americans (mainly Canaliños) under the direction of the Spanish padres of the adjacent Mission Santa Barbara.

The Jesusita Fire was a wildfire that started on May 5, 2009, in the hills of Santa Barbara, California in the western United States. By the time the fire was contained on May 18 it had burned 8,733 acres (35.34 km2), destroyed 80 homes and damaged 15 more before being 100% contained. The cause of the fire was ultimately traced to local contractors who had left gas cans and hot equipment unattended in dry brush after clearing part of the Jesusita Trail using a weed wacker without any permits or the permission of the landowner.

Mission Canyon is a census-designated place and an unincorporated suburb of Santa Barbara, California, in Santa Barbara County, United States. The population was 2,381 at the 2010 census, down from 2,610 at the 2000 census. Mission Canyon is directly north — on the mountain side — of the city of Santa Barbara, and derives its name from the Mission Santa Barbara which is built between Mission Canyon and the center of the city. The canyon itself is one of the most dramatic in the Santa Ynez Mountains with the locally highest peak, La Cumbre Peak 3,988 ft (1,216 m) at the top of the watershed, flanked by Cathedral Peak 3,336 ft (1,017 m) and Arlington Peak 3,258 ft (993 m) to the west, Pine Lookout and Rock Garden to the east, and rugged sandstone formations partially covered with chaparral on both sides of the creek. State Route 192 (Foothill Road) bisects the southern portion of the area, running from east to west, and Mission Canyon Road passes through the area from north to south. Another major north-south artery is Tunnel Road, which leads to the trailhead for several popular hiking trails that originates from an area of medium density and semi-rural development at the canyon's northern extremity, and extends into Los Padres National Forest in the Santa Ynez Mountains.The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is located in Mission Canyon.

San Roque (Spanish for "Saint Roch") is a primarily residential neighborhood in Santa Barbara, California, located northwest of downtown. For planning purposes, the City of Santa Barbara uses two designations for this area, San Roque and East San Roque. The area takes its name from San Roque creek, which was named by early Spanish settlers after Saint Roch. A rural farming area until the 20th century, San Roque's first residential subdivision was developed in 1917 by Stephen Rutherford and called Rutherford Park. The streets were laid out in an irregular grid transected by spokes from a central circular street, Argonne Circle. Argonne Circle was named in memory of Rutherford's son, Lawrie, who died in the WWI battle of the Argonne forest. In 1926, plans were approved for the San Roque Country Club and golf course to occupy much of the area adjacent to Rutherford Park, but development stalled due to the Great Depression and in 1939 portions of the unbuilt golf course land were donated to the city of Santa Barbara to become San Roque Park and Stevens Park. In 1928, Peabody Elementary School was built in San Roque in response to population growth, and in 1937 the parochial San Roque School was established. Between 1945 and 1970, residential development filled in the remaining unbuilt lots, and commercial development spread along State St. bordering San Roque.

Skofield Park is a 35 acres (140,000 m2) natural open space preserve and city park located within Santa Barbara, California. Rattlesnake Canyon Park is located nearby, with both in the "front country" of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park is a unit in the state park system of California, United States, preserving a small sandstone cave adorned with rock art attributed to the Chumash people. Adjoining the small community of Painted Cave, the site is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of California State Route 154 and 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Santa Barbara. The 7.5-acre (3.0 ha) park was established in 1976. The smooth and irregularly shaped shallow sandstone cave contains numerous drawings apparently depicting the Chumash cosmology and other subjects created in mineral pigments and other media over a long period ranging from about 200 up to possibly 1000 years or more. There is also evidence of graffiti beginning with early white settlers, which eventually led to creation of a protective physical barrier and State Historic Park status. In 1972 it was added as Site #72000256 on the National Register of Historic Places.Access is from State Route 154 about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of U.S. Route 101 in the San Marcos Pass in the Santa Ynez Mountains, on Painted Cave Road. The cave is adjacent to the left side of this narrow one-lane mountain road, with a slightly widened shoulder that provides parking for one or two vehicles. The drive is not appropriate for trailers and RVs, due to some very tight turns and steep sections. This park is one of the few providing open access for viewing original rock art of the Chumash people in person. Flash photographs are prohibited since they can harm the artwork; some people use flashlights to help view the art, and some take photographs with long exposures with the camera braced on the metal gate or using a tripod.

The Painted Cave Fire was a devastating wildfire in June, 1990 that burned in the Santa Ynez Mountains and the city of Santa Barbara, within Santa Barbara County, California. The fire, which began near Painted Cave, was intentionally set near at the intersection of Highway 154 (San Marcos Pass Road) and Painted Cave Road, burned 5,000 acres (20 km2), destroyed 427 buildings, and resulted in two deaths.

KTYD (99.9 FM, pronounced "K-Tide") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Santa Barbara, California and serves Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The station is owned by Rincon Broadcasting and airs a classic rock format. KTYD is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated program Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast with the Beatles.