Knapp's Castle

Laurel Springs Ranch is a 160-acre (0.65 km2) ranch located on a ridgetop in the Santa Ynez Mountain range northwest of Santa Barbara, California, between the Painted Cave community and the intersection of Painted Cave road with East Camino Cielo Road in the Los Padres National Forest.

Painted Cave is an unincorporated community of Santa Barbara County located in the Santa Ynez Mountains and is so named due to its proximity to Painted Cave State Historic Park. It is primarily served by Camino Cielo Road and California State Route 154, which link the community both to the nearby Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara, California. The community is made up of roughly 100 homesteads, plus many outlying settlements. Painted Cave is the highest and largest of the inholdings within the Santa Ynez Mountains, and commands an impressive view- on clear days, all eight of the Channel Islands can often be seen. The community is primarily composed of irregular lots, and does not, except in the center of the community, conform to any sort of grid. Painted Cave sits atop a rough plateau, and includes the large Laurel Springs Ranch. The local terrain is extremely hilly, and numerous homes along Rim and Lookout roads approach or even overhang sheer cliffs.

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 Santa Ynez Forest Reserve was established by the United States General Land Office in California on October 22, 1899 with 145,280 acres (587.9 km2). On December 22, 1903 the entire forest was combined with Pine Mountain and Zaka Lake Forest Reserve to create the Santa Barbara Forest Reserve and the name was discontinued.

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.

The Rey Fire was a wildfire that burned in the area southeast of Lake Cachuma in the range above the Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County, California, in 2016. By the time the fire was contained, it had burned 32,606 acres (131.95 km2).

The Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge in the Santa Ynez Mountains links Santa Barbara, California with Santa Ynez, California. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 154. It is currently the highest arch bridge in the U.S. state of California and among the highest bridges in the United States. At its highest point, the bridge deck is 400 ft (122 m) above the canyon floor. The bridge is also the largest steel arch bridge in the state. It was determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places with exceptional significance.

Cold Spring Tavern was established as a stagecoach stop in 1865. Originally known as the "Cold Spring Relay Station", it was a horse changeover and meals break station. The tavern is located 20 minutes north of Santa Barbara, California, in Cold Spring Canyon, which is about a mile off Highway 154 along Stagecoach Road (in the San Marcos Pass area). The tavern serves steak, lamb, venison, duck, and rabbit.In 1956, Cold Spring Tavern was the first restaurant to serve one Steve Henson's salad dressing. Henson had recently moved to a nearby ranch and decided to try selling his dressing in the local area. It became known as ranch dressing.

KSBL (101.7 MHz, "K-Lite 101.7") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Carpinteria, California, and serves the Santa Barbara and Oxnard—Ventura, California radio markets. The station is owned by Rincon Broadcasting and broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. Two syndicated shows are heard weekdays on KSBL: Delilah, an evening call-in and request show, and Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh heard overnight. KSBL has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 890 watts. The transmitter is on West Camino Cielo in Goleta.

KIST-FM (107.7 FM, "Radio Bronco") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Carpinteria, California and broadcasts to the Santa Barbara radio market. The station is owned by Rincon Broadcasting and airs a regional Mexican music format. The KIST-FM studios and offices are on East Cota Street in Santa Barbara. The transmitter is off West Camino Cielo, near other FM and TV towers, in the hills north of Santa Barbara. KIST-FM also uses a 70-watt translator station, K274CJ (102.7 FM) in Santa Barbara.

The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges. The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age created by the movements of the Santa Ynez Fault. A very narrow range, the Santa Ynez Mountains rise quickly on its north side and drops off equally dramatically along the range's south face along the Gaviota Coast. The Santa Ynez Mountains begin as a series of volcanic hills near Point Arguello, and gradually transitions eastward into a single, well-defined ridge extending from Gaviota Peak to Matilija Creek. The range is approximately contiguous with the Topatopa Mountains beyond to the east, which terminates abruptly at Sespe Creek. The climate of the range is Mediterranean with most of the precipitation falling between November and March. Most of the range lies in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. At the crest and on the north slope, the rainier regions support extensive oak woodlands, mixed with other broadleafed species such as madrone, sycamore and bay laurel, along with some conifers, primarily Coulter pines.

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.