Gaviota State Park

The Gaviota Tunnel (officially known as the Gaviota Gorge Tunnel) is a tunnel on U.S. Route 101/State Route 1 (US 101/SR 1) completed in 1953 in the center of Gaviota State Park, 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Santa Barbara, California, on the Gaviota Coast. It is 420 feet (130 m) long and 17.5 feet (5.3 m) tall. Only the northbound lanes of US 101 pass through it, as the southbound lanes descend from Gaviota Pass through a narrow canyon to the west of the tunnel. Because it is the only major route between the Santa Barbara County South Coast and the Santa Ynez Valley, bicycles are allowed through it. There is a rest area for both southbound and northbound lanes on the southern end of the tunnel, the southernmost one along US 101. There are frequent rockslides in the area, especially during and following rain. Some of the hillsides and road cuts are covered in netting to prevent erosion. There are also fences made of netting along the roadway to stop rocks that do fall. An alternate bypass to this section of US 101 between Santa Barbara and Los Olivos is provided by SR 154 capped by the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge near the summit of San Marcos Pass. SR 154 cuts directly between Santa Barbara and Los Olivos in a northwestern direction, whereas US 101 runs along the coast of the Pacific Ocean about 25 miles (40 km) west before turning north passing through Buellton to meet up with SR 154 near Los Olivos.

Gaviota Hot Springs is a geothermal feature in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The two pools are accessible from the Gaviota Peak trail in Gaviota State Park. Gaviota Hot Springs is sometimes called Las Cruces Hot Springs or Sulphur Springs. The hot springs lie within the Hot Springs Creek watershed, near the junction of U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1.

Las Cruces (sometimes rendered Las Cruses, meaning the crosses in Spanish) is a former settlement and an archaic placename in Santa Barbara County, California. It lies at the split between California State Route 1, which travels north to Lompoc, and U.S. Route 101, which travels north to Buellton. The two routes coincide on the highway to the south through the Gaviota Gorge to the Gaviota Coast. The community lies within area code 805.

The Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California is a rural coastline along the Santa Barbara Channel roughly bounded by Goleta Point on the south and the north boundary of the county on the north. This last undeveloped stretch of Southern California coastline consists of dramatic bluffs, isolated beaches and terraced grasslands.

Gaviota (Spanish for "Seagull") is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California on the Gaviota Coast about 30 miles (48 km) west of Santa Barbara and 15 miles (24 km) south of Buellton. Gaviota is south and east of Gaviota State Park. The road to Hollister Ranch, the large private land holding along the coast between Gaviota and Point Conception, connects with U.S. 101 just west of Gaviota, at the turnoff to Gaviota State Park. Industries in the area include organic farming, ranching, and woodworking. Free range cattle can be seen roaming and grazing throughout the area. Gaviota is also home to a marine mammal rehabilitation center named The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI.org) which opened in 2006 at the historic Vista Del Mar School grounds. Gaviota was once the location of the Gaviota Marine Terminal, which is currently being decommissioned and abandoned, with intent to become public open space. On the mountain side of the freeway is the Gaviota Oil Heating Facility, also known as the "Gaviota Gas Plant", built by Chevron Corp. and currently owned by Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP); this facility is being reconfigured and partially abandoned. The former purpose of the facility was to heat and process the heavy crude oil produced offshore so that it could flow through the All American Pipeline to refineries in the Bakersfield area.

Gaviota Peak is a summit in the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County, California. It is located 10 miles (16 km) west of Santa Barbara, 16 miles (26 km) east of Point Conception and 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Gaviota Grade is the most formidable in length and elevation change along U.S. Route 101 in Southern California.

Rancho Las Cruces was a 8,888-acre (35.97 km2) Mexican land grant in the Santa Ynez Mountains of present-day Santa Barbara County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Miguel Cordero. The name means "the crosses". The grant was inland of present-day Gaviota Beach and the Gaviota Tunnel.

Hollister Ranch is a 14,400-acre (58 km2) gated residential community amidst a working cattle ranch on the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California. The dramatic bluffs, isolated beaches and terraced grasslands are within the last undeveloped stretch of Southern California coastline. The fallow and fertile fields, mountains and valleys include some of the oldest known human settlements in the new world, the last native population of which was the Chumash. The Spanish Portolà expedition, the first European land explorers of California, traveled along its coast in 1769. It became part of the extensive Spanish land grant known as Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio, operated by the family of José Francisco Ortega from 1794. The land was purchased by William Welles Hollister after the Civil War as part of a large acquisition, the center of which was at Glen Annie, Tecolotito canyon. Lying between Gaviota State Park and Point Conception, there have been conflicts over public access to coastal parts of the ranch for nearly 40 years. Beaches along the Ranch remain technically open to the public per California state law, but access is difficult because the ranch itself is protected private property. A cattle ranch since the days of the Ortegas, Hollister Ranch is the fourth largest cattle ranch in Santa Barbara County having shipped over 1,500,000 pounds (680,000 kg) of beef in the summer of 2005. As a result of the Hollister Ranch Owners' Association CC&Rs, Santa Barbara County zoning and California's Agricultural Preserve Program, when fully built out, over 98% of the property will continue to be devoted to cattle grazing. Other benefits to Hollister Ranch owners as a result of the cattle operation include a reduced fuel load in the event of range fire and the tax benefits that result from adherence to the restrictions imposed by the Uniform Rules of the Agricultural Preserve. Relative to the land prices for parcels in Hollister Ranch, however, the cattle ranching is probably uneconomic, and may continue largely for the sake of fuel load management for fire protection, Agricultural Preserve tax consequences and aesthetic considerations.

Area codes 805 and 820 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes most or all of the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and the southernmost portions of Monterey County. 805 was split from area code 213 in 1957, and area code 820 was added to the NPA in 2018, creating an area code overlay.

Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company is an American brewing company based in Buellton, California. Founded in 2010 by Jaime and Jim Dietenhofer, the company grew rapidly during the subsequent decade, opening multiple tasting rooms across Southern California. By 2019, the company was producing 23,145 barrels of beer annually and winning medals in industry competitions. In 2020 however, the company declared bankruptcy and, as of October 2022, is undergoing reorganization in bankruptcy.

OstrichLand USA is an ostrich and emu ranch in Santa Barbara County, California in between the towns of Buellton and Solvang, just off California State Route 246. It is known for its over 100 ostriches and emus, which people can visit to feed. Southern California was chosen for this location specifically because of its resemblance to the surroundings of Africa and Australia. Along with being a popular tourist attraction with people passing through Santa Ynez Valley, the farm also raises ostriches for their eggs only and not their meat.

Buellton is a small city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Solvang. The population was 5,161 at the 2020 census, up from 4,828 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Route 101 and State Route 246, Buellton attracts many travelers. It is a town which is home to various hotels, restaurants, parks and shops. It may be most famous for its nickname “Home of Split Pea Soup,” which is a reference to the former Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant that shut down in 2024. Buellton traces its beginnings to 1867 when a portion of a Mexican land grant was deeded to Rufus T. Buell and his brother. They developed a successful cattle ranch in the 19th century.