Explore the best rated trails in Goleta, CA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Santa Maria Valley Multi-Purpose Trail and Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail. With more than 13 trails covering 48 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Notice of closure: The Ventura County Public Works Agency is constructing a new bypass storm drain facility in the Casitas Springs community that will require closure of the Ojai Valley Trail from...
The San Antonio Creek Trail runs only 0.5 mile from the Maria Ygnacio Bike Path near Matorral Way east to University Drive near San Marcos Road. A scenic stretch of trail runs through the Tabano...
The Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail, named after a popular local politician and environmentalist, is an incredibly scenic route along Ventura's Pacific coast. Much of the trail offers dramatic views of...
The paved Maria Ygnacio Bike Path follows the creek of the same name, from the Atascadero Creek Trail near Patterson Avenue north to Pintura Drive at Ribera Drive. It also intersects the San Antonio...
The Ventura River Trail follows the former Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad right-of-way, from just north of Ventura to Casitas Vista Road at Foster Park northeast of town. Here the trail continues to...
The Rincon Bike Trail offers both beautiful views of the Santa Barbara Channel and an important alternative to US 101 for bicyclists. The trail begins at Carpinteria State Beach's Rincon Point and...
The Santa Maria River Levee Trail offers wide open views of distant mountains and the rugged landscape of the Santa Maria Valley. The partially paved trail follows a levee built by the Army Corps of...
Starting at Goleta Beach State Park, the Obern Trail (formerly known as Atascadero Creek Bike Path) travels east toward Santa Barbara's center, following a flood-control channel. The paved path is a...
The Santa Barbara Beach Trail, occasionally signed as the Coast Route, begins at Shoreline Park, a long but thin area encompassing the bluffs just west of Santa Barbara Point. The park offers plenty...
The Santa Maria Valley Multi-Purpose Trail runs for more than 2 miles on the southern edge of Santa Barbara County's largest city. The northern end occupies a former rail corridor—and parallels an...
The Goleta Beach Trail is popular among students of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who use it to travel between campus and Goleta Beach Park. The trail follows the seashore from campus...
Stretching through the heart of the small city of Santa Paula, the Santa Paula Branch Line Trail provides an important off-road means of getting around, as well as a chance to experience some rich...
Callegus Creek Bike Path winds along the east side of Camarillo, a bedroom community on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The paved pathway serves as a great connector between the city's north and south...
The Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail, named after a popular local politician and environmentalist, is an incredibly scenic route along Ventura's Pacific coast. Much of the trail offers dramatic views of...
The Ventura River Trail follows the former Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad right-of-way, from just north of Ventura to Casitas Vista Road at Foster Park northeast of town. Here the trail continues to...
The Santa Barbara Beach Trail, occasionally signed as the Coast Route, begins at Shoreline Park, a long but thin area encompassing the bluffs just west of Santa Barbara Point. The park offers plenty...
Notice of closure: The Ventura County Public Works Agency is constructing a new bypass storm drain facility in the Casitas Springs community that will require closure of the Ojai Valley Trail from...
The paved Maria Ygnacio Bike Path follows the creek of the same name, from the Atascadero Creek Trail near Patterson Avenue north to Pintura Drive at Ribera Drive. It also intersects the San Antonio...
The Santa Maria River Levee Trail offers wide open views of distant mountains and the rugged landscape of the Santa Maria Valley. The partially paved trail follows a levee built by the Army Corps of...
Callegus Creek Bike Path winds along the east side of Camarillo, a bedroom community on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The paved pathway serves as a great connector between the city's north and south...
The Goleta Beach Trail is popular among students of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who use it to travel between campus and Goleta Beach Park. The trail follows the seashore from campus...
The San Antonio Creek Trail runs only 0.5 mile from the Maria Ygnacio Bike Path near Matorral Way east to University Drive near San Marcos Road. A scenic stretch of trail runs through the Tabano...
Stretching through the heart of the small city of Santa Paula, the Santa Paula Branch Line Trail provides an important off-road means of getting around, as well as a chance to experience some rich...
The Rincon Bike Trail offers both beautiful views of the Santa Barbara Channel and an important alternative to US 101 for bicyclists. The trail begins at Carpinteria State Beach's Rincon Point and...
The Santa Maria Valley Multi-Purpose Trail runs for more than 2 miles on the southern edge of Santa Barbara County's largest city. The northern end occupies a former rail corridor—and parallels an...
Starting at Goleta Beach State Park, the Obern Trail (formerly known as Atascadero Creek Bike Path) travels east toward Santa Barbara's center, following a flood-control channel. The paved path is a...
The Santa Barbara Beach Trail, occasionally signed as the Coast Route, begins at Shoreline Park, a long but thin area encompassing the bluffs just west of Santa Barbara Point. The park offers plenty...
Stretching through the heart of the small city of Santa Paula, the Santa Paula Branch Line Trail provides an important off-road means of getting around, as well as a chance to experience some rich...
The Santa Maria River Levee Trail offers wide open views of distant mountains and the rugged landscape of the Santa Maria Valley. The partially paved trail follows a levee built by the Army Corps of...
Callegus Creek Bike Path winds along the east side of Camarillo, a bedroom community on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The paved pathway serves as a great connector between the city's north and south...
Starting at Goleta Beach State Park, the Obern Trail (formerly known as Atascadero Creek Bike Path) travels east toward Santa Barbara's center, following a flood-control channel. The paved path is a...
The Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail, named after a popular local politician and environmentalist, is an incredibly scenic route along Ventura's Pacific coast. Much of the trail offers dramatic views of...
Notice of closure: The Ventura County Public Works Agency is constructing a new bypass storm drain facility in the Casitas Springs community that will require closure of the Ojai Valley Trail from...
The Goleta Beach Trail is popular among students of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who use it to travel between campus and Goleta Beach Park. The trail follows the seashore from campus...
The paved Maria Ygnacio Bike Path follows the creek of the same name, from the Atascadero Creek Trail near Patterson Avenue north to Pintura Drive at Ribera Drive. It also intersects the San Antonio...
The San Antonio Creek Trail runs only 0.5 mile from the Maria Ygnacio Bike Path near Matorral Way east to University Drive near San Marcos Road. A scenic stretch of trail runs through the Tabano...
The Santa Maria Valley Multi-Purpose Trail runs for more than 2 miles on the southern edge of Santa Barbara County's largest city. The northern end occupies a former rail corridor—and parallels an...
The Ventura River Trail follows the former Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad right-of-way, from just north of Ventura to Casitas Vista Road at Foster Park northeast of town. Here the trail continues to...
The Rincon Bike Trail offers both beautiful views of the Santa Barbara Channel and an important alternative to US 101 for bicyclists. The trail begins at Carpinteria State Beach's Rincon Point and...
Trail runs along 101 highway in between mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful view while pumping adrenaline rush of riding next to speeding cars.
This is one of our favorite rides that we have done a number of times over the years when vacationing in the Ventura area. We've always ridden this trail in the summer when inland temps are sizzling, but you can count on cool, refreshing breezes and beautiful ocean and coastal views on this easy trail.
The official trail from San Buenaventura State Beach to Emma Wood State Beach is only 4.1 miles long which is why we extend it. Don't stop at Emma Wood! Continue north on Pacific Coast Highway. I know, you have to ride on the road with only a white stripe to separate you from the motor vehicles, but it seems like the only traffic is the occasional lumbering RV slowly headed to their campsite along PCH. If you take my advice, you'll definitely burn more calories and be rewarded with spectacular views of the Pacific, gawk at multi-million dollar beachfront homes, and envy relaxed vacationers enjoying their RV's.
If you ride this trail, do it in conjunction with the Goleta Beach Trail or Maria Ygnacio Bike Path since it's so short. The locals must love this since for the most part it's quiet, away from roads, and leads to the beach. It seems ideal for the neighborhoods that back up to it for the last couple of miles. If I lived there I'd probably be on it most every day headed for the beach!
Over the years on our visits to the Santa Barbara area, we've ridden the Goleta Beach Trail. Utilizing the probably now somewhat obsolete Santa Barbara County Bike Map (copyright 2000), we followed what was called the Coast Route. The Class I bike path starts near the corner of Storke and El Colegio, so that's where we would park and unload the bikes. In the summer months it's a great place to start your Goleta Beach ride since you add some distance to it, plus you can peddle through the nearly deserted UCSB campus to the Goleta Beach Trail trailhead.
After riding down to Goleta Beach County Park and Goleta Pier, the Coast Route turns inland allows you to pedal alongside Atascadero Creek. Today that trail is called Obern Trail, a lovely ride in itself. Another option is a spur off the Obern Trail just beyond Patterson Avenue called the Maria Ygnacio Bike Path. This will give you some uphill and through the neighborhoods of Goleta.
The Goleta Beach Trail is a beautiful, ridiculously short ride with sensational ocean and mountain views. If you are going to ride this trail, you might as well combine it with Obern and/or Maria Ygnacio and burn a few more calories!
We rode this trail between the marina and bird refuge a few years ago. The photo op highlight was peddling our bikes between the rows of giant palm trees for that stereotypical California beach scene, but for a couple of native southern Californians palm trees are no big deal. In addition, the ride is so short it just wasn't worth getting the bikes out of the SUV.
This trail feels most appropriate for tourists, walkers, joggers, skateboarders, and vendors renting those quadcycle things to families.
Way back in June of 1998, the Los Angeles Times had an article entitled "Joy Rides - 10 scenic bike trails for real people." Coming in at #8 was "The Milk Run." It was a 16 mile round trip through the Ojai Valley starting at Foster Park. Being the real people that we are, my wife and I rode it a year or two later during a vacation to Ventura.
Today that trail is known as the Ojai Valley Trail, and from the photos on the Rails to Trails site it looks just as beautiful as twenty years ago and appears to have had some nice upgrades added too.
I recall lots of trees, a rural atmosphere, a gentle incline, and being able to pretty much coast much of the way back to Foster Park!
(BTW: I've racked my brain and done some research, but I can't remember or find why it was referred to as The Milk Run)
Connected to this path from the Obern Trail (see comments for that trail). Rode to end of trail. Trail follows along creek and through residential areas, although stays within the green space. Trail is paved and like others in area not real wide but does the job. Noted a number of connector trails and would have been fun to have more time to explore these connections. Maybe next time.
After a short warm up on the Goleta Beach Trail (see comments for that trail), started ride from Goleta Beach Park and rode to end at Arroyo Road. Signage for the trail indicates this as Obern Trail, didn’t seen any signage for Atascadero Creek. The trail is paved, most of it is just wide enough for travel both directions but not a wide trail. The trail is older needing some overdue maintenance. We encountered a number of walkers and other bikers using the trail. Wasn’t a problem navigating around them. Trail is along the green space next to creek and away from traffic. Nice to have a quiet place without traffic. We connected to the Maria Ygnacio Bike Path from the Obern Trail (see comments for that trail).
Began ride at Goleta Beach Park and rode trail to UCSB and back. Trail is short and fine for connecting to UCSB. Otherwise not anything to brag about. We used this as a short warm up for the next trail starting from the park. See comments for Atascadero Creek Trail (Obern Trail).
Started our ride at west parking lot of Shoreline Park. Needed to ride the bike lane on the street before connecting to the actual bike path at east end of park. The bike path is paved but not real wide but does work, a wider path would be better for walkers and bikers. We rode to the end of the path at the bird refugee. This path is nice for a slow cruise along the beach front. Plan to dodge the many walkers on the bike path, a number of them aren’t paying any attention to the bike traffic. It seems like maybe the planners got the main section of the path reversed. All the walkers want to be on the bike path which is closest to the beach rather than the wide sidewalk 25 feet further away from the beach. If needing to ride fast, there is a nice designed bike lane on the street.
The Ventura River Trail and the Ojai Valley Trail combine to allow a bicyclist to ride from downtown Ventura to downtown Ojai. It is a very nice ride. The trail goes slightly uphill from the coast to Ojai (approximately 800 feet of elevation gain). Suitable for all ages and abilities.
The trail section through Ventura goes through the industrial area initially constructed during the heyday of the oil boom of the 1920s. Not beautiful; but still interesting. Foster Park, approximately 6 miles from the start in Ventura, is an excellent rest stop (bathrooms, water, views of the Ventura River). Just above Foster Park is a very cool bike bridge at the Ventura River. The remainder of the trail to Ojai offers beautiful views of the mountains, the river valley, and broad landscapes. Libbey Park in Ojai has water, bathrooms, shade, and playgrounds for kids.
The coast end of the trail connects to the Omer Rains bike path which will bring cyclists to the beach. Plenty of options for a full day of cycling and enjoying the Ventura and Ojai areas.
The bike trail is Class I and car-free. However, there are streets that cross the trail and cyclists must be cautious and stop at every crossing if there are cars.
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