Beach day at Leadbetter Beach

On the other side of the harbor from West Beach and near Santa Barbara City College, this beach tends to be less crowded than East Beach. It usually has a fairly mellow break that is suitable for beginner surfers.Leadbetter is a popular surfing and BBQ beach. The point makes for good waves, and there are lots of picnic tables and BBQ pits on the lawn area between the parking lot and the sand. People go swimming here, and it's a nice place for walking, though kelp does wash up on the sand. You can walk up the hill to Shoreline Park and look back down over the beach, getting a nice view of Santa Barbara and the coastline curving around for miles to the south.

Finally, the picnic area between Shoreline Cafe and the cliff is a wonderful place for a barbecue or picnic. The only negative is that there is sometimes kelp seaweed on the sand.You have to pay $2 per hour. But it's worth it, compared with what you will pay at any other park.