Day Trippin’

Let’s assume that everyone who lives here already recognizes that many daylight and late-night hours can be spent strolling the shops, restaurants, and bars of State Street, from the base of Stearns Wharf all the way past the theaters and galleries of the Arts District near the Arlington Theatre. And, by now, thanks to incredible media saturation and booming popularity, let’s also grant that the Funk Zone’s tasting rooms, breweries, eateries, and assorted other curiosities ​— ​like the Santa Barbara Surf Museum, Arts Fund Gallery, and Blue Door antique shop ​— ​are on the must-do checklist for a vacation at home.

Instead, we present to you six itineraries ​— ​some easy to walk and/or bike, others requiring an automobile ​— ​to bolster your staycation portfolio.

Golden Goleta

Not just the land of suburbs and strip malls, Goleta is also home to some of the most easily accessible yet utterly breathtaking nature experiences in the region, perfect for everyone from young kids to those of advanced, wiser ages. Start the day with a coffee and pastry from the new French Press at Storke and Hollister (thefrenchpress.com), and then head toward Coal Oil Point (coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org) to explore a little-known gem: the Pond Trail, which sneaks behind Devereux Slough, connecting the old Ocean Meadows Golf Course ​— ​now itself an ever-wilder zone of raptors and amphibians ​— ​all the way to the waves and wind-sculpted grains of Sands Beach. The whole walk, four miles if you do the loop, is a paradise for native-plant fans and bird lovers ​— ​egrets, herons, and plovers are almost guaranteed, and you might spot vultures chowing on dead sea lions or hawks attacking snakes, as well. But it’s also the perfect place to feel as if you’ve landed on a remote coastline.