Discover 5 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Goleta (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Goleta Beach, Stow House, and South Coast Railroad Museum. Also, be sure to include El Capitán State Beach in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Goleta (California).
Table of Contents
Goleta Beach
Park in Santa Barbara County, California. Goleta Beach is a region of coastline located near Goleta, California, just east of the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. A portion of the shore of Goleta Bay is managed by the County of Santa Barbara, as the Goleta Beach County Park. The beach itself is partly man-made as sand was spread onto an existing sandspit in 1945. The beach is a seasonal habitat for migrating shorebirds, including the snowy plover, an endangered species, and is occasionally closed due to nourishment efforts.[1]
Address: 5986 Sandspit Rd, 93117-3903 Goleta
Stow House
The Stow House is a U.S. historical landmark in Goleta, California. Formerly the headquarters of Rancho La Patera, the Stow House, in the Carpenter Gothic style, is now the headquarters of Goleta Historical Society which preserves and interprets the history of the Goleta Valley.[2]
Address: 304 N Los Carneros Rd, 93117 Goleta
South Coast Railroad Museum
Museum in Goleta, California. The South Coast Railroad Museum in Goleta, California is a showplace for the Goleta Depot, a preserved 1901 Southern Pacific Railroad train station. The museum also features the Goleta Short Line, a 7+1⁄2 in gauge miniature railroad, a Southern Pacific caboose, and a model train set in a panorama of the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara, California.
The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the California Register of Historical Resources.[3]
Address: 300 N Los Carneros Rd, 93117-1502 Goleta
El Capitán State Beach
State park in Santa Barbara County, California. El Capitán State Beach is a protected beach in the state park system of California. The most easterly of three state parks along the Gaviota Coast, it is located about 20 miles west of downtown Santa Barbara, in Santa Barbara County. The beach is named for José Francisco Ortega, who retired from the Spanish Army in 1795 with the rank of captain and received the Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio as a land grant.[4]
Joseph and Lucy Foster Sexton House
The Sexton House in Goleta, California is a two-story Italianate style house that was built in 1880. It was designed by architect Peter J. Barber.
It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1992 as 'Joseph and Lucy Foster Sexton House. The listing includes, in addition to the main house, four contributing structures, two objects, and one site on a 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) property.
Photos included with its NRHP nomination show a pentagonal pool, a built-in china cabinet, a faux marble fireplace.
The original owner, Joseph Sexton, was a horticulturist who planted trees and shrubs on the property that, in 1991, partially screened the house from busy Hollister Avenue.
The house was damaged in the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake; in 1926 three porches were removed.
The house was restored during 1990-91 as part of the development of a Quality Suites Inn, which is a 75-unit motor hotel.
The home still remains on the original property. Pacifica Suites Hotel was developed on the property as a hotel with 87 suites. The second floor of the home is now a one bedroom apartment that is leased out to long term corporate guests. The first floor is available for business and social functions.[5]