BEYOND LOS ALAMOS

Explore further into the full Santa Ynez Valley. Driving from town to town along the curvy freeways feels like an adventure. Look for superblooms of wildf lowers in the spring and bold fall colors. Soon the Chumash Museum & Cultural Center will open. If the beauty of the area’s vineyards and ranches make you want to see from a higher vantage, Vino Vaqueros Ranch plans private horseback riding experiences. Start and/or end your visit with your drive with a visit to Cold Spring Tavern for a tri-tip sandwich and one of its Stagecoach barrel-aged Manhattans to bookend your Santa Barbara Wine Country adventure at an Old West stagecoach stop.

Among the vineyards of the Santa Barbara Wine Country, visitors will find the Danishstyle town of Solvang, known for cute buildings and butter cookies. Stroll around Los Olivos, once a stop on the stagecoach route, now home to dozens of wine tasting rooms, or visit the boutique wine tasting rooms at the Lompoc Wine Ghetto.

With the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north, driving along the winding freeways and country roads through vineyards of this idyllic winemaking region feels mystical at times. Step outside at night and look up at the sky to bathe in the moonglow, under a blanket of constellations that have illuminated the sky over this valley of Chumash land since before the arrival of the early California settlers.