San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Weekend wander without the car
Taking a completely carfree weekend vacation sounds amazing. In theory. In practice, well, there are surprises. Like discovering that the historic district shuttle doesn’t run on Sundays, the train station is in a (ahem) sketchy neighborhood miles from downtown, and the bike rental place is out of bikes. Now you’re dragging your suitcase across some grimy vacant lot, sweating through your shirt and swearing under your breath.
Not in Santa Barbara. California’s most elegant seaside town has perfected the art of the completely car-free weekend. With miles of bike lanes, a convenient bus system, and most attractions grouped near each other, it makes car-free carefree. And all the city’s classic pleasures — seductive beaches, Spain-comes-toCalifornia architecture, superb food and wine — are still there to be savored.
Don’t believe us? Here’s an on-the-ground look at two days in car-free paradise.
Practicalities
In terms of getting there from the Bay Area, car-free Santa Barbara travelers have two options. First, United flies non-stop from SFO; from Santa Barbara’s airport, it’s a $15-$20 ride via Lyft or Uber or taxi downtown.
Second, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight takes you to Santa Barbara’s train station, close to the waterfront and downtown. Trainsters, note that the Santa Barbara Car Free organization (www.santabarbaracarfree.org) has partnered with Amtrak on a promotion that gives car-free travelers discounts on train tickets and Santa Barbara attractions.
Car-free works best if you stay downtown or on the waterfront. Luckily, you have lots of lodging options in both neighborhoods. (For a full list, visit www.santabarbaraca.com.) If your hotel offers bikes, even better. Near the beach, the SpanishRevival, bougainvillea-swaddled Hotel Milo has a fleet of blue beach cruisers to borrow; downtown, the elegant Kimpton Canary will get you pedaling, too.
Public transit
“Good afternoon!” the trolley driver chirps. “I’m Miss Lupe.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Lupe,” we chirp back.
We are starting the weekend by boarding a Santa Barbara Trolley Company trolley — think California Street cable car gone free range — for a 90-minute overview of the city, harbor to downtown to mission.
Miss Lupe also supplies facts: Santa Barbara was settled in 1782; McConnell’s on State Street makes good ice cream, and the price tag on that For Sale mansion overlooking Butterfly Beach is $10 million. I make note of “ice cream,” and “beach.”
If you prefer a more direct, less fact-filled bus tour, the Santa Barbara MTD’s sporty blue-and-white shuttles run along the waterfront and up State Street for 50 cents, taking you near most places you want to go.
Bicycles
“Santa Barbara,” says Ed France, “is a world-class cycling town.”
Admittedly, France may be biased — he’s executive director of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and owns four bikes (down from when he had “one for each day of the week”). With 80 miles of bike lanes, says France, Santa Barbara is a great cycling town not just for locals but for visitors, too.
I test out France’s claim
IF YOU GO WHERE TO STAY Hotel Milo:
202 W. Cabrillo Blvd.; 866547-3126; www.hotelmilosantabarbara .com. Rates start at $203.
Kimpton Canary Hotel:
31 W. Carrillo St.; 805-884-0300; www.canarysanta barbara.com. Rates start at $265.
WHERE TO EAT Santa Barbara Public Market:
DOWNTOWN
38 W. Victoria St.; 805-770-7702; www.sbpub licmarket.com
Smithy Kitchen + Bar:
7 E. Anapamu St.; 805-845-7112; www.smithysb.com
Barbareño:
205 W. Canon Perdido St.; 805-963-9591; www.barbareno.com
Scarlett Begonia:
11 W. Victoria St.; 805-770-2143; www.scarlettbegonia.net and hop on one of Hotel Milo’s blue beach cruisers, pedaling the waterfront on Cabrillo Boulevard. It is, well, bliss.
Later in the day the route will get near-Amsterdam crowded, but now, in midmorning, I zip along and (thanks to the bike lock the Milo supplied) I step off to wander Stearns Wharf and watch some volleyball at East Beach. I finish up following another bit of France’s advice. Biking, he says, makes beach-going easy, because you don’t have to fight for parking.
I cycle to Butterfly Beach, lock the bike and jump in the same ocean enjoyed by whoever buys that $10 million mansion.
If the hotel doesn’t supply bikes, you can rent them at Wheel Fun, with outlets on Mason Street and elsewhere. If you want an even easier
Smithy Kitchen + Bar
131 Anacapa St.; 805284-0380; www.lesmarchandwine.com.
202 State St.; 805-880-3380; www.loquitasb.com
805965-0353; www.sbtrolley.com.
Santa Barbara MTD DowntownWaterfront Shuttle:
24 E. mason St.; 805-9662282; www.wheelfunrentalssb.com
100 E. Haley St.; 805-2010654; www.pedegoelectricbikes.com/ dealers/santa-barbara
1114 State St. no. 25; 805-881-2999; www.acerivington.com pedal, try one of the electric bikes at Pedego.
On foot
Leadbetter Beach
Les Marchands:
Loquita:
FUNK ZONE
N
WHAT TO DO
Santa Barbara Trolley Tours:
sbmtd.gov
Wheel Fun:
Pedego:
Ace Rivington:
Walking still rules for exploring Santa Barbara’s two most engaging neighborhoods.
The first is its red-tileroofed downtown, centered along State Street. One welcome trend here is the surge in independent, Santa Barbara-nurtured shopping ops: hipster haven Ace Rivington for men’s denim and shirts; Make Smith for beautiful leather goods.
Another trend is a food renaissance. Santa Barbara Public Market is terrific for wines and beers and tacos. Opened early this year, Smithy’s Kitchen + Bar shines with dishes like braised lamb with baby artichokes, all locally sourced. On Canon Perdido, Barbareño takes Central Coast classics Stearns Wharf
805-963-3366;
Make Smith:
135 E. De La Guerra St.; 805-699-6296; www.makesmith.com
The Valley Project:
116 E. Yanonali St.; 805-453-6768; www.thevalleyproject wines.com
Area 5.1. Winery:
137 Anacapa St.; 805770-7251; www.a51wine.com
Mission Santa Barbara:
2201 Laguna St.; 805-682-4713; www.santabarbara mission.org
MORE INFORMATION Santa Barbara Car Free:
barbaracarfree.org
Visit Santa Barbara:
raca.com
www.santabarba
Santa Barbara Visitors Center:
St.; 805-965-3021 and gives them stunningly innovative twists — like the most elegant, sousvided Santa Maria barbecue you’ll ever taste.
Or hit a classic breakfast stop: Scarlett Begonia, locally beloved for lemon ricotta pancakes and other organic, start-the-day pleasures.
Closer to the waterfront, the town’s Funk Zone has gone more uptown (insert Bruno Mars joke here), while retaining its didn’t-thattasting-room-used-to-be-amuffler-shop street cred. Among the tasting rooms, The Valley Project stands out for its array of Pinots and Cab Francs and an enchanting blackboard map of Santa Barbara wine regions; Area 5.1 for its goofy but cool extraterrestrial vibe.
Like downtown, the Zone has blossomed with first-rate restaurants. Les Marchands has a vast wine list (400
LEGEND
TraiN/trolley statioN
Food/driNk
Hotel
Bike reNtal
SpaNish MissioN
www.santa selections) and, at brunch, chicken and waffles to die for. At buzz-worthy Loquita, classic Spanish gets a Korean accent (think paella with short rib and kimchi) thanks to Korean American chef Peter Lee.
Catch a ride
1 Garden
OK, we admit it. There are Santa Barbara attractions difficult to reach without a car. Chief among these is Mission Santa Barbara, which requires a pain-topedal uphill stretch above town. This is why Lyft and Uber were created. From downtown it’s about a $16 round-trip, and it’s worth every penny to visit the Queen of the Missions.
And, no, you don’t have to tell anybody you cheated.
Peter Fish is a freelance writer based in San Francisco. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com