Carpinteria State Beach

Twelve miles south of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria State Beach offers a mile of beach for swimming, surf fishing, tide pool exploration and camping. The Spanish named the area Carpinteria because the Chumash tribe, which lived in the area, had a large seagoing canoe building enterprise, or "carpentry shop" there. The tribe had chosen the location because of naturally occurring surface tar which was used to seal the boats.

Seals and sea lions can be seen in the area December through May, as well as an occasional gray whale. Found in the tide pools are starfish, sea anemones, crabs, snails, octopi and sea urchins. Park hours are from dawn till dusk. It is a watchable wildlife site.

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