Lake Cachuma
Santa Ynez Valley · near Santa Ynez / Santa Barbara · Central Coast
Camping
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Elevation
- 750
- Campsites
- ~500 sites
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- ~$30/night
Permits and booking
- Reservation required
- Yes
- How to reserve
- Reserve via Santa Barbara County Parks. A large reservoir in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara wine country. Showers, some hookups, yurts/cabins. No body-contact swimming (drinking water) — but a pool, fishing, and boating. Family-friendly.
What is here
- Setting
- lake-river
- Amenities
- Big lake in wine country · Yurts & cabins · Pool (no lake swimming) · Fishing & eagle-watching cruises
- Best for
- Family lake camping near Santa Barbara wine country
- Features
- Santa Ynez Valley wine country · Yurts & cabins available · Bass & trout fishing · Winter bald-eagle cruises
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Camping detail
- Camp type
- developed · rv · cabin-glamp
- Intl tip
- Reserve via Santa Barbara County Parks. No lake swimming (drinking water) — but there's a pool, plus fishing (bass/trout), boating, and wildlife cruises (winter bald eagles). Yurts and cabins available. Combine with Santa Ynez wine country (Los Olivos, Solvang). Showers; some hookups. Family-friendly. Warm inland climate.
The guide
Lake Cachuma, a large reservoir in the rolling oak hills of the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara, is a family-friendly camp…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Lake Cachuma — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.586, -119.98