Montecito Hot Springs
Montecito (Santa Barbara front country) · near Santa Barbara / Montecito · Central Coast
Swimming & Hot Springs
At a glance
- Temperature
- 95–105°F upper pools
- Cost
- FREE · Tiny free trailhead lot fills before 8am
- Season
- Year-round · The 2.5-mi round-trip trail bakes in afternoon sun
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Safety
- Sulfur smell is normal; head upstream for the warmest, cleanest pools. Expose-to-sun trail — carry water. Clothing-optional culture increases toward the upper pools.
Swimming & Hot Springs detail
- Type
- hot-spring
- Temp
- warm
- Clothing optional
- Yes
- Directions
- Hot Springs Trail from Mountain Drive, Montecito — ~2.5 miles round trip with ~800ft of gain up a canyon to a series of terraced pools. Parking is extremely limited; arrive early or bike in.
- Pools
- A ladder of volunteer-built terraced pools in the canyon — coolest low, warmest at the top where the springs emerge — rebuilt enthusiastically by locals after fires and floods repeatedly rearranged the canyon.
- Intl tip
- The trail intersects Santa Barbara's superb front-country network — extend to Montecito Peak for the full workout. Post-soak, Montecito's Coast Village Road and Butterfly Beach are minutes away.
The guide
Montecito's Hot Springs Canyon hides Santa Barbara's own soak — a chain of volunteer-terraced warm pools at the end of a short,…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Montecito Hot Springs — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.459, -119.622