Red Rock Pools (Santa Ynez River)
Santa Ynez Recreation Area (behind Santa Barbara) · near Santa Barbara · Central Coast
Swimming & Hot Springs
At a glance
- Temperature
- 62–74°F
- Cost
- $10 day fee at First Crossing kiosk (Paradise Road)
- Season
- Late spring–fall (best after wet winters; can shrink in drought years)
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Safety
- Jumping from the red rocks is popular and regularly injures people — scout depth; drought years leave less water than bravado assumes. The road's river crossings close after storms.
Swimming & Hot Springs detail
- Type
- swimming-hole
- Temp
- cool
- Clothing optional
- No
- Directions
- Hwy 154 over San Marcos Pass to Paradise Road; pay at First Crossing and continue (road fords the river — check status) to Red Rock Trailhead. A half-mile walk on the Gibraltar Trail reaches the main pools.
- Pools
- Deep pools beneath red sandstone outcrops on the Santa Ynez River — the biggest and most reliable swimming in Santa Barbara's backcountry, with sunbathing rocks and a party-scene reputation on summer weekends.
- Intl tip
- The Hwy 154 pass drive, Cold Spring Tavern (a stagecoach stop turned legendary tri-tip stand), and Lake Cachuma fill out the backcountry day. Check Paradise Road crossing status after any rain.
The guide
Red Rock is Santa Barbara's backyard swimming hole — deep pools beneath rust-red sandstone on the Santa Ynez River, a half-mile…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Red Rock Pools (Santa Ynez River) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.541, -119.792