BEACH WALK INFORMATION
Distance—3 miles east to More Mesa; 6 miles east to Arroyo Burro; 1.25 miles west to Campus Point; 3 miles west to Coal Oil Point beach access; Topo—Goleta

DIRECTIONS
From State Street, follow Highway 101 west for 7.5 miles to the Ward Memorial turnoff (Highway 217—just past the Patterson off ramp) which leads to UCSB. Follow this for 1.5 miles to the Goleta Beach turnoff. Go left under Ward Memorial, then right into the park.

A CAUTION
There is a fair amount of tar on the beach due to oil seeps in the Channel. I would advise old tennies for walking and/or taking care where you put your feet.

THE WALK
Goleta Beach has excellent picnic and barbecue areas, with plenty of playground equipment for the kids and relatively calm (and safe) ocean water to play in. There are outdoor showers, restrooms, a great pier to walk out on and both snack shops and a resturant for your enjoyment. Kayakers will find this a great place as well, whether for a trip out and around the pier, to Campus Point, or an inland adventure into the Goleta Slough.

The walk to More Mesa beach is one of our favorites. There is a small obstacle which is often present, which is a short "creek crossing" through the water exiting the Slough area but after that you'll find yourself mesmerized by the mile long stretch ahead of you. You'll have hundreds of seagulls, a few pelicans, and loads of sandpipers and sanderlings for company. Along the way you'll spot an interesting scuplture made from driftwood and when you near the end of this stretch, huge gobs of tar, thick enough to form large boulder-like objects decorating the shoreline.

Several small points lead around to the More Mesa area. Just offshore there are several outcroppings and usually a seal or two kicking back on them, more so at lower tides when larger amounts of the rock are exposed.

It is a six mile walk to Arroyo Burro, a bit long for and out-and-back walk, but with a shuttle car at the other end, this is a perfect afternoon's walk. By walking east you'll have the sun at your back and the Brown Pelican resturant is a great place to end the adventure. Have a tidebook handy so you'll know when the next low tide is coming.