Historically a large coastal floodplain and wetland with a coastline almost entirely lined by cliffs, Goleta is not famed for its epic beaches and surf. Recent attempts to incorporate this large section of heavily populated county land proposed the trendy, hip name "Goleta Beach," as if such a name could turn this fast-developing region into the next Newport or Huntington. The fact is that "Goleta Beach" is a small strip of sand at the Goleta slough, where the salt marshes that haven't been filled and paved interact with the sea.
So, the vast majority of the beaches that we do have are fronted by bluffs. Most of these are overdeveloped, with homes hanging over the edges and property owners always pushing and itching to get seawalls put along the shoreline. It's a constant battle to keep beaches and surf spots along this coast from being impacted by seawalls and overdevelopment.
As for the surf, there is surf here, strictly in the winter months is it good while the rest of the year UCSB students must deal with small windswell. Since winter is the key, here are some highlights from the winter of '98. Thanks very much to Jim Gibson for providing a new series of empty lineup photos, apparently shot the dawn after a night of heavy revelry on DP, because the local IV crews seem to have missed it. Not to be outdone, his friend Don Lubach has sent in set of three shots of Sands and Devereux.
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Stanley's Surf Gear has some additional shots of the Goleta area as well as locations farther north along the Gaviota coast.
