Sea Lookout Park Beach is located below Sea Lookout Park at the ocean end of Camino Corto Road in Isla Vista, the student community next to the University of California, Santa Barbara. The stairs to the beach can be found 300 feet east (left as you face the ocean) of the park. On sunny days Sea Lookout Park Beach is full of students from UCSB beach walking, sunbathing, or perhaps playing Spikeball. Like most beaches in Isla Vista, it is a narrow strip of sand that is completely below water during high tides and waves literally crash against the bottom of the stairs. Bring your lunch, water, and sunscreen because there are no public facilities at Sea Lookout Park Beach. The general assumption is that you live nearby. To the east of Sea Lookout Park Beach is Camino Del Sur Beach, while a stroll to the west leads you to Camino Majorca Beach, Devereux Beach, and Coal Oil Point.

  • Amenities: Benches, Grass Park, Picnic Tables, Tide Pools, Volleyball Courts
  • Activities: Beach Walking, Picnicking, Sunbathing, Whale Watching
  • Dog Policy: Dogs allowed on leash

Sea Lookout Park, owned by Santa Barbara County, is the largest ocean-side park in Isla Vista. This wide grassy stretch on Del Playa Drive serves as a picnic spot and play area for hundreds of people every day. A true neighborhood park, Sea Lookout Park features unsurpassed views of the Pacific coast. Readers and sunbathers enjoy the spacious sun decks created as an "Art in the Park" project. The park includes a grassy field, picnic tables, and benches, and it can be a great spot for whale watching. The volleyball court is popular for large and small groups alike and the wooden structures provide a nice place to look out over the ocean.

Sea Lookout Park was developed by landscape artist Lloyd Hamrol. Sea Lookout Park also has a plaque commemorating The Isla Vista Tree - a huge cypress hanging over the ocean that became a symbol of Isla Vista's quest for self-governance. When the tree fell into the ocean, residents fought for the plaque to honor its importance to the people.

Free street parking is available if you can find a spot. Parking is a problem in all of Isla Vista during the school year. Look for street parking spaces first along Del Playa Drive and work your way block by block toward the north. With luck you will find a parking spot before you cross into Canada.

Panoramas