Arroyo Burro Beach and the Douglas Family Preserve

Arroyo Burro Beach, which almost everyone in town calls Hendry's Beach, is the Santa Barbara beach locals actually choose for a lazy afternoon, and pairing it with the Douglas Family Preserve on the bluff above makes it one of the best free outings in the city. The beach sits about ten minutes west of downtown at 2981 Cliff Drive, where Arroyo Burro Creek meets the ocean below tall Mesa cliffs. It has gentle surf, a long run of sand to walk in either direction, and a county park at the parking lot with restrooms and a self-serve dog-washing station. Dogs must stay on leash on the beach, but they can swim and walk the shore. The Boathouse restaurant sits right on the sand, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a wine list and a happy hour, which turns a beach walk into a sunset meal without moving the car. Above the beach, the Douglas Family Preserve covers about 70 acres of undeveloped oceanfront mesa, the largest open coastal space in the city. More than three miles of trails cross oak woodland, coastal scrub and grassland, including an easy, flat loop of about 1.3 miles with ocean views. It is one of the few places in Santa Barbara where dogs may run off-leash in designated areas, and on windy days paragliders and hang gliders launch from the bluff. There are no restrooms in the preserve itself; use the beach park below. Come late afternoon, walk the bluff first, then descend for sunset and dinner.

The preserve has a good story. From 1949 to 1972 the land was the Wilcox Nursery, and after the nursery closed, plans surfaced for a resort and housing development on the bluff. Local conservationists organized to save it, and in 1996 the actor and producer Michael Douglas, a UC Santa Barbara alumnus, contributed funds that helped the city acquire and protect it, which is why it now carries his family's name. The result is a rare piece of wild coast in the middle of a city, with whales and dolphins sometimes visible offshore and monarch butterflies and birds in the trees.

Doing it well: park at the Arroyo Burro Beach lot (it fills on warm weekends, so come early or late), walk the beach west toward the cliffs at low tide, then take the path up to the preserve for the bluff loop. Check a tide chart, because high tide narrows the sand considerably. If you have a dog, the preserve's off-leash areas are the reward, and the washing station at the beach lot sends everyone home clean. The Boathouse is popular at sunset; arrive before the light turns gold. Keep away from the base of the cliffs, which can shed rock after rain.

Fitting it into a trip: Hendry's makes a perfect late-afternoon contrast to a downtown or Mission Canyon day, and it is the beach to recommend to visitors with dogs. Combine it with Shoreline Park on the same Mesa drive for two sets of views, or with the Inspiration Point hike in the morning for a full outdoors day that ends with fish tacos and a sunset.