Goleta Beach is a region of coastline located near Goleta, California, just east of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) campus. A portion of the shore of Goleta Bay is managed by the County of Santa Barbara, as the Goleta Beach County Park (GBCP). The beach itself is partly man-made as sand was spread onto an existing sandspit in 1945. The beach is a seasonal habitat for migrating shorebirds, including the snowy plover, an endangered species, and is occasionally closed due to nourishment efforts.
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Slough and wetlands Goleta Slough is a nearby tidal estuary that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The slough drains the Goleta Valley and watershed, and receives the water of all of the major creeks in the Goleta area, including the southern face of the Santa Ynez Mountains. The slough ecosystem has been affected by the numerous berms and tide gates that alter tidal circulation (Audubon, 2003). The Goleta Slough wetlands once covered approximately 1,150 acres (465 ha); however, the current size is about 440 acres (180 ha). Most of the habitat conversion occurred in the early 1940s, when a small airport was expanded to accommodate an airfield for the Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara, located immediately south of the estuary on what is now the University of California at Santa Barbara campus. After the war, that airfield became the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. Groups, such as the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, have been especially concerned regarding the flora and fauna in the Goleta Slough and its surrounding uplands. The UCSB student-supported and student-led Coastal Fund has worked with the Goleta Slough Management Committee, to conduct minor ecological restoration, such as the removal of non-native plants. The Goleta Slough Management Committee has been a vocal supporter of the California Coastal Conservancy’s plans for a major restoration project that would allow an experimental opening prior to a return to tidal circulation, in at least one of the marshland basins. It was able to secure approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to go ahead with the experiment as the action may affect the Santa Barbara Airport.
Park The park is a day-use park (open from 8:00 am to sunset) that features 27 picnic tables, four horseshoe pits, three restrooms, a volleyball court and other amenities. The park once featured a “Windamajig”, an active wind animated art piece sculpture. Unfortunately, the art installation was damaged by strong winds in 2006 and removed. The park itself is 29 acres (12 ha) large and 4,200 feet (1,300 m) of beach are included in the domain (Kisner, 1998). The pier, More’s Landing, was first built in 1874 and further modifications were done in the late 1920s, by the federal Department of Forestry (Kisner, 1998). The Beachside Restaurant closed in February 2021. The park is popular with locals and tourists alike and receives about 1.5 million visitors per year, making it the most heavily used park in the Santa Barbara County Park system (SBCPD, 2003). The park provides 580 parking spaces, as many visitors arrive by car, via Highway 217.
The western point The base of the point is described as “a rocky intertidal habitat, although species present there are more like those [found near] pier pilings” (Kisner, 1998). Freshwater seeps and some exposed pipes drain from the UCSB campus nearby the point. Most importantly, the rocky point and surrounding bluffs suffer from serious erosion most often associated with El Nino events. The shape of the bay focuses wave energy at the location. Because of the erosion, the edge of the bluffs above has become somewhat unstable and may be dangerous for those walking nearby.
History The estuary mouth fluctuated along the beach while 40,000 years of coastal uplift raised the mesa to the east and west. Since the late 19th century, Santa Barbara residents have been modifying the Goleta Beach area. Cattle grazing in the watershed begun in 1846 and fires caused hillsides to erode and fill parts of the Goleta Slough with sediment. In the early 20th century, local landowners invited citizens to bring fill to the beach on which a state beach park was established. Meanwhile, in 1943 the federal government continued the filling of the estuary when it bulldozed the historic Mescalitan Island just inside the estuary to create an airbase for use during World War II (SBCPD, 2003). In the 1960s, further construction continued on the wetlands including a sewage treatment facility and California Highway 217, and the state park was turned over to Santa Barbara County.
Erosion An ongoing problem concerning Goleta Beach is coastal erosion; sand and sediment is constantly being washed away and the beach is narrowing. In fact, in the last 14 years, the beach has been eroding at an average rate of 20 feet (6 m)-per-year. If no action is taken, the park, which consists of outdoor grills, horseshoe pits, a playground, public restrooms and shower, five parking lots and other county-maintained facilities (SBCPD, 2006), as well as the restaurant building is in danger of being lost. However, some proposed solutions designed to absorb wave energy and prevent erosion — particularly the so-called “hard engineering” solutions — may increase erosion elsewhere or alter the south central coast littoral cell. A number of plans have been proposed by different stakeholders and they generally fall under three broader philosophies. The first belief is that the park must be saved at all costs and supporters have argued for “hard engineering” coastal defense. A second group of stakeholders on the opposite extreme of the spectrum calls for managed retreat where existing utilities and structures are ripped out and nature is allowed to take its course. A third option, a moderate compromise suggests that the current ‘soft’ beach nourishment strategy is worth continuing.
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