California Beaches: Santa Barbara

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Finding beaches in Santa Barbara is pretty easy: The 2.5 miles of coastline nearest downtown is divided by Stearns Wharf into East Beach and West Beach. These south-facing beauties attract about 10.6 million visitors a year, which is why the city makes no bones about comparing itself to France's Cote d'Azur or Italy's Amalfi Coast in claiming the title American Riviera. Here's a bit of history and an update on the beaches and what you can do nearby.

Santa Barbara beaches

( Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times )

Finding beaches in Santa Barbara is pretty easy: The 2.5 miles of coastline nearest downtown is divided by Stearns Wharf into East Beach and West Beach. These south-facing beauties attract about 10.6 million visitors a year, which is why the city makes no bones about comparing itself to France's Cote d'Azur or Italy's Amalfi Coast in claiming the title American Riviera. Here's a bit of history and an update on the beaches and what you can do nearby.

Then

Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo in 1542 discovers the area--which was long settled by Chumash Indians--and claims it for Spain.

Now

About 10.6 million visitors each year discover the beach town for themselves. Many take a spin on the relatively flat 3-mile bike path that runs from Shoreline Park to Andree Clark Bird Refuge.

Jasmine Arrua of Santa Barbara pulls off the bike path and sunbathes on West Beach.

For more in this series exploring Southern California's beaches, visit our Cruising the Coast page.