Ellwood Beach Trail

The trail to Ellwood Beach follows a straightforward dirt path from a small parking area in Isla Vista along the Ellwood Mesa before descending toward a scenic sandy beach.

At 1.5 mile round trip, the path is popular amongst runners, dog walkers, gravel bikes, and locals just looking for a central accessible route to the sea. The trail tends to be mostly flat, however there are a couple small dips and climbs as it passes through a small seasonal pond. Passing beneath groves of eucalyptus trees. the wide dirt path is peaceful and offers a great walk where you can look in one direction and see the ocean, and then turn around to see the Santa Ynez mountains spread across the horizon.

You'll likely encounter plenty of other trail users, as the Ellwood Beach Trail intersects with a couple other large trail systems, including the Ellwood Mesa Trail and the Isla Vista marsh trails. Heading toward the coast, the trail soon comes to the edge of the bluffs, where trail users can find an overlook point and glance down at the sea and Channel Islands in the distance, or follow the path as it becomes noticeably more narrow and follows a sandstone single track down erosion trails to the edge of the sandy shore.

Keep an eye out for landmarks where you entered the beach, in order to find your path back up to the bluffs when leaving.

A small parking area with about two dozen spots is at the trailhead. There is additional onstreet parking throughout the area if the parking lot is full. There is no water or any amenities along the trail.