A weekend in Santa Barbara County Wine Country

Sometimes the most amazing adventures are found really close to home. If you live in LA, there are few more beautiful places to visit as close by as Santa Barbera County Wine Country. And there are few better ways to see it than by motorcycle. Santa Barbara is just a couple of hours away but is a world apart from very busy Los Angeles.

Jalama Beach

We loaded up the bike in our truck (we don’t ride on freeways) to take it first to Jalama Beach, an amazing Santa Barbara County park on the sea just south of Vandenburg Air Force Base, the site of most missile launches on the West Coast. What makes Jalama special is its isolation. It sits at the end of a beautifully winding 22.5 km (15 miles) road that keeps away the traffic, as the only destination for anyone traveling this stretch is one of the few farm houses or the park itself.

While we first arrived by car, we knew we had to take the road on our bike. As quickly as we could unload, we suited up and took it the full 45 km ride, enjoying laying the bike over on each of the sharp curves. It was our first time together on a street motorcycle and what a way to start.

Once we had the ride out of our system, we set up our tent and watched a fantastic sunset from the beach.

Wine Country

Day two of our getaway was planned to be a winery tour. We packed up the campsite but not before we enjoyed a few minutes on the playground. We headed inland to Solvang and Los Olivos, about an hour away. Our plan involved parking in Los Olivos, unloading the bike, and enjoying Foxen Canyon Road, the primary route through the vineyards made famous by the 2004 film Sideways. 

Velkommen Til Solvang

First we’ll say that Solvang isn’t our kind of town. It’s Danish kitsch isn’t as interesting when you’ve spent time in Europe or in Denmark, but Los Olivos, on the other hand, is a gorgeous wine country village.  This picturesque village in the Santa Ynez Valley is everything Solvang isn’t and we will definitely make our way back when we have more time.

We stopped in at Fess Parker Winery, started by the famous star who played Davy Crockett in the 50’s and Daniel Boone in the 60’s. We also stopped in at Zaca Mesa and Firestone, not too far up the road from Fess Parker. Motorcycles and wine don’t mix very well so we kept our stops to a minimum and our riding to the maximum.