East Beach

East Beach runs east from Stearns Wharf in front of the Cabrillo Pavilion Bathhouse, and it is home water for Santa Barbara's ocean swimmers: Semana Nautica's summer distance races and the Thursday-evening Reef & Run start here. Lifeguards staff three towers in summer. Swim away from the Mission Creek mouth, which has graded poorly in winter dry weather.

Directions

Photo: Damian Gadal · CC BY 2.0

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Know before you go

Getting in: Long, wide city beach along East Cabrillo Blvd., east of Stearns Wharf; open sunrise to 10 p.m.
Parking & transport: Paid parking in the city beach lots, or free parking on nearby streets.
Lifeguards: Lifeguards on duty 10 a.m.–6 p.m. in summer; weekends only from Memorial Day weekend until the summer season starts. Towers 3, 4 and 5 are on East Beach.
Water quality: Santa Barbara County samples beaches weekly for fecal indicator bacteria (total coliform, fecal coliform, enterococcus). Heal the Bay 2025–26 (summer dry/winter dry/wet weather): East Beach at Mission Creek A/F/A+; at Sycamore Creek A/A/A+.
Season: Summer lifeguard season; Reef & Run on summer Thursdays and Semana Nautica's 2- and 3-mile swims in mid-July (July 11–12 in 2026).
Who swims here: Semana Nautica, Santa Barbara's summer sports festival, holds its Mullen & Henzell 2-Mile and 3-Mile ocean swims from East Beach (1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd.), and its weekly Reef & Run races (500 m, 1 km, 1 mile) start at 6:30 p.m. on summer Thursdays.
Watch for: Runoff at the Mission Creek and Sycamore Creek mouths
Facilities: Cabrillo Pavilion Bathhouse with locker rooms and indoor/outdoor showers · Beachfront restaurant · Picnic tables · Playground · Volleyball courts · Beach equipment rentals