One Thousand Steps Beach

Personally, I though this beach was one of the gross ones with a lot of seaweed. The steps we’re not worth the view, but any beach in Santa Barbara will always get three stars.

I came here to eat some poke and drink green tea for lunch and it was perfect. There wasn’t a lot of people, but the people that were there all brought their dogs! So I thought that was great.
Oh and it’s not really a thousand steps, so don’t get intimidated! :)

This was a great hidden gem to find! I don’t think this is a popular beach especially since there is barely any sand to lay and relax. The ocean meets the shoreline pretty close. Street parking is available and free! My friends and I went during sunset and it was beautiful! The «thousand» steps are to your left (when facing the ocean) and once you reach the bottom, the ocean is literally right there. We found a spot to the right after walking over many rocks and leaned back and enjoyed the sunset.

Cool spot. Thankfully the steps are not actually one thousand but there are several long flights (for those who may be physically limited). Makes for great pictures. Beach immediately near steps is narrow and rocky, though there may be more space further down. Generally though Id say this is a spot for pictures and a short walk, not for an actual beach hang out.
Tip: steps are eroded and wet so be prepared and step carefully.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous beach!!! Don’t be fooled its really not a thousand steps however it would be a nice workout if it was but no its not. Maybe like 100 steps. The sucky part is that midway down the steps its all wet and muddy omg there is so much mud its kinda gross especially for those who are wearing sandals or walking barefoot. This was my only pet peeve!
Other than that when we came here this place wasnt too packed. There were a lot of joggers, walkers walking their dogs but they let their dogs loose. I didn’t see anyone holding their dog on the leash. They were some dogs barking at each other but thankfully no dogs attacking humans. Because mind you I’m scared of dogs!!! :(
The water was nice the sand was pretty the beach was pretty. I definitely would come back. Not the best beach I’ve been to but definitely one I enjoyed and so did my son. Seeing him for the 1^st time actually playing in the water was the greatest thing for me to watch. He really enjoyed himself and that makes me sooo happy!!! You can get some killer pictures of the sunset and just the overall beach too.

Very beautiful to lounge around and great for dogs to roam. Quite rocky in the water, I cut my big toe bodysurfing. So rough n jagged, these rocks.
I see sailing and parasailing in the area. It’s a serene vibe. Street and neighborhood parking. I liked going down the stairs, not so much up.

I do not think this beach is named for the number of stairs to walk down to it. There are only 232 stairs, however it is steep and quite a workout going both up and down especially when carrying all your junk. There is some nearby street parking if you get there early. I got there at 1130 on a Saturday and parked across the street in hospital parking lot for $ 5…
There is a free trolley in the summer ending 08÷30÷15 that you can take into town. Going into town I waited 5 minutes for the trolley and it made about 16 stops on the way toward Main Beach or Laguna St. Coming back I waited 20 minutes then gave up and called an Über who showed up in 3 minutes and was $ 6 back to my car. I still never saw the Trolley.
Now back to the beach. My guess is the beach is named because it takes 1000 steps to walk from one end to the other. I found the beach very nice. It was not crowded at 11:30 when I arrived but was crowded at 4:30 when I left.
The water is not calm but had decent sized frequent waves to play in. There were tons of people in the water and lots of guys doing that skim board surfing thing.
I found it to be clean. There is one bathroom and a shower at the bottom of the stairs.
There are some large exposed rock formations that made for some good sights of waves splashing into the shore.
There were lifeguards on duty. There are some caves at both ends of the beach and there are lots of houses on the bluff overlooking the beach.
I drove 1:45 to get to this beach and would do it again even though there are dozens of beaches closer to my house.

Great workout just go up and down a few times and they should do it. Not really a thousand steps. Definitely a good workout and you have the ocean to cool off in

Nice hidden private beach area located right after the Shoreline Park. Look for the sign and thats where the steps start!
Not really a thousand steps but its close to a hundred. As you get closer to the bottom the steps get more slippery so be careful.
Very clean and dog friendly area.

It is not literally «One Thousand Steps» it was pretty short…
This beach was pretty empty when I went on a Tuesday during Spring Break. It’s a very clean beach with a lot of rocks & pebbles.
Parking is located in a neighborhood so it’s free.

Not a swimming beach, and be careful about high tide. However… sunsets from here are amazing, and the views during the day are simply world class. I’ve gone here for lunch breaks, breakfast walks, sunset, everything. It’s just incredible. I’ve watched whales, dolphins, etc from the steps. Seriously– very very beautiful. Just go and have a walk. You’ll be happy you did. You’ll leave relaxed.

Very nice and wild, it doesn’t feel at all like u are basically in the city. When low tide, mixed of volcanic black rocks (very beautifully shaped!) And sand. Not for swimming though.

It is 1000 steps. Skip your stair climber if your going to hit this beach. It was a quiet change from the crowd scene at sunset on Shoreline Park. Clean, quiet and comfortable.

This spot is awesome. I love to walk along the beach here. It’s not as crowded as Hendry’s with all the dogs running around. If you hit this place at low tide you can actually walk for miles. There’s a hidden little ledge under the stairs where I have spent sone time watching the ocean and people watching. And you get a killer workout just by climbing up and down.

What a hidden gem! Coming from out of state, we wanted to hit up a beach that was out of the way so we can take pictures. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was very small as far as the sand width, but went down for miles. I was so happy we found this place, our pictures were priceless.

This place is such a cute quaint find if you’re in the Mesa area! We came when there was high tide so we didn’t get to walk on the beach, but the views from the bottom are absolutely stunning.
I wouldn’t say there are ‘one thousand steps’ but there are quite a bit ~ maybe 200 or so. Be careful though! These steps are pretty wet esp with the surfers walking up/​down.
This place is truly a hidden treasure! I’m so glad we went!

This is a nice little trek to take on a sunny California day at low tide. It is accessible from a side street off Shoreline Drive (Santa Cruz Blvd). There are a few parking spots on this side street dead end but it might require a walk.
The pathway down isn’t 1000 steps. Though I didn’t count, I’d say maybe 150 and the lower 50 can be slippery as they are wet and covered with moss. At the end however you are rewarded with a deserted beach and a great quiet spot to enjoy the view. We went at low tide and there was a huge expanse of sand. We walked toward Santa Barbara and around a bend found a Princess cruise ship docked just off the nearby marina.
Only one other group was on the beach; it was very peaceful! I really enjoyed this hidden treasure!