If you have kept up with my my blog posts in the past year, you may have noticed my love for El Capitan State Beach. Nestled on the beach in Goleta slightly north of Santa Barbara; El Capitan is quite simply one of the most gorgeous and serene places I’ve ever visited. During my first coastal road trip, Up & Down Again; El Capitan was my first stop and my last. The bond that I have with this place is special. Everytime I’m here it seems to me that my mind is clear and at peace. Having been here a couple times, I’m comfortable with the lay of the land so I was able to secure a campsite within earshot of the crashing waves which was a great upgrade this time around.
The campsites are large and relatively secluded and the area around them is well-maintained. As for trudging, I didn’t do much to be perfectly honest. The real draw here is the beach. The campsites are situated up on a cliff overlooking the coast. To get down there, there is a small path that leads to a staircase that bring you right down to the water…
Once you make it down to the water, the beach stretches out for miles in either direction. The cliff face serves as a nice buffer against the wind and it also offers some seclusion. For example, I walked a mile or so down the beach until I came to an area where the cliff curved around, creating my own little private beach…
I had planned on doing some hiking along the beach but once I found this spot, I posted up. I started a new book, got a nice tan and just relaxed on the beach for hours. The only company that ever passed me were a couple of seagulls as I lounged around with my feet in the sand…
The beach at El Capitan is what made me fall in love with this place. Whether it’s descending that staircase for the first time and finding a private beach or waking up early with the sun and writing in my journal; the beach is perfectly suited to my needs. Whenever I get the itch to go camping or hiking, I always think of El Capitan first…
Before settling in for the night, I had one more duty I needed to check off my list… the sunset. After sitting on the beach all day, I knew I wanted to get to higher ground for the sunset, and I knew just the place…
On Day 32 of my 33 day road trip two summer ago, I found the lookout spot pictured above. From a log dug into the ground, I watched my last sunset of the trip. When I was making my way up from the beach this time around, I passed that same spot. As the sun slowly bled away, I lingered to take it all in. Once again, it was the last sunset before my way back home and back into the real world…
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