Does it get any better than fall in Santa Barbara? When this time of year hits, with its soft sunlight, warm days, and deliciously crisp evenings, we always find it difficult to imagine a better place to be. Granted, that’s true in summer, winter, and spring, too, but our autumn here along the American Riviera is downright seductive.
With a boutique Unbound Collection guest room or suite here at Mar Monte Hotel on Cabrillo Blvd., mere steps from the Santa Barbara beachfront, you’re beautifully situated for drinking in the many pleasures of fall on California’s Central Coast. Here are just a few ideas for appreciating the season while savoring our unbeatable hospitality!
Fall Festivals & Events in Santa Barbara, CA
From our region’s world-famous wineries to the pleasant hubbub of Downtown Santa Barbara, the American Riviera marks fall with plenty of festivities and happenings, and your boutique accommodations at Mar Monte Hotel provide an ideal springboard for taking them in!
There’s far too much going on this stretch of the calendar to effectively overview here, but we’ll spotlight a few examples. Over at the Santa Barbara Zoo, for example, you can get in the Halloween spirit—courtesy of trick-or-treating, creepy critter cameos, animal pumpkin-munching, a Hay Bale Maze, and lots more good stuff—at the annual Boo at the Zoo, which this years runs October 20th through the 29th. And it comes shortly followed up by a holiday-lights spectacular: ZooLights, underway November 15th into mid-January of next year.
Then there’s the 39th annual Santa Barbara Vintners Festival, a celebration of the American Riviera’s spectacular viticultural traditions (and oenophilic opportunities) taking place in the vine-quilted Santa Ynez Valley on October 14th.
It’ll be the very impressive 51st running of the Santa Barbara Old-Time Fiddlers’ Festival on October 7th at Rancho La Patera & Stow House, a toe-tapping good time brought to you by the Goleta Valley Historical Society.
What else? How about the dockside deliciousness of the Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival (October 221st)? Or the 13.1-mile and 5K excitement of the Santa Barbara Half Marathon on November 5th, anchored by Cabrillo Blvd. just a hop, skip, and a jump from Mar Monte Hotel?
The Santa Barbara Area’s Pumpkin Patches & Harvest Bounty
Harvest and Halloween-time bring timeless and all-ages fun to Santa Barbara. Head for one of multiple local pumpkin patches for seasonal gourd-grabbing: There’s Big Wave Dave’s Pumpkin Patch over at La Cumbra Plaza from September 29th all throughout October, for example, as well as the Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch—complete with hayrides, barnyard animals, a corn maze, and other fall fabulousness—going down September 30th through October 31st.
And get in on the richness of the autumn harvest at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market, held weekly in multiple locations—including the downtown market on Saturdays, readily reached from our boutique hotel.
Book your fall stay at Mar Monte Hotel on the American Riviera today!