The Valley is still very rural, with cows grazing on the hills under thousands of oak trees in all directions. Cowboys are still a reality here, and horse farms. There are extensive vineyards and nearly 100 wineries, many with tasting rooms. Ocean beaches are about 30 miles away: to the south, they are protected by the Channel Islands, and are calmer; to the west, they face the open Pacific and are more windy and wild. There are beautiful car or bike rides all over the area. And if your taste runs to butter cookies and cutesy shops, there’s the village of Solvang.October should be a spectacular month in the Valley, so plan to spend some time just looking around and enjoying a part of California that still reflects its agricultural and rural past. Here are some suggestions of things that we enjoy doing.
Click on the heading in this list to see a full description of the outing:
Foxen CanyonThis is a long and windy road through hills and c
anyons, with lots of cattle, oaks and vineyards.
Begin on Foxen Canyon Road off of Highway 154 in the town of Los Olivos. Proceed north and enjoy the ride.
If you want to stop for wine tasting, we recommend Curtis Winery at about 4.5 miles; if you want to see a beautiful tasting room with nice wine paraphernalia, Zaca Mesa at 9 miles (but we’re not fond of their wines). If you want to shorten the ride, take Alisos Canyon road to the west at 10.3 miles and rejoin Highway 101 very close to Los Alamos. If you are up for more, proceed north and stop at Foxen Winery (17 miles) or go all the way to Rancho Sisquoc, which is a couple of miles to the right off of Foxen Canyon at 20 miles. Sisquoc has good wines and a beautiful rural setting. For more information and maps of the Foxen Wine Trail, see
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimbatterson/trailmap.html and
http://www.foxenwinetrail.com/
Ballard Canyon
Ballard Canyon parallels and runs in between the road between Los Olivos and Buellton to the east and Highway 101 to the west. It is completely rural and steep in places. Turn south off of Highway 154 at Foxen Canyon Road (north is the Foxen Canyon drive descriped above). As you wind through vineyards and ranches, keep an eye out for bison on the left side of the road. You will be crossing the Purisima Hills, which is the same range that is right behind our house in Los Alamos, and is the location of some of the best vineyards in the area. 
Stop at the Rusack Tasting Room, even if you don’t want to try the wines, just to see the cross valley view: this is our favorite picnicking spot in the Valley. Proceed further down the road and turn right at the fork, and you will end up on Highway 246 in Buellton. Turning right will take you back to Highway 101, and give you deja-vue if you saw the movie Sideways. Turning left on Highway 246 will take you into Solvang.
Drum Canyon
Drum Canyon is ten miles of narrow and completely country road that leads from Los Alamos to Highway 246, between Buellton and Lompoc. Its northern end is about 2 blocks from our house, so it is a road we love and take often. In the spring, there are flowers everywhere; in October, it should be a nice fall ride. This is a favorite bicycling road, so watch out for cyclists as you round the bend on this narrow, windy road; you might just see Lance Armstrong and his entourage!
Santa Rosa RoadThis road runs through the Santa Rita Hills and the Santa Ynez river valley.
It is the prime wine country in the Valley and is home to Sanford and Fiddlehead vineyards, and the place where pinot grapes reign supreme because of the cool westerly ocean breezes every evening. Again, you may have some Sideways flashbacks on this drive. Take the Santa Rosa Road exit to the west off Highway 101 and drive along the northern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains on your left and the Santa Ynez River and the Santa Rita Hills on your right. Stop at Sanford Winery just to look around (it has been sold and is now managed by nonSanford people, but the grounds are still special and very rural). Further down the road, you may see flowers or pumpkins grown in fields in between the extensive vineyard plantings. Take a look at mile marker 7.28 on the right side of the road:
this is the Fiddlehead Vineyard, and you’ll have the chance to taste Fiddlehead’s 728 Pinot Noir that was grown right there at the reception on Saturday night. When you get to Highway 1, either turn around and retrace your route, or turn right and drive for a couple of miles until you come to Lompoc, and turn right again on Highway 246, which will bring you back to Buellton and 101 along the northern flank of the Santa Rita Hills.
If you make this loop, be sure to make a stop at
La Purisima Mission in Lompoc. It's a great view of what mission life was like before the mission areas became towns. Also, if you're lucky, you'll see spectacular fields of blazing seed flowers in the Lompoc area. Recommended winery stops on 246 as you return are Melville and Foley. Both have beautiful tasting rooms and excellent wines.
Figueroa Mountain Road
This is a very long loop road (about 40 miles and a minimum of 3 hours with no stops) and is unpaved and potholed in some places, but the views and scenery are spectacular. Take Figueroa Mountain Road north of Highway 154 from Los Olivos (Grand Avenue south of 154 in town). This road has no facilities or services for its entire length. You’ll drive for about 5 miles, and pass the unmarked entrance to Michael Jackson’s Neverland on the left across from a private elementary school, and then the road begins to climb up the mountain. 
You’ll leave the ranching valley floor and climb all the way up to distant ocean views to the west and pine forests. Over the top, you get views of the San Rafael Mountains to the east and Santa Ynez Mountains and Lake Cachuma to the south. You will descend down the backside of the mountain through hotter and drier areas and exit through Happy Canyon, where the warmer weather sauvignon and sangiovese grapes are grown. You will link up with Highway 154 again, where Highway 246 goes west into the village of Santa Ynez. In spring, this road is an amazing wildflower show!
There are a huge number of wineries in this area and many of them have tasting rooms. The charge for a tasting involving anywhere from 5 to 10 different wines is usually between $5 and $10, and you can usually keep the glass. With some exceptions, the tasting rooms in the Valley are very friendly and unsnooty, so don’t be afraid to ask questions or be intimidated. The staff is used to having first time wine enthusiasts who don’t know a red from a white wine come up and enjoy themselves. Tastings can be shared between two or more people, so don’t feel that everyone in your group needs to buy a tasting. The best varietals grown in the Valley are sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, vigonier, pinot noir, and syrah. Many tasting rooms are located right in the town of Los Olivos, so you can stroll from one to the other. People’s tastes in what varieties of wines and which wineries they like varies all over the map, so you may enjoy different wines than we do. But if you are looking for suggestions, here are some of our favorite wineries and wines (all but the first and last are in Los Olivos):
The copy of this map (below) is not interactive, you need to go to the site above to see the componenet maps, then you can print maps of individual wine growing area in the valley.
Or, you can click on the map links by the winery namesbelow.
Bedford Thompson
(see Santa Maria Valley map at http://www.sbcountywines.com/visiting/smv.html)
448 Bell Street, Los Alamos, 11-5 daily. This is the local Los Alamos tasting room, right on the main street, and the grapes are grown only 5 miles south of town. If you are only going to visit only one place, this is it. It’s small and completely relaxed and friendly, and if you tell them you’re in town for the Bennett-Lansford wedding, you’ll probably drink for free. Either Stephan Bedford, who made the wines, or Helen Daniels, manager of the tasting room, will probably be pouring, so say hi and introduce yourselves. We particularly like their pinot gris, chardonnay, mourvedre, and syrah. If you are partial to very earthy, bold red wines, try the cabernet franc: it’s the thing you’ll like if you like that sort of thing. Website:
http://www.bedfordthompsonwinery.com
Andrew Murray
(see Santa Ynez Valley map at http://www.sbcountywines.com/visiting/syv.html)
2901 Grand Avenue, Los Olivos. Andrew Murray specializes in Rhone varietal wines, and his syrahs are particularly full bodied and complex and wonderful if they have had the chance to age for a while. His red blend Esperance or his Tous Les Jours syrah are ready to drink right away. Also recommended is the white blend called Enchante. Andrew’s syrahs were among the first wines that we had from the Valley and we keep coming back for more. Website: http://andrewmurrayvineyards.comBeckman (see Santa Ynez Valley map at http://www.sbcountywines.com/visiting/syv.html)
2670 Ontiveros Road, Los Olivos, 11-5 daily. This winery is a bit complicated to find, but it’s well worth the effort. It’s on the south side of Los Olivos: drive south on Highway 154 and turn to the west on Roblar. In about a block, take the smaller, left fork in the road and follow the signs to Beckmen. It’s out in the country and there are orchards and vines all around the tasting room. We particularly like their sauvignon blanc, marsanne (a white Rhone varietal), and they have excellent syrahs. Their upper level wines are from the Purisima Mountain Vineyard (PMV) and, if they are pouring those, don’t miss the chance to taste them because they are fantastic. Website:
http://www.beckmenvineyards.com
Brander
(see Santa Ynez Valley map at http://www.sbcountywines.com/visiting/syv.html)
2401 Refugio Road, Los Olivos, 11-4 daily. If you are looking for a crisp white wine, try the sauvignon blancs at Brander. They have several different varieties (Cuvee Natalie, Cuvee Nicolas, Purisima Mountain) and they are among the best in the Valley for this varietal. Proceed south from Los Olivos on Highway 154 and turn left on Roblar, a few miles south of town. Turn left immediately and follow the signs to Brander, on the left hand side of the road. Website: http://www.brander.com
Foley
(see Santa Rita Hills map at http://www.sbcountywines.com/visiting/srh.html - Foley is not actually on this map, but it's just to the east of Melville and Babcock on Highway 246)
6121 E. Highway 246, Lompoc, 10-5 daily. This tasting room and vineyard is off by itself about 10 miles west of Highway 101, on Highway 246 between Buellton and Lompoc. They make excellent chardonnays and pinot noirs, and the tasting room is beautiful and is right in the middle of their vineyards, which should be yellow and scarlet in October. This is the place to try Santa Rita Hills wines. If you want more, proceed a mile or so further to the west and try Melville Vineyards as well. Website: http://www.foleywines.com
BeachesThere are several very nice ocean beaches within about 20 miles of Los Alamos. Because the California coastline shifts in this region from going in an East-West direction (near Santa Barbara) to a North-South one near Lompoc, there is a choice of South-facing beaches, West-facing beaches, and Southwest facing ones in between. Between Santa Barbara and Gaviota Pass on Highway 101, you will pass 3 South-facing State Beaches that you may wish to stop at en route to Los Alamos:
El Capitan,
Refugio and
Gaviota. The water, currents and winds are calmer and warmer on these beaches than on the more northern ones and there are great views of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands along this stretch of coastline.
From Lompoc, you can drive South along Highway 1 to get to the turnoff to Jalama Beach, a surfing favorite and also a wonderful long, flat walking beach. The winding road from Highway 1 to Jalama Beach is about 15 miles long and goes through beautiful rolling hills all part of a large cattle ranch which is for sale if you decide you want to stay. There's also a classic beach burger shack right on the beach, not to mention a nice playground and many dogs.
If you go straight west from Lompoc on Highway 246 (it becomes Ocean Avenue), you'll find a Northern California style beach strewn with driftwood called Ocean Beach. For much of the year it's off limits due to being a snowy plover breeding ground. But in October it will be open for beach-walking for those up to scrambling over the driftwood to get to the coast. This is a much easier drive for those who don't care for winding roads.
Walks and Hikes
In addition to beach walks, there are many trails in the Los Padres National Forest off of Figueroa Mountain Road. 
If you wish to hike these trials, check the National Forest site for trail information. In order to park along Figueroa Mountain Road, you need to have an Adventure Pass because Figueroa Mountain has been designated as a High Impact Recreation Area. 
Unfortunately, these are not sold at Figueroa Mountain but must be purchased in advance at Big 5, Sportmart or Sport Chalet in nearby towns and the LA area (e.g. Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Santa Maria). If you haven't purchased an Adventure Pass in advance, you can avoid getting a ticket if you focus instead on hikes near Cachuma Lake (see following) or at nearby Nojoqui Falls, south of Solvang.
Cachuma Lake
Cachuma Lake is a large reservoir for Santa Barbara surrounded by portions of the Los Padres National Forest. (Click on the map at the left to see a larger version of its location.) The Lake is home to many resident species of birds as well as a site for frequent migratory visitors. In winter months, golden eagles may be spotted near the lake. Park Naturalists lead 2-hour long bird-watching cruises on the lake at several times each weekend day as well some weekdays. Check the website for more information on times, fees and reservations. Reservations are recommended as sometimes scout or school groups fill the boat.
There's also a nature center and guided nature walks for younger visitors as well as some funky pedal boats you can rent. This is a fee use area, but you can buy a day pass at the entrance. Access is off of Highway 154 about 10 miles Southeast of Los Olivos.
Missions
Those of you who took California history may know that there were 21 Spanish missions established in what is now California, stretching from San Diego to past Sonoma, 20 miles North of San Francisco. They were established along El Camino Real (The Royal Highway) at intervals of one-day's walking distance by the first non-natives to settle in California. Thus, there are two missions within 20 miles of Los Alamos, La Purisima at Lompoc and Mission Santa Inés between Solvang and Santa Ynez. While La Purisima is a longer drive, it is a more rural mission and is kept as a museum to demonstrate life in a mission community. A visit to a California Mission provides an interesting view of an important period in California history.
Shopping
Since the Santa Inez Valley is a major tourist destination in Southern California, it has its share of shopping venues. Solvang has more gift shops than any other part of the valley, many very specialized and all looking like someone's vision of Denmark. There used to be one store in Solvang that sold nothing but trolls where Mari once purchased an "Indian Maiden" troll for her collection. Both Los Olivos and Santa Ynez have a more western feel, and include several nice gift shops and art galleries. 
Our favorite shops are in Los Olivos and include Jedlicka's Western Store on Grand Street, J. Woeste's Garden Shop on Alamo Pintado (fabulous succulent collection) and Sansone Studios, an enameled copper gallery on Jonata. (Click on the map at the right to see the locations of these.) Los Olivos also has a very nice small art museum, Wildling Art Museum, behind Mattei's Tavern. Los Alamos is known for its antique stores. Of course, if you do any of the wine touring we've suggested, you'll also find lots of nice wine paraphernalia in the winery shops. Foley has terrific ceramic serving pieces.
Photo Credits:
- Foxen Canyon Wine Trail signs from http://www.foxenwinetrail.com/
- Drum Canyon Bicyclists: Planet Ultra Solvang Spring Tour Photos by Chris Kostman, 3/22/03, http://www.planetultra.com/sst/03show01/index.htm
- Interactive Wine Country Map from Santa Barbara Vintner's Association, http://www.sbcountywines.com/visiting/map.htm
- Nojoqui Falls photo, http://www.pbase.com/neovolatile/image/34844073
- El Camino Real, http://www.notfrisco.com/almanac/missions/index.html, click on "chronology" link
- Rest of photos taken by us
