Jalama is part of Santa Barbara county’s park system, and it’s a gem. Located midway between Point Arguello and Point Conception, Jalama’s location marks the transition zone to southern California, both geographically and climatically.
Taking it easy at our campsite
With good southwest facing exposure to the open Pacific, Jalama’s beaches pick up swells that don’t make it around the corner to the rest of the Santa Barbara coastline. And while its location near ocean points means that there is plenty of afternoon wind, the weather is often warm and sunny.
Happy campers
The park and campground is a square of land donated to the county in the 1940’s by one of the oil companies that built a few offshore platforms along the Santa Barbara coastline. The surrounding land is either privately or government owned, and it is nearly all undeveloped.
On our way to Point Conception
To the north of Point Arguello is Vandenberg Air Force Base (site of the SpaceX launch that we were sure was going to kill us when we sailed Madrone here several years ago), and to the south of Point Conception is Hollister Ranch, home to some of the most sought-after real estate on the west coast.
Getting ready for toasted marshmallows
We of course took advantage of the waves in the mornings before the wind picked up. And in the afternoons, the nearly deserted beaches offered perfect walking. At low tide we made it from the campground to four-mile distant Point Conception and back, only meeting one lonely beach fisherman the entire way.
Another nice sunset at Jalama
