Leadbetter Beach
Santa Barbara County, California, United States
- Paid parking
Tomorrow at a glance
Best: 8 am to 3 pm, sunset 6:14 pm7.7
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
8.1
7 km/h4 mph wind, Great
8.4
10 km/h6 mph wind, Great
8.6
11 km/h7 mph wind, Excellent
8.4
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
8.5
12 km/h8 mph wind, Excellent
8.4
4 km/h3 mph wind, Great
6.2
5 km/h3 mph wind, Good
7.1
8 km/h5 mph wind, Great
8.2
14 km/h8 mph wind, Great
7.7
19 km/h12 mph wind, Great
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 8 am to 3 pm. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 15°C60°F
- Water
- 22°C71°F
- Wind
- 53 km/hmph E
- Gusts
- 74 km/hmph
- Waves
- 0.8 m3 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- falling
- Rain
- 7%
- Sunset
- 6:14 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- Low 1 am, -0.2 m<1 ft
- High 8 am, 1.1 m4 ft
- Low 2 pm, -0.2 m<1 ft
- High 8 pm, 0.9 m3 ft
Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.
Beach info
Lifeguards, parking and facilities before you head down.
About Leadbetter Beach
Leadbetter Beach is a beach in Santa Barbara, California, U.S. It is 0.67 miles long and has a nearby drinking water source. The nearest bus stop is 0.25 miles away, and there are 10 parking locations within 0.31 miles.
Leadbetter Beach (also Ledbetter Beach) is a popular beach in Santa Barbara, California, situated below Leadbetter Hill.
It is easily accessible from the Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and the marina, and has light surf which is acceptable for learners. Because of the small surf and consistent winds, it is also a popular location for kitesurfers and windsurfers during the summer, when the wind is consistent. Of all the beaches in the city, this is one of the most frequently visited.
Source: Leadbetter Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; text may have been shortened. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- LifeguardStation 70 m240 ft awayOpenStreetMap lists a lifeguard station.
- Restrooms180 m590 ft away
- Showers170 m560 ft away
- Drinking water390 m0.2 mi away
- Parking10 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 190 m610 ft. Listed as paid
- Food and drink15 within 1 km0.6 mi
Getting there
- Nearest bus stop
- 400 m0.3 mi
- Nearest town
- 2.3 km1.4 miSanta Barbara (city)
- Nearest airport
- 41 km25 miSanta Ynez Airport (SQA)
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- West Beach1.2 km0.7 mi north-east away8.3 Great tomorrow
- East Beach2.7 km1.7 mi north-east away8.3 Great tomorrow
- Hendrys Beach3.6 km2.2 mi west away8.1 Great tomorrow
- Arroyo Burro Beach4.2 km2.6 mi west away8.1 Great tomorrow
- Butterfly Beach6.2 km3.8 mi east away8.3 Great tomorrow
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Leadbetter Beach.
Beachfront rooms go first on warm weekends.
Loads the map from Stay22, our stays partner.
Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Fri8.6 ExcellentBest 8 am to 3 pmWind up to 19 km/h12 mph, rain 1%
- Sat9.7 ExcellentBest 9 am to 7 pmWind up to 12 km/h8 mph, rain 0%
- Sun8.6 ExcellentBest 10 am to 1 pmWind up to 8 km/h5 mph, rain 0%
- Mon9.9 ExcellentBest 10 am to 6 pmWind up to 12 km/h8 mph, rain 0%
- Tue9.3 ExcellentBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 10 km/h6 mph, rain 0%
- Wed6.3 GoodBest 8 am to 7 pmWind up to 8 km/h5 mph, rain 0%