Arroyo Burro Beach (Hendry's)

Hendry's is a county beach at the mouth of Arroyo Burro Creek, backed by the bluffs of the Douglas Family Preserve, with a restaurant and outdoor showers at the park. Water graded A in Heal the Bay's latest report card, but the creek mouth collects urban runoff, so enter a little away from it. Parking is free; the park opens at 8 a.m. and closes at sunset.

Directions

Photo: Niranjan Arminius · CC BY 4.0

Get your personalized SwimScore

Latest reading · SwimScore 78/100 (Good swim) for a typical swimmer: air 20°C, wind 19 km/h, waves 1.2 m, UV 0. Updated 24 Oct, 02:00 UTC.

Know before you go

Getting in: Santa Barbara County beach park off Cliff Drive at the mouth of Arroyo Burro Creek, below the Douglas Family Preserve bluffs; open 8 a.m. to sunset.
Parking & transport: Free lot; entry closes at sunset, but cars parked before sunset may stay into the evening.
Water quality: Santa Barbara County samples beaches weekly for fecal indicator bacteria. Heal the Bay 2025–26: A summer dry, A winter dry, A+ wet weather. Urban runoff has caused bacteria exceedances at the creek mouth in past years.
Who swims here: Finish of Semana Nautica's 6-Mile Ocean Swim, which runs along the coast from Goleta Pier past More Mesa and Hope Ranch to Hendry's (July 19 in 2026); each swimmer needs a kayak safety escort.
Watch for: Creek outflow and urban runoff at the estuary
Surfers use the break
Facilities: Restaurant and snack bar · Outdoor showers · Picnic area with barbecue grills · Watershed Resource Center

Sources: en.wikipedia.org, semananautica.com, healthebay.org, sbck.org