Summarized from an article by John Mckinney, LA Times- July 19, 1998

The bluff tops adjacent to the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara are being threatened by proposed projects from both the private sector (a proposed suburban subdivision) and the public sector (a proposed sports complex).

The bluff tops are owned by three landowners, all of which have their own agendas: the county parks department, Southwest Diversified (the developer) and a university-administered nature preserve.

Although the projects are unlikely to begin before the year 2000, a lot of ground will be broken if things go as planned. Much of the area's trail system will remain untouched but the appearance of the Santa Barbara Shores will change.

"Hiking from Santa Barbara Shores County Park to UCSB is a special experience. From the trail head, the hiker takes inspiration from a half-mile-wide grassland extending to the sea cliff edge. In winter and spring, grasses form a palette of greens dotted with shallow, shimmering pools. In summer and autumn, the grasses turn shades of amber gold and russet. Scattered atop the bluffs are about two dozen vernal pools, topographical depressions that attract flora able to adapt to alternating wet and dry periods. Millions of monarch butterflies migrate to winter roosts in the eucalyptus woodlands that border the inland side of Santa Barbara Shores. Scientists rate these groves as among the three largest over-wintering sites west of the Rockies.

For a first-time visit, I'd suggest a counter-clockwise loop out to the coast and a return via the butterfly grooves.

Directions to trail head: From U.S. 101, 12 miles north of downtown Santa Barbara, take the Glen Annie Road/Storke Road exit. Turn left on Storke Road and drive to the first intersection. Turn right on Hollister Avenue and proceed 1.6 miles to an unsigned turnoff on the left (coast) side of the road. Turn left into the parking lot of Santa Barbara Shores County Park.

The hike: Choose either the straight-toward-shore west trail that leads alongside a eucalyptus windbreak and the Sandpiper Golf Course or a signed path that cuts diagonally across county parkland toward the shore. Head downcoast atop the 60- to 80-foot high cliffs, which are cloaked in buckwheat, sage, lemonade berry mustard and fennel. Half a mile's travel brings you to a junction with a major beach access trail. Continue one-quarter mile across the bluffs to a line of eucalyptus trees and join a northbound trail that follows the trees inland. As you near the residential area of Santa Barbara Shores, you'll encounter a confusion of paths meandering amid the eucalyptus. Head toward the end of these residential cul-de-sacs and a bit to your left (west) until you intersect the major east-west-footpath through the eucalyptus groves. head left on this path. You'll intersect the county park's main trail that will return you to the trail head." Mckinney