Buellton Is One of many Most Underrated Small Cities in California

As a California resident of 20 years, and an individual who by no means says no to a street journey, I’ve crisscrossed the state many instances in the hunt for locations that shock me. Buellton is a type of spots that began as a fast pit cease and shortly grew to become considered one of my household’s favourite locations. 

Snuggled within the Santa Ynez Valley, between the Pacific Ocean and the mild hills of wine nation, Buellton has small-town allure—quiet backroads the place you’ll be able to seize espresso earlier than wandering into a unusual quilt store, offbeat roadside sights, and folk who truly keep in mind your title.

“I uncover new issues on a regular basis,” says Kristin Neperud Merz, a coordinator for Buellton’s neighborhood artwork initiatives. “When folks drive via on the principle streets, they don’t know that so many hidden gems are only a flip away.”

Greatest Accommodations & Resorts

Sideways Inn

As soon as often called the Windmill Inn—immortalized within the 2004 Academy Award-winning movie “Sideways,” when Miles and Jack crashed in room 234 between tastings—this revamped motel has been overhauled right into a boutique hideaway. Fashionable rooms, fireplace pits, and a laid-back lounge with craft beers and a tasty wine listing make it the very best keep on the town.

Pea Soup Andersen’s Inn 

Established in 1969 subsequent door to the famend Pea Soup Andersen’s restaurant (however owned and operated independently), this Buellton inn has grown from a roadside cease right into a 98-room lodge. The decor is vivid and welcoming, the heated pool is ideal for a lazy afternoon, and patios provide quiet spots to sip espresso or a neighborhood wine. Don’t miss out on the complimentary Danish, which arrives recent from a bakery in close by Solvang. 

Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground

It is a tenting expertise with a critical glow-up, that includes classic Airstreams, safari tents, and storybook cottages blended in with full-hookup RV websites. Visitors can take pleasure in a large pool, a totally stocked camp retailer, and meals vans below fairy lights. “There are such a lot of family-friendly occasions on the campground; the calendar is at all times full,” says Kathy Vreeland, government director on the Buellton Chamber of Commerce. Visitor-favorite actions embody bike gentle parades, karaoke, and paint nights. 

Greatest Issues To Do

Trip the longest, quickest zip line in California. 

At Highline Adventures, the longest and quickest zip strains in California ship riders hovering at greater than 50 mph. The panoramic view from the primary launch level is unbeatable, although eight acres of dazzling protea blooms unfurl under, almost stealing the present. (For individuals who’d quite preserve two ft on the bottom, guided strolls via the flower fields are equally enchanting.) Children and thrill-seeking adults may also climb, bounce, and crawl via the treetop ropes and tunnels on the adjoining Skynet Playground and journey park.

Get out on horseback.

Saddling up with Santa Ynez Valley Horseback Rides means getting up shut and private with the Santa Ynez River, with as much as 4 water crossings, because the horses step sure-footed via the shallows. Wildlife is plentiful, together with energetic beaver dams and eagles overhead. For households, youthful children with no using expertise can take part in mild, one-hour pony encounters. (A “unicorn” is even accessible by request.)

Go to ostriches, emus, llamas, pigs, and extra. 

When was the final time you locked eyes with a seven-foot chicken? At Ostrichland USA, greater than 150 ostriches and emus strut throughout the farm like they personal the place (as a result of they do), craning their lengthy necks over the fence to gobble up your bowl of meals. I like to recommend arriving early within the morning earlier than any tour buses roll in—you’ll have more room and extra birds vying on your consideration. For much more hands-on enjoyable, jump over to the Zaca Creek Ranch, the place a 50-minute tour permits you to wander previous llamas and alpacas, peek right into a pigsty, cuddle goats, and get a really feel for all times on a working Central Coast ranch.

Return in time at Mendenhall’s Museum.

Mendenhall’s Museum of Gasoline Pumps & Petroliana is sort of a neon-lit time warp, with one of many West Coast’s largest collections of fuel pumps, alongside racing memorabilia, license plates, and vintage street indicators. Began greater than 50 years in the past by Jack Mendenhall, the museum is now curated by his son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Vickie. “It’s a hoot. At night time, it’s particularly wonderful when all of the lights come on,” Vreeland says. “When you’re fortunate, you may even get invited to the second flooring to see Vickie’s retro kitchen.” 

Stroll via a botanic backyard.

Again in 2006, this spot was a roadside waste dump. At this time, due to neighborhood volunteers, the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Backyard is a thriving sanctuary for native vegetation and wildlife, showcasing the area’s various landscapes whereas honoring the Indigenous folks of the realm. Discover the Chumash village, wander beneath sun-dappled oaks, and lose your self in a willow maze.

Greatest Purchasing

The Creation Station Material & Quilt Store 

If paradise for quilters exists, that is it. Housed inside a former bowling alley, this colourful cavern of cottons and bolts has turn into a vacation spot for crafters in every single place. You’ll discover whimsical prints, craft kits, and imaginatively repurposed objects that’ll make you wish to drop every part and begin making one thing fabulous. 

Motley Crew Market and Ranch 

Think about a store that appears like your favourite auntie’s kitchen. Filled with pasture-raised meats, housemade sausages, recent eggs, native seafood, spices, and an array of home made goodies, each nook of Motley Crew Market and Ranch displays Cassidy and Markos Alexandrou’s ardour for sustainable, considerate meals.

Greatest Eating places

Industrial Eats 

What began as a catering firm is now a farm-to-table restaurant and craft butcher store in a transformed warehouse on Industrial Means in Buellton. The Industrial Eats menu contains wood-fired pizzas, gourmand sandwiches, and ingenious mains. “The most recent factor I can’t get sufficient of is the salmon carpaccio,” Merz says. “That dish alone is value a cease.”

The Hitching Put up II

Like a well-balanced wine, The Hitching Put up II marries Santa Maria-style barbecue with traditional sides and its personal handcrafted wines, all served in a heat, rustic setting. Followers of “Sideways” may keep in mind this because the spot the place Miles meets Maya, performed by Virginia Madsen. When you’re planning to savor a glass of pinot noir in Buellton, that is the place to do it.

Giorgio’s at Parkway 

Blink and also you may miss Giorgio’s at Parkway, tucked incongruously inside a liquor retailer on the Avenue of Flags. “I name it ‘speakeasy Italian,’” Vreeland says. Behind the unassuming doorways, you’ll discover a cozy eatery serving every part from wood-fired pizza to cioppino to spaghetti carbonara. Most passersby by no means discover it, which solely provides to the fun of discovering Buellton’s best-kept foodie secret.

Vega Winery & Farm 

Established on the historic Rancho de Vega, this family-run property presents a full farm-to-table, wine nation expertise. Whereas lots of Buellton’s wineries provide wonderful tastings, solely Vega has Pop’s Place, an expansive, separate space with an informal eatery, a family-friendly petting zoo, and tractor-pulled wagon rides. 

Greatest Time to Go to

The candy spot for visiting Buellton is late spring or early fall, when days are heat and drenched in daylight, and evenings cool simply sufficient to twist up with a glass of native wine below the celebs. That is additionally when the vineyards come alive, both with the primary inexperienced shoots of spring or the golden glow of harvest. However Buellton advantages from ocean breezes via the Transverse Ranges, giving the city a near-Mediterranean local weather. For area fans, Buellton presents prime views of launches from Vandenberg House Power Base. Plan your go to round an evening launch to see rockets streak via the sky.

How one can Get There

Reaching Buellton is simple. Set proper off Freeway 101 within the coronary heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, it’s a straightforward 2.5-hour drive north from Los Angeles or a scenic five-hour journey south from San Francisco. Vacationers from farther locales usually fly into Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), which is simply 40 minutes away, and rental vehicles make that final stretch a breeze. For individuals who favor public transit, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner stops in close by Goleta and Santa Barbara, with connecting shuttles or ride-shares to Buellton. 

How one can Get Round

The optimum solution to see Buellton is by automotive, providing you with the pliability to slide between neighborhood breweries, tucked-away eating places, and the wineries that sprawl throughout the Santa Ynez Valley’s rolling hills. Nonetheless, the city’s compact grid invitations a slower tempo for these moments you don’t wish to get behind the wheel. Trip-share companies like Uber and Lyft, together with native taxis, are available, whereas Santa Barbara County wine tour shuttles and the Santa Ynez Valley Transit bus join Buellton to close by Solvang, Santa Ynez, and Los Olivos.