Montecito beaches
Currently Available along Montecito beaches
~ Please Note ~
There may be Montecito beach properties that are available to purchase that are not included in the following MLS feed, as they are being offered for sale privately.
Please call Kathleen Winter at 805.451.4663 to discuss.
4 Montecito beach communities
There are four beachfront areas along the oceanfront in Montecito, California.
As you go up the coast toward Santa Barbara, the Montecito beach communities are:
- Fernald Point Lane & Posilipo Lane
- Miramar Beach, location of the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort
- Hammond’s Beach, location of Montecito Sea Meadow
- Butterfly Beach, home of the Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel
Fernald Point Lane
Miramar Beach
Hammond’s Beach
Butterfly Beach
Detailed information about each Montecito beach community follows.
Fernald Point Lane and
Posilipo Lane in Montecito
Beachfront or Blufftop: | Beach + Knoll |
Number of Homes: | 33 on / 1 Off |
Public Access: | Easy; Street Parking |
Walk to Shops/Dining: | Yes |
Sandy or Rocky: | Seasonal, but mostly sandy |
Guarded/Gated: | No |
The premier beachfront address in Montecito is Fernald Point Lane, where many of the beach homes occupy multiple acres of mature trees and lush vegetation. Fernald Point Lane is mostly a public road, but beyond the “Point” the coastline creates a serene easterly facing cove, and the road to homes on the cove is private and gated.
The Fernald Point Lane beach is sometimes rocky, but given the beauty of the landscape, it is still a pleasure to stroll along. The beach is a continuation of Miramar Beach, which is very accessible to the public. The very deep lots afford Fernald Point homeowners privacy from the beachgoing public, as many of the homes are set significantly back from the beach, giving them a certain elegance and stateliness lacking on other beaches.
Fernald Point Lane is in the extremely desirable Montecito Union School District. The shopping and dining of both the Montecito Upper Village and Coast Village Road are only about a mile away, making Fernald Point Lane one of the most convenient beaches upon which to live.
Miramar Beach in Montecito
Beachfront or Blufftop: | Beach |
Number of Homes: | 27 on / many off |
Public Access: | Easy; Street Parking |
Walk to Shops/Dining: | Yes |
Sandy or Rocky: | Seasonal, but mostly sandy |
Guarded/Gated: | No |
Miramar Beach’s very gentle slope into the ocean makes it a family favorite.
Public parking is available on nearby streets as well as the small parking lot at the top of the ramp and stairway that lead to the sand.
The casual ambiance of Miramar Beach has been enjoyed by generations of Montecito families since its early development in the 1920’s. Twenty seven cottages are snugly wedged together on the sand and many remain the original single wall construction redwood day cottages built as play houses for the major Montecito estates.
To say that Miramar homeowners are a close knit community is no understatement: some homes are literally only inches apart and have been known to rattle against each other during the occasional earthquake. Also, some of the lots are surprisingly narrow ~ one three story home is built on a lot that is only eleven feet wide!
For decades, Miramar Beach was home to the famous blue roofed Miramar Hotel, seen here in this vintage photo:
The fabulous redevelopment of that property is called the Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito.
Hammond’s Beach in Montecito
Beachfront or Blufftop: | Both |
Number of Homes: | 38 on / many off |
Public Access: | Moderate; Long path |
Walk to Shops/Dining: | Yes |
Sandy or Rocky: | Seasonal, but mostly sandy |
Guarded/Gated: | No |
For the public, Hammond’s Beach is accessed by way of a dedicated trail that meanders through some of the most expensive beach real estate in Montecito. Homeowners delight in the relative difficulty the public has in accessing their quiet and sandy beach.
There are three residential communities that are situated at Hammond’s Beach:
Edgecliff Lane, Montecito Sea Meadow and the Bonnymede/Montecito Shores condominium enclave.
Gated and private, Edgecliff Lane includes only six beachfront estates.
The guarded and gated Montecito Sea Meadow enclave, on 22 lushly landscaped acres, includes 4 beachfront and 27 non-beachfront homes.
All of the homes in Montecito Sea Meadow are French Normandy in design. Homeowners enjoy sharing a spectacular clubhouse, pool, spa and tennis court.
Montecito Sea Meadow was developed by Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway (who owns multiple properties there) and as a result is affectionately also known as “Mungerville.”
Bonnymede and Montecito Shores are adjacent guarded and gated luxury condominium complexes that front on Hammond’s Beach and are directly across the street from the world famous Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel.
Butterfly Beach in Montecito
Beachfront or Blufftop: | Both |
Number of Homes: | 17 across road from beach |
Public Access: | Easy; Street Parking |
Walk to Shops/Dining: | Yes |
Sandy or Rocky: | Seasonal, but mostly sandy |
Guarded/Gated: | No |
The world famous Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel and its private spa, the Coral Casino, anchor the eastern end of Butterfly Beach in Montecito, while the Santa Barbara Cemetery rests peacefully on the bluff at the western end.
In between, the homes along Channel Drive and Hill Road view the ocean from just across the street from Butterfly Beach and the estates along Fairway Road enjoy bluff-top views with only a pedestrian and bike path between their gardens and the sea.
The renown Music Academy of the West on Fairway Road is just a stone’s throw from Butterfly Beach.
The disadvantage of homeownership along Channel Drive is the public parking along, and the inconvenience of having to cross, the street to access the beach.
But homeowners greatly enjoy strolling down the block to dine at the world class Biltmore Hotel or to have a swim at the Coral Casino, or walking just up the road to listen to excellent recitals in the elegant gardens of the Music Academy.
Montecito beach sales since 2000
To view a description of all sales on or near Montecito beach since 2000, please click on the image below:
Click to enlarge the following map to view the location of all sales along the Montecito beaches since 2000.
Properties that are multi-colored have sold more than once since 2000 and their sales can be tracked using the various colored years.