Montecito Hot Springs
- Location
- California, United States
- Water type
- sulfurous
- Temperature
- 35 °C
- pH
- 6.8
Water profile
Soothing — neither hot nor cold, perfect balance.
Rich in active gases or metals — a strong mineral character.
Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.
Montecito Hot Springs is a natural sulphurous thermal site in the Santa Ynez Mountains above the affluent coastal town of Montecito, California, accessible by a challenging hike through the Los Padres National Forest above Santa Barbara's Riviera. The springs, once developed as a fashionable resort in the early 20th century and subsequently destroyed by floods, now consist of natural rock pools in a remote canyon setting that rewards the effort of the approach hike with sweeping views of the Santa Barbara Channel and Channel Islands. The juxtaposition of wild backcountry wilderness and the luxury of nearby Montecito — one of America's wealthiest coastal communities — is characteristically Californian.