In the foothills of Santa Barbara, the Seven Falls Trail includes three tempting pools when the weather cooperates. The trailhead is on Tunnel Road (where parking is in high demand), near its junction with Owl Ridge Road above the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. It’s a moderate to challenging 3.2-mile round-trip hike to reach the sometimes-dry site of the pools and falls. The route, which isn’t always clearly marked, gets steep in parts and involves a lot of rock-hopping and boulders — a thrill for some, peril for others.
The trail starts on paved road (used by utility crews), becomes dirt road, then follows Mission Creek. Everyone who takes the journey seems to have a different response. In the first days of April, one hiker on AllTrails reported that “I love this trail so much.” Said another: “Dry and I got lost twice.” It’s generally wetter in winter, of course.