Agritourism & Farm Experiences near Santa Barbara, CA

Santa Barbara

Big Wave Dave's runs a seasonal pumpkin patch at La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara, open daily from late September through Halloween. Pumpkins range from minis to giants, alongside straw bales, corn stalks, and gourds for fall décor. The same family business runs Christmas tree lots up and down the coast come December.

Ventura

Love House Farm is an agritourism property on Santa Ana Road outside Ventura, in the coastal farm country between the Santa Clara River and the Santa Monica Mountains foothills. Details on what's grown or open to visitors aren't published online yet — check with the farm directly for current offerings.

Ojai

Friend's Ranches has grown citrus in the Ojai Valley for more than 140 years, now cultivating over 50 varieties with a focus on Ojai Pixie tangerines. The family sells at farmers markets in Santa Barbara on Saturdays, Santa Monica on Wednesdays, and Hollywood and Ojai on Sundays, plus a farm stand open Tuesday and Friday mornings from 7am to noon. The stand also carries fresh-squeezed juice and local honey alongside the citrus.

Santa Ynez

Summerset Farm & Dale's Nursery is on Baseline Avenue in Santa Ynez, in the Santa Ynez Valley wine and horse country of Santa Barbara County. Warm days and cool nights in the valley support vineyards, orchards, and nursery stock side by side across its ranch-zoned parcels.

Ventura

The Ventura Meat Company operates on East Main Street in downtown Ventura, California, within blocks of the city's Mission-era commercial core and the Pacific coastline.

Rancho Olivos has grown, harvested, milled, and bottled artisan extra virgin olive oil at its Santa Ynez ranch since 2004. The family-owned producer offers complimentary tastings at the ranch itself and runs a second retail shop on Morro Bay's Embarcadero, plus an olive oil club with Duet and Trio membership options for regular customers.

Solvang

Ballard Apple Farm grows a wide range of apple varieties on Baseline Avenue outside Solvang, adding new plantings most years, alongside apricots and fresh eggs. The farm uses natural growing practices rather than heavy spraying, and visitors can pick their own apples or take a pony ride past the miniature donkeys the farm is named for.

Santa Ynez

Quacken Farms sits in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County's stretch of ranchland and vineyards between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the San Rafael range.

Los Olivos

Clairmont Farm Lavender Co. has grown organic lavender and produce on Roblar Avenue in Los Olivos, California, since 1998. The Santa Ynez Valley farm sells lavender products alongside organic produce and livestock, and opens for visits Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with appointments available outside those hours by request.

Ventura

Big Wave Dave's second pumpkin patch sets up at Pacific View Mall in Ventura, next to Target, running the same late-September-through-Halloween season as the Santa Barbara lot. Both locations sell pumpkins from mini to giant along with corn stalks, gourds, and straw bales for fall displays. The company switches over to fresh-cut Christmas trees at the same lots once pumpkin season ends.

Restoration Oaks Ranch covers roughly 955 acres of oak woodland and cattle grazing land in the Santa Ynez Valley, a few miles south of Buellton. The property is home to Santa Barbara Blueberries, a U-pick berry farm that opens seasonally from May through September, and to the Wild Farmlands Foundation, the nonprofit that runs education and restoration programs on the land. A small cattle herd rounds out the operation.

Boccali Vineyard belongs to the Boccali family, better known around Ojai for the pizza-and-pasta restaurant on East Ojai Avenue that's run buffets and takeout since the 1980s. Father-and-son winemakers DeWayne and Joe Boccali grow and bottle their own wine on the Ojai Santa Paula Road property, and the Tomato Festival pairs the harvest with tastings each year.

Ventura

McGrath Street Pumpkin Patch sits on McGrath Street in Ventura, California, in the farmland between Highway 101 and the coast, flat, sandy-loam ground that has supported truck farms and seasonal pumpkin patches for generations.