Skip to content
Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, Santa Barbara, CA

Photo: John Wiley User:Jw4nvc - Santa Barbara, California, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park

A small sandstone cave near Santa Barbara holding Chumash rock paintings that are important to Chumash heritage today.

Santa Barbara, CA

About Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park

This state historic park protects a small sandstone cave whose walls carry Chumash paintings, among the finest surviving rock art made by the Chumash people. The cave is a key place for Chumash history and cultural identity. A metal gate now shields the paintings after decades of vandalism. A free virtual tour, built from 3D scans made by CyArk with support from the California State Parks Foundation and a Chumash elder, lets visitors view the cave interior online. The park sits in the Painted Cave community about 11 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, and the final approach is a steep, narrow road with a small pullout that suits only one or two vehicles, so trailers and RVs should not attempt it.

  • #rock art
  • #Chumash culture
  • #cave
  • #state historic park
  • #dogs allowed

What's around here?

The closest stops to Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Stay
    Family Favorite

    Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara

    $50+

    Goleta-area hotel at the base of the Santa Ynez Mountains with a solar-heated pool, free breakfast and parking, about 7 miles from downtown Santa Barbara.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    4.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Downtown Santa Barbara

    No admission fee

    The historic downtown district of Santa Barbara, anchored by the State Street corridor of shops, restaurants and paseos.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    5.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

    Under $25

    Natural history museum on a wooded Santa Barbara campus with fossils, wildlife, Chumash culture and a planetarium.

    6.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Mission Historical Park

    Check prices

    A roughly ten-acre city park beside Santa Barbara Mission with historic ruins and a large rose garden.

    6.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sightseeing
    Date Night

    Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail

    No admission fee

    Self-guided trail linking over 20 walkable wine tasting rooms across downtown Santa Barbara neighborhoods.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    7.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    La Purísima Mission State Historic Park

    Check prices

    A Spanish Franciscan mission complex in Lompoc, now a California state historic park.

    38 mi awayMore like this

Near Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park

More of the same kind

Keep exploring