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Mesa Lane, United States

Stay in Santa Barbara: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of Santa Barbara

All 24 on Santa Barbara's map

Watch this spot We email you when Mesa Lane is worth the trip.

Hendry's Beach, Santa Barbara, California, US
Hendrys Beach. Photo: Clyde Charles Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Mesa Lane

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces S (189°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (9°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–7 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 10). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 14°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually January, with about 3 good days in 7; in August, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Santa Barbara, 3.9 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 5 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 6 h 55 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to SBA, direct.

    See flights ORD → SBA · Skyscanner from about £220 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 30 min from the airport to Mesa Lane.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Santa BarbaraAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

    Surf lessons in Santa Barbara · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in Santa Barbara · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Mesa Lane on Google Maps · Directions

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Forecast

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

DayScoreSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct143 ft9 shollow124kJ27°C
Mon 19Oct204 ft8 shollow171kJ25°C
Tue 20Oct113 ft7 shollow81kJ23°C
Wed 21Oct173 ft9 shollow155kJ17°C
Thu 22Oct82 ft8 shollow57kJ22°C
Fri 23Oct153 ft6 shollow67kJ23°C
Sat 24Oct82 ft8 shollow44kJ23°C
Sun 25Oct62 ft7 shollow27kJ25°C
Mon 26Oct82 ft9 shollow39kJ25°C
Tue 27Oct143 ft5 shollow47kJ24°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to SBA, then 30 min by road. About 6h 55 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 3 ft at best.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 2 ft at best.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 2 ft at best.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to SBA, then 30 min by road. About 6h 55 door to door

The plan picks the best of 11 spots near Santa Barbara each day: Bone Yards, Fernald Point, Hammonds Reef, Hendry's beach - arroyo burro, Hope Ranch, Leadbetter, Lighthouse, Mesa Lane, Miramar Beach, Sandspit, Shelves.

The trip from Santa Barbara, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £920–£1,680 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to SBA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£220–£460
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Taxiairport and back, shared£20–£30
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£270–£455
Food7 days eating out£260–£480
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£115–£190
Total£920–£1,680

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near Santa Barbara

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

Where to stayAd

Places to stay · Booking.com

In the waterAd

Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.