Highway 154 - The San Marcos Pass

Back to Ride Index

Hwy 154 - The San Marcos Pass
Santa Barbara to Los Olivos & Buellton

Hwy 154 (also known as The San Marcos Pass) is a nice 33.5 mile ride traversing through a portion of the Los Padres National Forest. The ride is well known by Santa Barbara motorcyclists and motorists as well.

Hwy 154 connects Hwy 101 in Santa Barbara to Hwy 101 near Buellton and Santa Maria. Because of this, you will find somewhat congested conditions on the weekdays, especially during morning and evening commute times. Hwy 154 is also used to access Lake Cachuma, a very popular recreational area. Additionally, Hwy 154 can be used to get to the towns of Solvang (via Hwy 246) and Los Olivos, 2 popular tourist destinations. Finally, Hwy 154 is the access point to The Cold Springs Tavern, probably the areas most popular biker hangout on the weekends. So, you'll find all kinds on Hwy 154; commuters, campers and packs of bikes.

Hwy 154 in itself is a very nice ride, taking you through some great central California scenery. It also is the starting point for some terrific off-shoot rides which can take you through the heart of Santa Barbara wine country, or to the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest. Road conditions for Hwy 154 are, for the most part, excellent.

The Main Ride:

Hwy 154, The San Marcos Pass, Main Ride

Off-Shoot Rides:

Hwy 154 offers oodles of terrific side roads which head through the canyons, mountains and valleys of Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and the Los Padres National Forest. Some of these are long rides, some are quite short.

East Camino Cielo Rd / Gibralter Rd
(Poor road conditions but the best views in Santa Barbara.)
West Camino Cielo Rd - New on 07/26/03
(Poor road conditions but some great views of Santa Barbara.)
Painted Cave Rd.
(Short and sweet, also home of the Chumash Indian's Painted Cave).
Figueroa Mountain Rd.
(*** One of the author's favorites! 20 Miles of riding paradise.)
Happy Canyon Rd.
(A very nice, scenic 14 mile ride through Happy Canyon to Figueroa Mountain).
Sunset Valley Rd.
(A 5.7 mile ride deep in the back country. Only accessible by Figueroa Mtn Rd or Happy Canyon Rd).
Foxen Canyon Rd.
(*** One of the author's favorites! 31 Miles through the wine country!.)
Ballard Canyon Road
(Short and very sweet! ***One of the authors favorites.)
Armour Rd.
(A nice little 3 mi. detour for frequent Hwy 154 riders).
Zaca Station Rd.
(A short 3 mi. connector from Hwy 154 / Hwy 101 to Foxen Canyon Rd).
Stagecoach Rd.
(A short 5.3 mi. road full of twisties. Stagecoach road is probably one of the
county's most famous roads as it is part of the historical stage couch route and
the home of The Cold Springs Tavern.).
San Marcos Rd. (Coming Soon!)

Other Highways Connecting to Hwy 154:

Highway 246
(Off-Shoot Rides From Santa Ynez to Lompoc)
Highway 101
(Off-Shoot Rides From Ventura to San Louis Obispo)
Highway 192
(Terrific Ride From Carpenteria to Goleta.)

Back to Ride Index

This website and all material contained within is © Copyright 2002 by Jeffrey Donovan. No portion of this website, or the material contained within the website, may be reproduced, cached, or stored on another computer or storage device in any way, shape or form without the expressed written permission of Jeffrey Donovan.