In 1994, the park more than doubled in size to 230 acres with the purchase of adjacent undeveloped coastal bluffs with sweeping ocean and city views. Now called South Park, this area has trails, benches, overlooks, paragliding training hill, remote-control airplane field, and small parking lot.
A return to California native plants is seen throughout the Park, including these recent efforts begun in 2019.
Our work to restore native plants to the Park starts at the newly improved main entrance where 60 field-grown specimen coast live oaks and island oaks have replaced pepper trees — and are thriving! More than 2,000 coast shrubs were added along the roadway. This project received a 2024 Santa Barbara Beautiful Award in the “Santa Barbara Commons/Public Open Space” category.
An acre of native coast live oaks, ironwoods, and native plantings (including Matilija poppies) now augment this popular event site. Oak seedlings have been strategically located to take the place of Mediterranean arbutus trees over time.
The addition of 18 different California-native species of flowers, trees, and shrubs will turn the recently remodeled Las Positas Tennis Center into a high-profile, public native garden.
For the fifth year in a row, 300 to 500 merino sheep “naturally” weeded areas of South Park, along with first-time visits by horses and mules. The four-legged weeders not only remove fire fuel, aerate the soil, and germinate seeds but they also leave behind important microbes in their “black gold” fertilizer. The sheep flock is sponsored by park supporters Peter & Susan Cheney. Special thanks to the Santa Barbara Fire Department for ongoing support and cash sponsorship.
Upgrades are ongoing at the park’s beloved outdoor venue for cultural events, weddings, and other events. Recently, California native plants were planted one-half acres. In the summer of 2024, a flock of goats naturally “trimmed” overgrown areas near the deck. Special thanks to the Santa Barbara Garden Club for their support.
In partnership with Your Children’s Trees, National Arbor Day Foundation and Target Stores, 90 coast live oaks were planted along our Veterans Memorial Walkway. In addition, over 2,000 coastal shrubs were planted to replace failing non-natives and various fire-prone weeds as part of a City of Santa Barbara partnership.
Over $400,000 has been invested in Park’s nine miles of trails due to the generosity of the Adams Legacy Foundation, Trek Trails Foundation and the Sage Trail Alliance. New trails have been added — including a bike and wheelchair friendly walk atop South Park.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Hutton-Parker Foundation, two of the Park’s natural wells have been cleaned and restored to serve as additional irrigation for the Park’s South Park. Special thanks to Flowers & Associates for donating their civil engineering expertise.
The Park has begun several collaborative projects with local botanical partners. Find out more about our native plant restoration projects with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Channel Islands Restoration, Our Children’s Trees, Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, and others.
Elings Park is not operated by the city or county. We depend on user fees and public donations to maintain and improve the park. You can help.
