With world-class wines, a farm-to-table culinary scene, endless natural beauty, and a mild climate, the romance of Valentine’s Day is offered any time of year

The Santa Ynez Valley has long been a favorite destination for couples who yearn for a romantic wine country getaway. With acres of rolling vineyards nourishing some of the world’s best wines, charming inns and hotels welcoming visitors at seemingly every turn, and a creative farm-to-table culinary scene and restaurants with just the right ambiance, the Santa Ynez Valley leaves little wonder why.

Of course, we all want to wow the one we love with a perfect Valentine’s Day. But here in the Santa Ynez Valley along California’s breathtaking Central Coast — where the climate is perfectly mild all year round and the natural beauty is endless from sea to mountain peak — romantic getaways can hardly be contained to a single day in February.

Home to six quaint towns spread throughout a fertile valley, the Santa Ynez Valley’s offerings are as diverse as the couples who visit. The distractions of the outside world fade away as couples ride through the vineyards on horseback, then share the bounty of the region with a quiet picnic prepared by an award-winning chef. With more than 100 wineries to explore, a guided wine tour from a local expert allows couples to take it all in without a single worry in the world. And couples can sip the region’s great vintages with a private tasting in a quiet section of an estate vineyard.

Revel in a morning hike to Gaviota Peak for a breathtaking ocean view, then reach peak relaxation together with a couples massage at one of the region’s top spas, followed by a private wine tasting or two. And finish the day by savoring the fresh flavors and intimate settings that have fostered the Santa Ynez Valley’s renowned culinary scene.

“The romance of the Santa Ynez Valley lies in the abundance of opportunities for couples to reconnect, and the mild climate keeps the window of opportunity open all year long,” said Shelby Sim, President/CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley. “This region is proud of its world-class wines and restaurants. But what makes the Santa Ynez Valley a truly exceptional romantic getaway is in the many ways it can be shared and relished together — from wine tours and tastings to outdoor excursions to soaring over vineyards in a hot-air balloon or glider.”

Here in the Santa Ynez Valley, so much is possible most every day of the year.

Planning a romantic trip to the Santa Ynez Valley is simple at visitsyv.com, where visitors can research events and attractions, book lodging and activities, and create a custom itinerary with the click of a mouse. 

About the Santa Ynez Valley:

Barely two hours from Los Angeles and a scenic four-hour drive from San Francisco, the Santa Ynez Valley feels worlds apart from both. With six distinct communities encompassing everything from classic California wine country to Northern European traditions to the very best of the Old West, the Santa Ynez Valley is home to endless possibilities. Here in and around the towns of Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang visitors will find more than 100 wineries, incredible food, special events and a unique, rich heritage. For more information, including a complete listing of wedding venues, restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms and events, go to VisitSYV.com.

A Listing of Santa Barbara Wine Country Locales to Fulfill Your Inner Instagrammer

If you take a trip and don’t post a resulting photo stream to Insta, did that vacation really happen??? Thanks to the force of social media that is Instagram, many of us seek out perfect backdrops for documenting our adventures and experiences, wine country or otherwise. And just a couple of hours north of Los Angeles, or a handful of hours south of San Francisco, on the historically-road tripped California Central Coast, you’ll find six Santa Ynez Valley towns full of scenescapes – all ready and waiting for their close-up.

With all of this photographic content at your fingertips, you’ll need to make the Santa Ynez Valley more than just a day-trip. Book your stay to start populating that Insta feed…c’mon, do it for the gram.

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Los Alamos

In the tiny town of Los Alamos, a former stagecoach stop and depot for the Pacific Coast Railway, preserved Old West scenes mingle with mid-century structures and architecture – and nowhere are the town’s Western wiles more apparent than at the 1880 Union Hotel and Saloon, which still houses a stagecoach office within the private event space of the Hotel, a popular wedding venue. The open-to-the-public Saloon has photographic details galore, and the weathered, wood-paneled building’s frontier-town façade always offers up plenty of lens personality.

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Accommodations at boutique, cactus-adorned The Alamo Motel, come complete with Southwestern-chic décor elements and an on-property outpost of Santa Barbara County wine label, Municipal Winemakers, in the form of a photogenic wine tasting “cabin”.

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Skyview Los Alamos, an extensively-rehabbed 1950s motor lodge, still boasts the property’s original road-side signage and swimming pool, around which a lounge-y scene of craft cocktails and elevated “hotel food” has emerged (hint: don’t miss the oysters). The 1864 exterior of the Victorian Mansion Bed & Breakfast makes for a pretty picture, but the six themed suites on the inside (1950s, Gypsy, Roman, Egyptian, Pirate, French) really take the Instagram cake.

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Los Olivos

At Los Olivos garden art and home accessories shopping wonderland, J. Woeste, seat yourself in a bright red, larger-than-life Adirondack chair.

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Downtown Los Olivos’ Instagram title of “Miss Congeniality” has been decidedly bestowed upon Los Olivos Lemons, a giant, yellow citrus-shaped stand doling out gourmet lemonade, adjacent to the kid-friendly (of both the “big” and “little” varieties) Saarloos + Sons wine tasting room.

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On the culinary spectrum of things to do in Los Olivos, sits Global Gardens^®, with an olive oil tasting bar and a #gramworthy, hand-painted butterfly mural.

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Santa Ynez

Rowdy, raucous and raring to go: the Western-Victorian town of Santa Ynez is known most in nightlife circles, for The Maverick Saloon. Fabled live entertainment and dance venue, bar and now, eatery, “The Mav” has been the location of many a photo session, some clearly remembered, some slightly hazy (in the best possible way). Strike a pose with one of the many authentic, history-filled horse-drawn transports at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum’s Carriage House. A nod to the Valley’s Victorian era may be found in the opulently-renovated Santa Ynez Inn, with its rambling grounds and event spaces.

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At one of the Santa Ynez Valley’s vineyard gems, Sunstone Vineyards & Winery, the organically-farmed vineyards loll out from under the estate’s Provençal French courtyards, stone barrel-aging caves, and picturesque picnic havens.

Ballard and Solvang

The “burg” of Ballard is in and of itself, fantastically photo-ready, but its crowning jewel is the bucolic lodging and restaurant duo, Chef Budi Kazali’s Ballard Inn and The Gathering Table. Down the country road, lies agri-centric Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard, with its Instagram “influencer”-favorited 1946 farm truck. In the heart of downtown Solvang, the Danish-settled village displays numerous hints at its rich cultural past, many of which make for renowned modern photo opps. Solvang’s multiple windmills pull double-duty as businesses and backdrops: in three of the most famous, you’ll find CrossHatch Winery (436 Alisal Road), Sevtap Winery (1622 Copenhagen Drive), and Solvang Brewing Company (1547 Mission Drive).

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No visit to “Little Denmark” would be whole, without a pause for pictures in front of The Little Mermaid fountain (Mission Drive and Alisal Road). And who could resist the vivid, vast circumferences of the Danish pancakes at Paula’s Pancake House? Not anyone who would also regale the iconic pastry offerings from one of the many Solvang bakeries, or those frequently-portrayed Danish dough rounds, Aebleskiver. Shopping in Solvang is plentiful, and noticeably popular among visitors is the home of the big red clog – the famously-photographable footwear residing curbside at the Solvang Shoe Store (Copenhagen Drive and First Street). On the outskirts of Solvang, saddle up at The Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort for a luxe getaway’s worth of Instagrammable activities like horseback riding, golf, spa time, BBQ dinners and campfire moments.

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Buellton

The award-winning 2004 movie Sideways was filmed in numerous Santa Ynez Valley spots. But one of the film’s most famous settings is now the Sideways Inn, which also features one of the most memorable windmills in the “SYV”, outside of Solvang. Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground, Sideways Inn’s sister property which adjoins the hotel’s grounds, is an Instagram dream – from the life-size rhino guarding one of the “glamping” sections of the funtastic vacation destination, to the row of meticulously-restored vintage and Airstream travel trailers, to the variety of themed cottages and tents (Surf, Wine, Brewhaus, National Park, Safari and Tiki), to the private, gated Santa Ynez Guest Ranch and the cinematic luxury getaway that it provides. More Sideways movie nostalgia may be found at the famed Hitching Post 2 restaurant, now accompanied by next-door wine tasting location extraordinaire, for chef/restaurateur, Frank Ostini’s, and Gray Hartley’s Hitching Post Wines. Neighboring the twin Hitching Post properties, OstrichLand USA provides eponymously-opportune memories, photographic and otherwise, via its fine-feathered residents.

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Save some iPhone memory for Buellton’s picture-perfect roadside history, a grand portion of which is captured in the private collection of the family-owned Mendenhall Museum of Gasoline Pumps & Petroliana. Equally as intriguing to highway travel history buffs, is the often-posted Pea Soup Andersen’s – whose billboards up and down Highway 101 paint the way to the storied rest stop.

Let’s get to the root of the matter.

What would a Santa Barbara wine country experience be, without a visit to the vines that produce the region’s awarded wines? Best bets for essay-caliber vineyard photos may be found throughout the Santa Ynez Valley, with some newer entrants to the pictorial game – plus some classic viticulture standbys – stretching from Lompoc to Los Olivos: Melville Vineyards & Winery, Spear Vineyards & Winery, Dierberg Star Lane Vineyards, Brick Barn Wine Estate, Demetria Estate, and Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards, to name just a few.

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Below is a guide to making the most of your Christmas experience in the Santa Ynez Valley. Here you will find a list of what restaurants and wineries will be open, and which restaurants offer special holiday menus. For the best experience, we highly recommend calling the restaurants and tasting rooms ahead of time to ensure they still have seating availability.

Restaurants Open Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

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About VisitSYV.com: Visit Santa Ynez Valley provides listings of the best Santa Ynez wineries, best places to eat in Solvang, Santa Ynez hotels and inns, and things to do in Santa Ynez Valley. Visit the website at www.VisitSYV.com for complete travel and visitor services. “Like” the Facebook page for ideas on planning Santa Ynez vacations. Email info@VisitSYV.com for help planning your next vacation in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Thanksgiving is here (though the weather may not always reflect it!) – and if you are thinking about letting someone else do the cooking this year, Santa Ynez Valley restaurants are eager to serve.

Below is a guide to making the most of your Thanksgiving experience in the Santa Ynez Valley. Here you will find a list of what restaurants and wineries will be open, and which restaurants offer special holiday menus. For the best experience, we highly recommend calling the restaurants and tasting rooms ahead of time to ensure they still have seating availability.

But what other things to do on Thanksgiving can you partake in, especially if you have relatives to entertain? How about a little adventure on Thanksgiving Day? Vino Vaqueros Horseback Riding will be open for rides on Thanksgiving. Call (805) 944-0493 to make your reservation.

Also, make sure to check out our Events Calendar for a complete listing of upcoming events.

Restaurants Open Thanksgiving Day 2018

Wine and Halloween go hand-in-hand, right? But if you’re looking for something craftier for the harvest season holidays – haunted, or otherwise – the Santa Ynez Valley also boasts other libations. A quick Los Angeles getaway (we’re just two hours north) or a weekend jaunt south of San Francisco, the Santa Ynez Valley’s six wine-drenched towns of Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, and Solvang, offer a variety of thirst-quenching experiences. And although these might speak to the 21-and-over set, activities for all ages may easily be ordered as a “back”. Here, you’ll find cocktails, beer and wine to suit nearly all tastes.

One Valley. Six Towns. Something for Everyone.

So visit our vineyards, hike our hills, dine in wine country, belly up to the bar…and get a room. With this many options for indulging, the Santa Ynez Valley is so much more than just a day trip.

Buellton

Cemented in Highway 101 road trip history, industrious Buellton businesses are still accommodating weary travelers in need of a little refreshment. At Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Buellton Taproom & Barrelworks, suds are offered up to lucky locals and visitors as limited releases, liquid collaborations, and beer-world famous wild ales, while the on-site Taproom Restaurant provides nourishment in the form of beer-braised short rib and other gastro-pub fare.

 

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On the aptly-named “Industrial Way”, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.’s Buellton Taproom, the mothership for the California Central Coast-based craft brewery, displays a dizzying list of draft beers; accompanying eats from The Kitchen, including kid-friendly bites; and an outdoor beer garden with distractions for the minis. Next door, at Santa Barbara County’s first distillery since prohibition, Ascendant Spirits offers tours and tastings at their facility where whiskeys, vodkas and gins spring to life. Just up the street, DorWood Distillery handcrafts small-batch Vodka, Malt Whiskey, Gin and Limoncello, featuring a lounge-like area for tasting experiences.

 

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Nightcaps don’t get any better than those had at hotels, and at the Sideways Inn’s own Sideways Lounge, after-dinner / before-bed Lavender Lemondrops come crafted with care, alongside a selection of local beers and wines. The bar’s well-appointed interior spills out to open-air seating areas and an adjacent fire pit, the perfect setting to ease you into your overnight, outdoor adventure at adjoining lodging property, Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground. Additional, modern hotel mixology may be found at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott’s 555 Lounge & Bar, which also features an expansive, fire-pitted outdoor area for cozying up with those Cosmos.

Solvang

When you think “Viking”, does beer come to mind? If you’re in Solvang, it should. Solvang Brewing Company’s first taproom, co-founded by a fourth-generation, Solvang-born Danish descendant, serves up proprietary ales only available within close proximity to the Santa Ynez Valley. “Solvang Brew Co.” also holds a full bar, outdoor seating areas beneath the building’s famous windmill, and a kitchen turning out hearty pub grub.

 

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Home-brew aficionados and DIY’ers frequent home brewing boutique, Valley Brewers, which comes complete with a speakeasy craft beer bar, “The Backroom”, accessed through a “bookshelf” door. The Good Life, “a craft beer & wine cellar”, pours a deliberate list of local and Central Coast wines, but also surprises with an impressive Californian beer selection, plus a few Danish imports for good “skål”. The Landsby hotel’s Lobby Lounge beckons tipplers with house-made shrubs, revolving cocktail specials, and a daily Happy Hour favorited by locals in-the-know. Hill Haven Provisions, the restaurant/wine, and cocktail bar combo tucked away in Solvang’s Atterdag Square, sports one of the Santa Ynez Valley’s top mixologists and a curated drinks list to match. The bar at Hotel Corque’s Root 246 proves a particularly worthy spot to lounge, with a sleek cocktail menu and precise listing of wine and beer. When in wine country, do as the tikis do and head to the hidden tiki bar at the back of the Sort This Out Cellars wine tasting room. In the tiny, tropical oasis of High Roller Tiki Lounge, you’ll find thoughtfully-made tiki “wine-tails” served with a wealth of tiki history, knowledge and atmosphere. Custom-made, collectible tiki mugs cradle tiki drinks with nods to the bar’s Danish location, such as the “Solvang Siren”, “Bloody Viking” and the “Suffering Scandinavian”.

 

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Santa Ynez

One of Santa Barbara County’s premier drinks menus is housed at S.Y. Kitchen, where barkeeps stir up seasonal, market-fresh cocktails like the “Slow Drip Old Fashioned” with house-made bitters; “Barrel Aged Vieux Carré”, appropriately including absinthe; and the mescal-based “El Viejo”, with gusano powder. Get some play-time with that drink at one – or all five – of the Chumash Casino Resort’s bars and lounges, from the mid-casino floor “Center Bar”; to the chill Hotel Lobby Bar; to the high-stakes, premium spirits High Limit Bar; to the laid-back, poolside rooftop bar; to the Lounge at the Resort’s AAA Four Diamond Award-winning Willows restaurant.

 

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Los Olivos

Los Olivos’ über-luxe Fess Parker Wine Country Inn sports The Bear and Star restaurant and bar, where “refined ranch” cuisine also comes in fluid form, with ranch-to-glass cocktails served in an equally refined hardwood and leather-bound setting.

 

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At Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.’s Los Olivos’ “The Cottage”, the craft brewery’s core beers are on tap and ready “to go” in bottles. Add ample outdoor areas, a game room, live entertainment and rotating food truck appearances, and your Los Olivos visit is pretty much planned.

Los Alamos

Whiskey rules at the 1880 Union Saloon, a true bar fixture in Los Alamos’ Old West history. The once-stagecoach stop’s cocktail menu is divided into two, “Whiskey” and “Non-Whiskey”, with the 1880’s takes on classic drinks like the Sazerac (“New Orleans signature primed by a St. George Absinthe rinse, with Sazerac Rye Whiskey, organic sugar, Peychaud’s Bitters, smoked orange oils”), as well as Instagram-friendly pours like “The Sisco Kid” (“Monte Alban Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, pineapple-jalapeño shrub, fresh-pressed lime, smoked Maldon salt”). Beer, wine and the Central Coast’s famous tri-tip are also on the menu, along with other cowboy-appropriate delicacies like chicharrones.

 

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Just down the main “strip” of Bell Street, PICO at the Los Alamos General Store checks all the boxes with a serious culinary-cred chef, an award-winning restaurant wine list, a 2,000-bottle wine shop, and a so-simple-it’s-genius, streamlined cocktail menu with drinks like their “Gin & Juice” (Dogwood Union Gin, lime juice, passion fruit, caraway simple), and the secretive “Chef’s Noble Manhattan” (Medley Bros. Bourbon, Amaro, chef’s secret concoction).

Preserved in mid-century time, the iconic Skyview Los Alamos motel’s décor and finishings overhaul included a hip re-do of the property’s on-site, hilltop restaurant and bar, “Norman” – which opens to a scenester pool deck and views of the hotel’s own vineyard, sloping down from Skyview’s perch above Highway 101. Norman’s cocktail menu sections include brunch-ready “Bubbles” (e.g., the “Sunrise”, made with Root Elixirs Strawberry-Lavender, lemon, champagne); “Refresh”, with a standout sipper in “Pineapple Express” (pineapple rum, Damoiseau rhum agricole, lime, sugar, CBD oil); “Garden” (like the “Sweet Pea V & T”, with sweet pea-infused vodka, Fever-Tree Tonic, citrus); and “Classica” (bonjour, “French 75”).

 

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Experience fall in the Santa Ynez Valley. Our myriad of accommodations, personality-filled haunts – and clever craft cocktails – will warm your heart and soul, and fuel your wine country vacation memories. Book now, for your most spirited season, yet.

 

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About Visit Santa Ynez Valley: Visit Santa Ynez Valley provides listings of the best places to eat in Solvang, best Santa Ynez wineries, and lists things to do in Santa Ynez Valley. Visit the website at https://www.visitsyv.com for complete visitor services. “Like” the Facebook page for ideas on planning Santa Ynez vacations.

Late-summer in the Santa Ynez Valley means long, sunny days – often spent in vineyards and wineries, on hiking trails or horseback, at pools or spas, or shopping, museum-hopping and of course, eating your way through it all. But Santa Barbara wine country activities don’t stop when night falls. Whether we’re your vacation or wedding destination, or where you call “home”, the Santa Ynez Valley offers numerous nightlife options to keep your wine country agenda – and your glass – filled to the brim.

Santa Ynez, the Late-Night Capital of the “SYV”

The Victorian-Western town of Santa Ynez, maybe surprisingly, offers the most extended late-night hours in the Santa Ynez Valley. The storied and historic Maverick Saloon hosts frequent, and lively, musical acts and equally as energetic guests with operating hours until 2am, every night. Front porch seating, a kitchen turning out a gussied-up late night menu and regular events like Honky-Tonk Thursday, Karaoke Night and 2-Step Dance Lessons, keep this wine country roadhouse, well, “country”. At the sleek, modern opposite end of the Santa Ynez nightlife spectrum, sits the Chumash Casino Resort, with a 24/7 casino and bars, the Lounge at the AAA Four Diamond Award-winning Willows restaurant (open daily until 11pm), bountiful late-night dining options at The Buffet (open daily until 10pm) and The Café (open Sunday-Thursday until 12am, Friday/Saturday until 2am).

It’s Honky Tonk Thursday! Complimentary tacos at 4pm and line dancing at 6!

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Buellton, Second to None

When an award-winning movie brings fame to your delicious slice of wine country, you run with it: may we present the Sideways Lounge at Buellton’s Sideways Inn, open daily until 12am. The newly-renovated, sparkling-chic Lounge features signature cocktails with nods to its Santa Ynez Valley neighbors – “Los Olivos Lavender Lemondrop”, “Solvang Sazerac” – bottled and draft beers, and wine, natch, including requisite listings of local Pinot Noir. An adjacent firepit and al fresco seating only add to your wine country story.

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More Sideways nostalgia, with a helping of “Santa Maria Style BBQ”, may be found at The Hitching Post II Restaurant (open daily until 9:30pm). Live music fans flock to Standing Sun Wines (open until 10pm on concert nights), one of the Santa Ynez Valley’s leading live entertainment venues hosting singers/songwriters and bands from Los Angeles to Nashville, and all points in between.

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Buellton’s beer industry centers also offer evening entertainment: Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Buellton Taproom & Barrelworks facility is open seven days until 9pm, as is Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.’s Buellton Taproom. Bonus? Both breweries include on-site restaurants with outdoor areas. The Santa Ynez Valley Marriott’s 555 Lounge & Bar, as grand as the hotel’s lodging accommodations, welcomes late-night revelers with well-appointed outdoor lounging options.

First movie night of the summer was a success! Our guests had a great time and so did we! Thank you for coming out and enjoying this beautiful Santa Ynez Valley evening with us! #visitbuellton #summernights #skipthebigcities #teammarriott #gooniesneversaydie #visitsyv

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Solvang. #livelikeaviking #andpartylikeonetoo

Solvang’s sidewalks do NOT roll up at “5”. Case(s) in point: Solvang Brewing Company’s famous windmill welcomes late-night eaters and drinkers seven days, until what the brewery, bar and restaurant simply refers to as “Late” hours. Outdoor seating with prime people-watching fronts the venue.

The Good Life, “a craft beer & wine cellar”, regularly features live music and special events, also with sidewalk-adjacent outdoor seating (open Sunday-Wednesday until 9pm; Friday/Saturday until 11pm). The hip, Nordic design aesthetic of The Landsby hotel’s Lobby Lounge (open Sunday-Thursday until 9pm; Friday/Saturday until 10pm) sets the scene for cleverly-crafted cocktails and elevated bar nibbles, like “Salumi Grilled Cheese” (fontina, hot salami, prosciutto, pesto, local sourdough). Sort This Out Cellars’ wine tasting room hides a posterior secret: High Roller Tiki Lounge, an atmospheric and singular wine country tiki bar serving up “wine-tails” with a healthy dose of tiki culture and décor. Both venues rock with live music most Friday and Saturday nights (open Sunday-Thursday until 7pm; Friday/Saturday until 10pm).

Give our Solvang Siren a spin when visiting Solvang’s ONLY tiki bar. Open late. (Solvang late). . #solvangsiren #tikifarm #mermaid #tikimug #tiki #tikiaf #tikibarsolvang #solvang #wine #mermaidmug #cocktails #winetails #thor

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During Santa Ynez Valley’s summer months, theatergoers delight in the open-air Solvang Festival Theater’s “PCPA” (Pacific Conservatory Theatre) residency and the varied performances that it brings. Next up, “Mamma Mia!” (July 27-August 26) and Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” (August 30-September 9). During Solvang’s annual Danish heritage and food & wine festival, Solvang Danish Days (September 14-16), the event’s Viking Beer & Wine Garden stays open until 10pm, Friday and Saturday evenings.

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Linger in Los Olivos (and Ballard)

The Bear and Star at the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn offers a Bar Menu until 9:45pm, Fridays and Saturdays, while the restaurant serves dinner daily, until 9pm. The Los Olivos outpost of Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. is open daily until 9pm, with plentiful outdoor seating, a live music schedule, occasional food trucks and foodie pop-ups. The Gathering Table restaurant at the quaint Ballard Inn, has dinner seating Wednesday through Sunday until 9pm.

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Los Alamos, Santa Ynez Valley’s Last Late-Night Frontier

Ready those cameras: Los Alamos night spots are an Instagrammers dream. Near the western end of the town’s main “strip”, Bell Street, stands the history-laden 1880 Union Saloon. The once-stagecoach station bar swings its doors open until 11pm daily (except Tuesdays), with a Western antiquity-filled space, chef-driven bar bites (including regional “delicacies” like a tri-tip sandwich and chicharrones). Split into two sections, “Whiskey” and “Non-Whiskey”, the Saloon’s cocktail menu features some of the most spirited drinks in the SYV (Barrel-Aged Negroni, anyone?).

Who is down for a game of pool? Open today 11a-11p #1880unionsaloon

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PICO at the Los Alamos General Store’s (open until 9pm, Sundays and Tuesday-Thursday; until 10pm, Friday/Saturday) award-winning restaurant wine list is rivaled only by their equally-curated cocktail menu, with drinks like the “Bing Bong” (Bourbon, lemon, Bing cherry juice), “Highland Honey” (Scotch, honey vinegar, lemon, absynthe), and the simplistic “Fast y Nasty” (Mezcal, pickled jalapeño, lemon juice). PICO’s “backyard” has garden-laced seating areas and a rustic fire pit, while the restaurant/ bar/ wine shop mash-up holds a 2,000-bottle retail selection for wines “to go”. Weary road trippers, you have arrived: vistas and vibes rule at iconic mid-century motel, Skyview Los Alamos, recently reopened post-jaw-dropping remodel. With a fitting on-site eatery and bar, Norman – and proprietary vineyard – dinner and drinks are served daily to both hotel guests and “non” until 9pm, with a bar that opens up to outdoor seating on two sides, a perfectly-restored pool area, and an expertly-mixed “drink list that highlights some of the best winemakers and local ingredients” in these parts.

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When you’ve had your fill of Santa Ynez Valley nightlife, we have over 30 hotel options for a restoring night’s sleep. You’ll need your energy for the next day’s – and night’s – wine country adventure.

About Visit Santa Ynez Valley: Visit Santa Ynez Valley provides listings of the best places to eat in Solvang, best Santa Ynez wineries, and lists things to do in Santa Ynez Valley. Visit the website at https://www.visitsyv.com for complete visitor services. “Like” the Facebook page for ideas on planning Santa Ynez vacations.

With kid-friendly attractions, family-friendly wineries, and much to explore, the Santa Ynez Valley makes for a surprising family getaway 

The terms “wine country” and “family friendly” don’t often go hand in hand. But the Santa Ynez Valley is no ordinary wine country destination — a rare place that is as appealing to families as it is to foodies and wine-lovers.

Now is often the time when parents begin to plan for a summer spent with the kids and search for an experience that meets the needs of everyone in the family: children, parents, and even grandparents included. Just a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, a scenic four-hour jaunt from San Francisco, and 30 minutes from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, the six distinct communities of the Santa Ynez Valley are such a place.

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With more than 100 wineries, the Santa Ynez Valley is undeniably a playground for oenophiles both for its wines as well as the opportunity to taste them in a setting far less crowded than other similarly world-class wine destinations. And with wine inevitably comes food, and imaginative local chefs and the region’s deep agricultural roots combine to create a culinary scene steeped in the farm-to-table movement.
Beyond food and wine, the Santa Ynez Valley combines a fascinating and diverse history to explore, rolling hills that call to outdoor adventurists, and one-of-a kind attractions to offer a unique destination that is both educational and adventurous.

Below are just a few of the attractions that make the Santa Ynez Valley a surprisingly family-friendly destination:

Nature to explore: Hike rolling hills and take in the breathtaking vistas offered along hundreds of miles of Santa Ynez Valley trails, or visit an 80-foot waterfall at Nojoqui Falls Park. View native bald eagles, osprey, and hawks, or learn about the region’s cultural history, with boating and nature tours of Cachuma Lake.

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The Valley by horseback: This is horse country, and there’s no better way to tap into Santa Ynez Valley’s Old West roots than with a horseback ride. With Vino Vaqueros, KAP Land & Cattle, Rancho Oso Guest Ranch & Stables — just to name a few — SYV offers no shortage of opportunity to create a memory that everyone in the family will be sure to cherish.

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Dive into history: Founded in 1804, Old Mission Santa Inés has a rich history to unearth. And with its traditional Danish architecture and authentic bakeries, downtown Solvang itself is a testament to the Northern European roots of its early settlers. The Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and Elverhoj Museum of History and Art are among the many museums that will both enlighten and entertain.

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Something a bit offbeat: Ever feed an ostrich? It’s possible, along with Emus at Ostrichland USA, one of the many one-of-a-kind attractions in the Santa Ynez Valley. Spend time at Quicksilver Miniature Horse Ranch, introduce the kids to the works of Hans Christian Andersen, or rev things up at the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum.

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Fun in the food we eat: Farm tours offer a window into what makes the Santa Ynez Valley the breadbasket of California’s Central Coast. Visit an olive farm such as Global Gardens and taste some of the most sought-after olive oils anywhere. Many of the Santa Ynez Valley’s wineries are more than just vineyards, too. Some, like Buttonwood Farms Winery & Vineyards are working farms meant to be enjoyed by guests of all ages. Or visit Clairmont Farms, an entirely organic lavender farm, for an altogether different experience.

Sometimes the fun is where you stay: Whether interested in a dude ranch experience at the Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort, a casual stay at the King Frederik Inn, “glamping” in a safari tent or vintage Airstream trailer at Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground, or something in between, the Santa Ynez Valley has family-friendly lodging options to fit an array of budgets and interests.

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Planning a trip to the Santa Ynez Valley is simple at visitsyv.com, where families can research events and attractions, book lodging and activities, and create a custom travel itinerary.

About the Santa Ynez Valley:

Barely two hours from Los Angeles, a scenic four-hour drive from San Francisco, and just 30 minutes from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, the Santa Ynez Valley still feels a world apart. With six distinct communities encompassing everything from classic California wine country to Northern European traditions to the very best of the Old West, the Santa Ynez Valley is home to endless possibilities. Here in and around the towns of Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang visitors will find more than 100 wineries, incredible food, special events and a unique, rich heritage. For more information, including a complete listing of wedding venues, restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms and events, go to VisitSYV.com.

There are plenty of fun may events in Santa Ynez Valley all month long, to be sure, but don’t miss these special May, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day activities in the Santa Ynez Valley: