Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park

It’s worthwhile to take some time to visit this small sandstone cave and view the Chumash rock art if you are ever near Santa Barbara. It’s located high up a mountain and off the side of narrow winding road. The only place to park is in one of the two spots located right in front of the site.
It was interesting to learn that painted caves were the location where Shamans would go to enter into their supernatural world. The pictographs illustrate their supernatural experiences in their vision quests.
If you were able to view the main wall straight-​on you would be able to make out a rattlesnake and a centipede. The rattlesnake served as a supernatural guardian and spirit helper of the Snake Shaman. The centipede was thought, at the time, to be deadly and dangerous; it was symbolic of the Shaman and the supernatural world. There is some debate about the sunburst and other geometric images. Some say that they are depictions of the sun or an eclipse and others say they are hallucinogenic patterns seen by the Shaman in his altered state. There are also some human figures thought to represent Shaman heads and ghosts floating in the supernatural.
It was also interesting to learn that other villagers would avoid rock art sites even when located within their own villages. They wouldn’t even look at them and they wouldn’t dare touch the panels. They feared swarms of insect-​like creatures and sickness were inside the sites.
The protective gate in front of the cave opening helps to deter vandals. There’s a small opening that allows you to take pictures. If you visit in the evening you may want to bring a flashlight.

Drive up scared me to death but once you get to the cave you realize it was worth it. The location is beautiful and very lush. The painting is remarkable.
Drive down is much safer and the lookout points are amazing. Great photo opps.

Not worth it. After a very narrow and steep drive up, got lucky finding a parking spot but there really is no safe parking at all. The cave is behind a locked cell which makes actually seeing the paintings impossible without flash or a light.

This is not a day trip, it’s an interesting side trip enroute to somewhere else.
As others have noted, the drive is a little nerve wracking and the cave is covered in iron bars to maintain the integrity of the site.
Still our family enjoyed seeing it, including our five year old. Crazy to think someone painted these over 400 years ago and they remain intact.

It’s just phenomenal. Ancient art, as old as 1000 years old, very possibly older, preserved in its original site for you to see. You can only wonder what the Chumash natives were depicting through their art.
The one lane road is kinda unnerving especially when I witnessed two cars barreling down the narrow, windy road. Just please… drive with respect and lots of caution. There are a lot of bicyclists and some people from the neighborhood exercising on foot right along the same road.
Now the cave… It’s located right above the Chumash Painted Cave sign so when you see the sign, park on the cave side in the designated area. Fits two cars.
I understand why the metal fence. You can see etchings, carvings of vandals on the cave walls… Dumbasses.

Yes, as other reviews has indicated it isn’t really worth the drive and to go out of your way, but I really wanted to see it! So we went and it was a gloomy day– but the views from the mountains were phenomenal! If coming from Santa Barbara turn right onto Painted Cave Road and you will drive up quite a lot, about 15 minutes or so. So once getting there, you will drive past the sign a little and park your car in a tiny, tiny area! Then you will walk down (carefully) to the cave. Inside you will see the paintings, which are amazing by the way! It is a bit hard to see as you are standing behind a metal door, but there is an opening where you can peak through.
Besides seeing the painted cave, you will have an amazing drive up there and coming back down.
Beware the road is very narrow and dangerous so please drive with caution! You cannot see the cars on the other side of the hills while going up and coming back down so I advice honking to ensure they know you are there (great safety measure!). Either way, it is a great drive, as long as it is not totally out of the way– it is worth it! Enjoy.

The photos you’ll find here or elsewhere are actually a great depiction of what you’ll find once you get to this cave. I have to admit: the best part was actually getting to the cave itself, because once you’re there (this was my experience, at least) you can’t really see much inside the cave.
The drive up is perilous and switch-​backful. If you’re afraid of heights and narrow, winding roads, then you better let somebody else do the driving!
Once you get into the mountains, you’ll see a rocky outcropping and a sign. Off to one side you’ll see a small turnout. That is the «parking lot». We didn’t realize it, and drive right up into the small town at the top of the hill. Don’t bother; you can’t get to the cave from there. I suggest driving past the cave sign until you can make a safe three-​point turn, then head down; you’ll notice an area where two cars can pull over next to the mountainside, then walk a few minutes back to the cave itself.
It’s literally just a few steps and a cave barred off to visitors. Don’t get too excited! But in terms of something you don’t see everyday, it’s worth an hour or two out of your way, and getting up the mountain is interesting/​exciting with some AMAZING views!

We were excited to come see Historic Painted Caves. After a windy drive up we apparently passed the site and kept driving up the road. Once we finally managed to get reception and look up the exact location we had to double back. We finally found the tiny little space but another car had taken the parking and the rest of the road didn’t look to inviting.
The upside to all this is that we came around sunset and on the way down we parked on the side of the road and watched the sun set.

Review 24
I never knew this landmark existed till about 15 years ago and went see the Painted Cave at the following family road trip. Getting there was very easy through the extremely steep hill and switchbacks, the roads weren’t as they are now which is great.
The paintings haven’t changed since the first time I visited, the small area is kept very clean by the park and visitors. The community is very quite and neighbors are friendly, my last visit I spent almost an hour talking to cyclist heading up to their homes past the caves.
I’ve taught my boys to pick up 1-​bag of trash everywhere we go, bought them a cool foldable trash gripper that they still use when traveling.
WATCH FOR CYCLIST !! it could be on that road
Plan B.

This is a Cave. There are paintings in it that the native Chumash Indians have preserved with the assistance of the California State Parks. Check out my photos.
I suppose the word «park» for outsiders would insinuate a great space and many things to explore. Not the case here. It is a wham-​bam-​thank-​you kind of place. It’s off the side of the road and there is no parking. But let’s not get too picky here. I see this place has a 3-​star review. Why? Because you expected it to be better than the tourist brochure said? It’s historic. There’s no place to have a parking lot or make it into something it isn’t.
For what it’s worth, I thought it was a very cool place to visit. And there is a turnout about 2 tenths of a mile ahead to park for one car. That’s about all the activity that’s going to be there at one time anyway.

Awesome place. The drive is beautiful! It’s quiet and secluded. Great places to stop and take pictures on the way down. Please preserve this place and don’t pollute.

About 30 minutes drive from downtown Santa Barbara lies the Chumash Painted Caves «Park». Not much of a park, but more of a pitstop along the road.
The road to get here was very windy and uphill, and on a clear day, you can see SB and the coast from up high above. I came on a cloudy day when it was about to rain, so the weather was pretty dismal that day. It’s actually kind of hard to pinpoint where to go exactly, as the «park» doesn’t have a real physical address. If you decide to come out here, use your maps app, follow the directions, and drive slowly until you see boulders with stairs leading up to a gated area +/​-​cars stopped along the road. There isn’t any place for parking except for the side of the road.
The total time I spent at the park was probably at most 10 minutes. It’s really just the caves, which are locked and gated up, that there is to see. As a fan of art from different cultures, it was pretty cool to see these paintings that were painted hundreds of years ago by the native Chumash people, who still live in the area (they own the Chumash Casino down the 154 highway). Besides these caves, there really isn’t much to see besides that. I probably spent more time driving to the caves than I had actually spent there. Oh well.
I wouldn’t recommend coming here if it’s going to be your sole destination, but would be OK if you’re going to see other things along the way like Solvang, Nojoqui Falls, the Chumash Casino, etc. By itself, the drive isn’t worth it.

I think by «Park» they meant you’ll have to park to see the cave.
Heed caution if:
— Easily car sick
— Don’t handle disappointment well
— Unable to identify poison oak — there’s a ton of it
— Viewing 1600’s graffiti isn’t your thing
— In a wheelchair — you’re SOL

Yes, the roads are windy and small. The park itself is small. But you get breathtaking views of the ocean, and a somewhat scary experience driving up there. To me, the journey and the experience was worth it.
Don’t expect a huge place where you can park and stuff. You’re on a side of a giant mountain; the Parks department isn’t going to build a parking lot for you. We parked on the side of the road a bit further than where the park is; didn’t want to block traffic.
The cave itself is barred off, but if you look at the paintings, almost every one of them has been defaced, which explains the bars. So blame the people who came before and ruined a piece of archaeological history as to why you can’t get closer.
There’s one painting that you can theoretically access up on the left side, but it’s quite a climb, but it was also a nice surprise.
I would advise coming here and then going to get food at Cold Spring Tavern; it made for a nice half-​day trip up the mountains of Santa Barbara.

Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park isn’t very large. The roads leading up to Chumash Painted Cave state park are definitely ‘advanced’ level. Small tiny windy roads, one lane wide. Barely two cars wide. It’s certainly an adventure getting up there. A Proper parking lot is non-​existent. The Parking lot consists of a one car long divot on the side of the road. The sign marks the park. If you pass the sign, you’ve got to continue further up the road until you hit a driveway or somewhere to turn around. I never before thought my car was all that long until I had to turn around on this road. After turning around several times above and below looking for a park, eventually I squeezed my Camaro past a cute girl in a tiny tiny red car. I noticed her window was rolled down.
While we were passing, I stopped alongside her, and rolled my window down. I asked; «Is there a state park around here?» She laughed, and said ‘Yes, it’s right over there, just pull off the road in front of the sign and go check it out.” I thanked cute girl in tiny tiny red car, and did just that. I pulled off the road as best I could, right up behind the sign. I then carefully got out of my car to go and check out the park. There are some stairs leading up to the cave, and it’s been fenced off for its own protection. I greeted a small lizard that was sitting on a log sunning itself. I then took a look around the place, snapped some pictures, and returned to my car. The whole visit took maybe twenty minutes.
The paintings are pretty cool, and I wonder what they’re about. There’s probably a very interesting story here that I’m not getting fully. I hope through careful study will we eventually decipher the paintings. Thankfully, it’s caged off to protect it from drunken hoodlums. It’s a neat little free stop, and it’s a pretty cool link back to the people and cultures of the past. I’m glad I’ve seen it, but it is most defiantly a bitch to get up there to see it.

WOW… I guess I should have read the reviews a bit more closely. This spot is the size of a small closet and it’s on the side of a harrowing two-​lane road that is basically a cart path. Residents zip down in their fancy cars, leaving others to try to avoid them while also trying not to drive their car down a sheer cliff at the side of the mountain.
The cave itself could be cool, but there isn’t much there and the sign isn’t very helpful in terms of information.
The better part of this trip was traveling back down the mountain and stopping at some of the look out points — which were amazing.
I wouldn’t make this an integral part of any trip unless you LOVE cave paintings and don’t mind heights, minuscule roads, or having to park in a spot that is DEFINITELY not safe… oh — and don’t try to turn around on the cart path… not a good idea.

Definitely worth defying death both on the way up AND down on a narrow mountain road with twists and blind turns… and though the cave is covered by a metal grate, it is still easily viewable. Others mentioned lighting issues, but I went at 1pm and the cave was completely lit up by natural light.
The cave drawings/​art itself is pretty impressive and definitely worth seeing especially since the drawings have been there for quite a few hot minutes. It is also in a nicely forested area that you can take a little hike behind where the actual cave is.
Fair warning, blink and you pass it! I used my GPS and found it just fine. Also, there is absolutely no parking! You have to pull on the side of the road and if there is two small cars or an oversized minivan, then you are SOL til one of them leaves. It’s wise to leave your blinkers on when you are parked as well.

This is not a park. It is a tiny cave on the side of a perilous one lane road. Driving up to the spot was quite an experience. Watch out for cars coming the opposite way, the road is so narrow that you cannot avoid them. When you make it to the site, you have a climb up and over a few boulders to see the paintings. A metal gate keeps you from getting too close to the actual paintings.
Was it worth the effort? Not really…

Not really a park… more like a stop on the side of the road. There isn’t too much to see here, just some cave paintings behind a huge metal gate. I wouldn’t drive to make a trip just to see this — pair it with a trip to Knapp’s Castle so your long twisty drive will be much more worthwhile. Set your expectations super low.
— bring a thin flashlight: the cave is completely dark
— there’s not really much parking: maybe 3 – 4 spots on the side of the road. if all those spots are full, you are SOL because the street is so narrow (only wide enough for 1 car to pass)

From downtown Santa Barbara, the short drive to the Chumash pictographs provides excitement as Painted Cave Road winds up a mountain providing gorgeous views along the way.
The wonderful destination called Chumash State Park offers some vibrant pictographs easily visible from the heavy metal gate at the entrance of the little cave.
This will be a quick point-​and-​shoot experience unless you walk across the road then take some time to sit in the shade and cool your feet in the lively stream. (That’s my routine.)
If you’ve never seen pictographs, these are a good introduction and you get can back to Santa Barbara in time for lunch.