Elings Park

Godric Grove at the summit of the park is an absolutely beautiful place to have a wedding or special ceremony. There is a hardwood patio area, grass area and amphitheater with naturally shaded seating (although prepare to keep things short or bake if you plan to be the one on stage during the summer months).
Gorgeous views of the city, East Beach and the ocean. There is even a public bathroom with flushing toilets and running water sinks.
The only drawback of the venue, as with any outdoor venue, are the creepy, crawly critters. As with most all of Santa Barbara this year, the ants are vicious and unrelenting so be sure to have a plan for tight storage if you plan to bring food that will not be eaten immediately. There are also HUGE spiders that come out at night and lay huge 6 foot webs to end near unsuspecting guests and staff.
Some guests have mentioned the noise level issue, but as long as you have a DJ who has some pre-​warning they can easily get a device to measure the noise level and forego any complaints and monetary sanctions.
Overall, a very pleasant place. I will certainly return to picnic, watch the sunset or maybe even have my own wedding there one day. :)

I am incredibly biased, but I cannot imagine a more amazing place to get married. We chose Godric Grove at Elings Park after visiting seven or eight popular Santa Barbara/​Montecito wedding venues and it was by far our favorite venue. Elings is really set up for events and if you’re imagining an outdoor wedding — this is the place for you. For one thing, Santa Barbra generally has phenomenal weather, which Elings really allows you to take advantage of, and for another Elings has the best views of Santa Barbara that you could ever imagine. On one side you have the ocean and the city and on the other the mountains. In all the venues we visited we did not find a single other one that so classically captured what makes Santa Barbara such an idyllic place to get married. Working with the Elings staff was also very simple. You pay the balance in full to secure your wedding day and then you’re largely done. The only thing you really need to follow up with them about is your DJ. They have pretty strict rules about sound because of the acoustics of being up so high and their surrounding neighbors. We had to put down a sound deposit because our DJ was not on their pre-​approved list, but we had no problem with using him and we enjoyed a great dance party from appx. 7 PM — 10 PM with no issues. The only other regulation that might catch you off guard is the no open flame rule (i.e. no candle flames), but I think this is pretty common for outdoor venues since forest fires are such a concern in California. Aside from these minor nits, the venue lent itself perfectly for a wedding. There is an amphitheater that many couples use for their ceremony and the actual grove is great for cocktail hour, while we used the deck for dinner. It’s really a great venue that maximizes space and allows you to have your guests flow around while staying centralized. The park also has great restroom facilities which means you don’t have to deal with porta-​potties like some outdoor venues. One of the great things about Elings is that you also get the venue for the whole day once you rent it so you really can get your money’s worth by having your whole wedding at this one beautiful location. Overall I would say having an outdoor wedding here was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding, it really made the day.

I attended a wedding reception here of around 90 people in August 2015 at Godric Grove. The ride up to the venue was bumpy, but the grounds themselves are gorgeous with some of the best views that I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world. I know some people mentioned some issues with loud noise restrictions, however, we did not seem to get complaints regarding music played loudly all night.
I really like the fact that with such a beautiful venue and minimal decorations are needed to make it seem festive. The park also had fairly decent bathrooms and I did not experience a huge wait in line to use them. Overall, I think this is a good venue to use, but I can see how it can be problematic for large weddings. As an out-​of-​towner, I did feel like I got the quintessential «Santa Barbara» experience attending a reception here.

My HUSBAND and I got married here last week and it was a great experience. We only held our ceremony in Godric Grove, so I can’t speak on if there would be any issues with the reception and complaints from people in the surrounding area as other reviews have mentioned. We had our rehearsal for the wedding very early in the morning and there were lots of people hanging out around the grove and asking if it was okay to be there. I didn’t mind, but I found it interesting that it said wedding parking only at the bottom of the park, yet people still went through. The ceremony cite was perfect for our small group. It was a perfect day and perfect for the intimate ceremony that we wanted and we could see the ocean from the hill. It was perfect and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to get married in a lovely, quiet place in California overlooking the ocean. Perfect.

A hidden jem of a park. For those lucky enough to live in the neighborhood Elings is a resource we access again and again. A lovely place for a sunset stroll or picnic. The developed north side of the park has a path and many look out areas with city and ocean views. Hike up the short hill to the undeveloped south side of the park to enjoy rambling trails and ocean views. It’s fun to sit and watch the paragliders take off from here and there are great mountain bike trails.

We got married at Godric Grove the last weekend of September. We met at UCSB, and Elings Park definitely brought us back to our Santa Barbara days. We fell in love with the venue the first time we saw pictures online, and it is even more gorgeous in person. Christina was really friendly and very responsive to all of our questions and requests. All of our guests loved the venue, and were blown away by the beauty of the park. It was nice to have pre-​defined spaces for different events throughout the night (amphitheater for the ceremony, grass for the cocktail hour, deck for the reception). We did not want to over decorate the venue, so that our guests could enjoy the natural beauty of the park. A few simple centerpieces and string lights did the trick! Plus, getting married in the amphitheater means that all of your guests have a great view!
The only negatives of the venue are kind of personal preference issues. We were fine with using the bathroom at the park, but needed to bring in extra bathrooms because we had a lot of guests. It’s a park, so the amphitheater might not be an ideal location for someone who wants the ceremony location to be pristine and dust-​free. It can get a little windy at night, but that is pretty much true for all of Santa Barbara. Overall, I am so happy that we got married at Godric Gove!

My wife and I were married in Godric Grove. We really enjoyed our wedding, and the park helped us with tours and vendor recommendations.
I am removing a star because of a few sticking points:
1. We were told that music volume would have to be very low after 10pm. They contacted us at 6 pm to lower the volume.
2. We cleaned up the morning g after which we were told was okay, we had asked the janitorial service for a broom which they told us they would give after they were done with the bathroom, but no broom appeared. I ended up sweeping with an old bouquet of flowers.

We had our wedding at Elings and it was absolutely wonderful. We had the ceremony in the ampitheater and the reception on the Godric’s Grove deck. We received so many compliments — everyone wanted to know how we found the place. The park staff were very easy to work with throughout the process. Our only complaint was that the outdoor lights didn’t come on once it got dark so the bathrooms were pitch black for our guests. Luckily we gave out flashlights as favors. Even with dark bathrooms, we’d do it all again.

Not great for «out of towners» passing through. Don’t expect to find a «dog park» experience. All dogs in the park must pay a $ 125 membership fee, and there are no visitors passes or one time passes that we could see. The south part of the park is more open, and the views are amazing, but the access road is dirt and there are no designated places for dogs to play that we could find.

This place is amazing for any event. We visited this place as a potential wedding venue and just fell in love with the amazing views and great price point. You really get what you pay for. Unfortunately we decided to have an indoor wedding, otherwise this would have been the one. Randy was the one who gave us a tour and he was just so nice and helpful. I highly recommend you visit his place if you are considering an outdoor, park venue.

Just had our Wedding here Saturday November 3^rd at the Singleton Pavilion — was absolutely perfect.
We booked an «off season» wedding (Nov-​Feb) so got the venue for about ¼ the normal cost, the view was just amazing. Lush beautiful trees and well kept lawns made for the perfect day.
They had grounds keepers there the morning of to clean the restrooms and clean the grounds, also had parking attendants there to guide our guests to our venue.
If you do book Singleton versus their much larger venue Godric Grove the only major downside is the parking situation — you’re guests have to walk quite a ways to get to your venue. And, besides electrical outlets and a sink — its pretty bare. No lighting anywhere so you need to be prepared to have all of the basic things covered.
The staff was perfect with communication during the booking process and called to confirm everything 1 week prior.
Very, very happy with this venue. Absolutely gorgeous!

I had my wedding at Godric Grove on September 2^nd, and I don’t have one complaint about it. I had to reserve my wedding venue sight unseen because I live out of state, but the pictures on their website and on another wedding website I viewed really gave an accurate impression of the actual space. I was so impressed by the views and natural beauty built into this venue. It helped us save a lot on flowers :) Also, the price was really reasonable relative to other venues I researched in southern California. The staff were very patient with all of my emails and questions leading up to the event, and handled all of my concerns beautifully. On my wedding day I got more compliments about the site than I did on anything else. I would recommend it to anyone who finds it within their budget!

One of the most gorgeous parks I’ve ever seen! It’s situated on a very large hill overlooking the ocean, shoreline, and mountains depending on where you stand.
It’s peaceful, removed, and incredibly well maintained. An excellent photo op location. The couple chose the Gordic Grove area to have their wedding –
the ceremony was held in a semi stadium like seating (outdoor) that overlooks the bay, shoreline. The cocktail area was on the large piece of open green land adjacent to the ceremony site. The best part? Gorgeous reception area (only a minute walk away) …with mountain views. =)
Only down side is being aware of wind advisories — it gets SUPER windy around 5−8pm during sometimes in the year. Limited parking in the lot. Next time will have to return for fun, not work. :)

A breathtaking view of the city and beach in the far off distance! My friend had an absolutely beautiful wedding in the park, and a fabulous reception to follow steps away on their quaint, shaded deck.
The staff is extremely accommodating – even after a change of the wedding date to a weekend, they allowed the bride and groom to purchase the place for the original weekday price.
Even though it’s extremely quaint and apart from the city, there’s still a sense of liveliness at Elings. When we went up there, there was a motocross event happening just below the hill.
Beautiful place for a wedding or major event. Very romantic.

Never realized how dog friendly Santa Barbara is.
The Grove has great views and plenty of grass & trees.
It is the «Largest Privately Funded Public Park in America.»

Luscious, picturesque park in the Mesa neighborhood of Santa Barbara — doggie friendly, with baseball diamonds, park facilities, radio control vehicle course, etc. Totally a community place!
SITE TOUR
We toured the park for a wedding site. They showed us the Mercedes version first (of course) and then we proceeded to the Buick and then the Yugo. Well, what can I say, the Mercedes version captured our hearts — Godric Grove is perched on a hillside, with a backdrop of lush trees and views of the ocean. The stage is in an amphitheatre which can easily hold a few hundred, though we only had about 80 guests. They’re great on negotiating prices, so I encourage you to do so! For our rate, we were able to rent the entire site for 12 hours on a Sunday in May. Oh yes!!!
DECOR:
As for decoration, we were able to keep it minimal because of all the spring blooming flowers around us. We stuck to turquoise and orange which popped against the green and brown of the natural landscape (see photo!).
DAY OF WEDDING
Onsite:
The Park Coordinator will give you a day coordinator’s phone number who will help you in case of emergency.
Vendors:
I highly recommend working with folks who have delivered to Elings before. I used Cliff & Co for catering and Crush Cupcakes. We used Event Rents who supplies extra tables. In May 2009, Godric Grove had these brown picnic rounds on the patio. They were planning to pull them out but waited until our wedding to do so. It really helped to have the round tables in place, we only had to rent 2 – 3 tables to fit everyone!
Facilities:
There is NO place for you (bride, groom, gramps, gramma, etc) to change around here. Come prepared to get hitched. There are two clean park restrooms onsite. They do have some noise restrictions for evening, but we had a day wedding and did not have to contend with that.
PARKING:
Plenty. Just plain olé plenty, pull up the RV, for crying out loud.
GUEST HAPPINESS
Very happy. Folks got to make it a day at the park and this was a very unique location! Bride was happy, groom was happy. There are ENDLESS amount of gorgeous photo opps around this park.
We had an incredibly memorable wedding! It was so gorgeous and if you go at the perfect time of year, the weather will be just right and and all the flora and fauna singing your praises to boot.

I actually used the park for our wedding ceremony and OMG, it was beautiful. We got married in the Godic Grove area in the amphitheater. It overlooks the city and the ocean so perfectly. I cannot imagine a pretty, nicer, more amazing spot to get married. The acoustics were good too so we didn’t even have to use a microphone or anything. I rented the area our for 4 or 5 hours (i can’t remember) and we got that whole area, plus the parking lot, and 1 hour of rehearsal time on an earlier day for $ 900 in July. That is a great deal for Santa Barbara. Love it!

I directed a summer camp (Nature and Games Camp) at Elings Park a few summers ago and greatly enjoyed my experience in this beautiful park! We used the great play structures, the little gazebo, the many green lawns, and sometimes the hiking trials. We always saw tons of cute lizards on our hikes but I heard there are rattlesnakes out there too which are much scarier!
I also checked out one of the movies in the park at Elings Park and had a great time. We didn’t sleep over but enjoyed the movie on the big screen outside. I would definitely recommend checking out the events and camps at Ellings Park! The spot for weddings is gorgeous too with a fabulous view of Santa Barbara! Wow!

I recently found out that it’s pronounced «E-​lings», but if you say «L-​ings» or «Las Positas Park» people will know what you are talking about. Technically this is a private park but that just means if you want to rent it out for an event you have to pay more. Otherwise it’s a wonderful park with 2 baseball fields, 2 soccer fields a small outdoor theater that people like to have weddings at and even an RC Car race track. Spread out over a terraced hills this park is a great place to take the kids or play some frisbee. It even has a nice little trail at the top with some great views.
For dog owners they have off leash licenses that last for one calendar year and aren’t too expensive. Go early though, I hear they sell out pretty quickly every year.
They also have an area to launch your paraglider from. I’m not sure if they rent them or not but it sure looks like fun. You can glide out over the wilcox property and hendry’s beach for some great updrafts.