Knapp’s Castle

Easy little one mile walk if you take the long, winding driving route. (You can do a longer hike from down below if you choose). The short version is perfect for my pug who has a short tolerance for exercise, lol! Scenic view. Would love a romantic dinner date staged up here.

The steep drive from and to may be more stunning than the actual Knapp’s Castle.
The day of my hike, it was overcast with very gray clouds. From the Castle, the view was dark and cold, still pretty but not as pretty as the view on the opposite side.
The hike is very short with little to no incline. It is a nice little hike to get the heart pumping a little. There are dozens of rocks sticking out of the ground so be careful and watch your step. The hike may not get the blood flowing but it can cause a trip!
Parking is free but depending on the amount of visitors, it can be tricky. There is not designated parking lot and most of the parking spots are a few inches away from the edge of the cliff, so once again be careful!
I did not want a challenging hike and Knapp’s Castle was perfect! It wasn’t too far from State Street either which was a great place to grab a drink and grub!

This is a great Nature Walk and not much of a hike. Very moderate elevation change and a great place for the family or a walk with the dog. Beautiful views of the valley floor and gods beauty. 15 minute drive up a switchback style road which is paved with ample parking for any size vehicle.

Was a very short hike the castle was interesting to see can’t believe someone built that. The view is amazing. Their were alot of people there. Alot of wild life even saw a snake and many different lizards.

So glad my family and I checked out Knapps Castle! It’s a short walk from the main road on a dirt road.
The view was spectacular! It’s incredible to think of what the Castle would have looked like if it did not burn down.
If you want to check out a cool, historic place with a great view, I would recommend checking out Knapps Castle.

Rating this is super hard because it really depends on what you are looking for. This is a very short hike off the main road so if you are looking for a hike this isn’t it. The hike is probably between a quarter and a half mile long. The place is in ruins but it’s not an ancient building it had the remnants of an electrical system as well as steal beams bracing the walls. That all being said the views are fantastic and it is cool wandering around what is left of the structure.

Stop by this ruin on our camping trip. Worth the stop! It’s up in the mountain. Park ur car by the side and walk few minutes to the ruin. Shouldnt be that hard to find since everyone has posted the direction and how to.
Beautiful place with Santa Ynez river canyon overlook.
Dont miss the swing and bathtub!

Super cool. Who knew there’d be a ruin in SB?!
The drive up (i think depending which route you take) has a brief part in a mountainous residential area that is a bit nerve wrecking but it’s not long and not as bad as Id been led to believe. Found the spot where to pull over and park near the gate, but had there not been a couple cars already there we totally may have missed it.
The walk to the ruin is very brief, about 5 minutes. Do beware of snakes on the path, as my husband nearly stepped on one! Didnt appear to be a rattler thankfully.
The site has incredible views, makes for great pictures and even has a cool rope swing over a slight cliff slope for the daring.

If you can find the trail head it’s well worth the drive! Best at sunrise for sure!
Easy hike very short distance from the road to the ruins.

Hike is very short (for those beginner hikers or people who don’t like to hike). Once you reach the castle don’t expect anything too extravagant, there’s a couple of pillars here and there. One thing that amazes me was the clouds. I highly recommend coming here early in the morning. It is beyond beautiful

Arrive by dawn or dusk to catch a breath taking view of the valleys :)

Hard to find trailhead! Short hike but a beautiful and mysterious abandoned site since 1940! Great views of the Pacific Ocean and Lake Cachuma!
Directions to KNAPPS CASTLE
From the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara, take Route 154 north for ten miles. At the top of the mountain, turn right on East Camino Cielo and drive three miles east to a small pullout on the right opposite the gated dirt road on the left (the start of the trail). The trailhead is located on a C-​shaped bend in East Camino Cielo, one mile past Painted Cave Road, the turn off for Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park.
RED GATE
Gps
(34.518 155, –119.793 234

A gorgeous, easy, simple trail from the roadside to the cliff side.
The hardest thing about Knapp’s was finding the entrance but when we did, it was literally a walk in the park to the destination.
Will definitely be back again!

Didn’t check the weather and it ended up raining the day we planned to visit this place, but we went anyway because I was so excited!
It might be a little confusing if you don’t do research ahead of time – scroll down and read Esther’s review for the right coordinates. I entered them into my GPS and it led me right up to the place where the «trail» starts. From that point, you take the path beyond the red gate and it’ll lead you directly to the ruins!
This place is technically not open to the public since it is private property, but it has become a tourist-​ish attraction. You won’t spend a great deal of time here, but it is a great place for photos. Since I visited on a cloudy/​dark day, we weren’t able to experience the sunset (the fog was really heavy), but it has a great view anyway!

Beautiful scenery, nice to stop by and just hang out. Some renovations currently happening, would be nice to see some information about the origin of the castle! The landscape is begging for a panorama haha. The little walk to the actual ruins isn’t hard and it’s definitely worth it!

Its hard to called a Hike since .8 of a mile round trip But the views are amazing and the ruins really cool, unfortunately there is construction equipment and random stuff (like a bathtub) other than that it is a really cool place to go and officially check it out of the bucket list. BTW since its a private property you are technically trespassing. The parking is really limited to just the side of the curve in a narrow road.

0.8 of a mile to and back. That’s the ‘hike.’
Anyway, Knapp’s Castle is not much of a castle anymore. However, it’s quite nice to see the ruins along with the nice view of the Santa Ynez River Canyons. It’s a beautiful location if you want to take photos.
Here’s the coordinates that might be useful if you’re looking for where to stop your car. (34.518 155, –119.793 234)
On your way up or down, you might as well stop by the Chumash Painted Cave since you’re in the area… Not much to see, but it’s a nice cave painting. Bring a flash light to see inside the cave since it’s gated off.

This is an awesome place to take photographs or to hang out and enjoy a Santa Barbara sunset. Hard to find, but once you get there the walk is short and not very difficult (I’m not in shape at all and I can walk it easily). I’ve used this location for a number of photo shoots and have loved my results every time. My most recent shoot was a few days ago and with just one hour before sunset, it felt like a very fast shoot. I’d recommend closer to two hours to get the most out of the structures, walls, archs, and other cool features.

This place is more pretty in picture than in person, so don’t get your hopes up too high. Best time to come would probably be at sunset, but due to time issues, we got to see this place in the early afternoon.
We followed a Unilocal review to get here. Someone wrote that it was 10 miles past the Painted Cave road, but it was not. We drove 10 miles up the winding path and did not see it. Later on I read that it was closed because the owner was doing construction on the site. Disappointed, we decided to head back out. Suddenly, our guardian angel appeared, standing just 15 feet away from us. (I think he kind of followed us, then he stopped where we stopped pretending to enjoy the view. He stood close enough so that I could ask him if he knew where Knapp’s Castle was. He explained how to get there and said that it wasn’t closed off, so I jumped for joy! He ended up guiding us down the winding road to the gate that was about 1 mile past the Painted Cave road, (not 10 miles).
Besides our group, there were 2 other younger guys there, so it was quiet and serene.
How to get there: Coming from L.A., take the 101 to the 154. Turn right into E El Camino Cielo road. When you see Painted Cave Road, keep going straight on El Camino Cielo for about 1 mile (that’s what the guardian angel said). You’ll see a red gate with the sign «Right to Pass Revokable by Owner» on the left (very easy to miss… see my pictures). Park somewhere and hike about a half mile in. He said the hike was very easy. Yes, it was easy, but you’ll still huff and puff on a hot day, so be prepared.
Our guardian angel also reminded us of rattlesnakes, so be careful when you’re not walking on the path.
Would definitely come back here again at sunset.

This place is awesome! It reminds me of Echo Mountain in L.A. but without the endless switchbacks. I believe the story is that someone rich built a place high up in the hills and it burned down. What we see now is the ruins of the place… and the 360 view of Lake Cachuma and mountains in the area.
The views are absolutely breathtaking! I wouldn’t really classify this as a hike since it is just a very short walk to the ruins. Good for all ages. The drive itself is a bit more daunting — the roads are very windy and narrow. Since you are driving up a mountain, depending on the weather, the drive can be really hazy and cloudy, so please be careful and drive slow! The car is really doing most of the work, not your legs.
To get to Knapp’s Castle, you take the 154. It is really easy to miss the turn into Camino Cielo since there isn’t a major sign or stop, so set up your GPS to assist you. To make the drive a bit more worthy, stop by the Painted Caves also!
Parking: need adventure pass (but I don’t really know if anyone is checking)…parking is just on the side of the road. Hopefully there are other cars there so you don’t miss it!
Here’s a helpful link for more info: