Isabella & Chris
Things To Do
Hiking at Midland
There are many hikes and walks on the 3600 acre Midland School property. Most of them are walking distance from the campus or a short drive or bike to the trailhead.
Los Padres National Forest
There is so much to see off of Figueroa Mountain Road East of our house at Midland School. A 15 minute drive will get you to 3,000+ feet of elevation and amazing views and scenery. Beautiful scenic drives or hikes or mountain biking.
Mountain Biking
There is excellent biking around Midland on some of the dirt roads. There are also longer and harder single track rides up in the mountains within about 20-30 minute drive. See link and ask us about those. Some are overgrown at different times of the year.
Road Cycling
Santa Ynez Valley Cycling Club has organized rides for all abilities on Saturday morning. If riding with a group is not your thing, look at their recommended routes. Biking the Santa Ynez Valley is an excellent way to see the sights.
Take a dip in the river
This is a small swimming hole if its super hot and you want to take a dip in the river. Park along the road and you should see a small trail along the road. you should walk a few minutes before you hit the river swmming hole.
The Beach
If you would like to have a beach day, you can get to the beach in less than an hour. The closest beach is Gaviota State Beach (30 mins from campus) or you can go a bit further to Refugio State Beach (40 min) or El Capitan State Beach (45 min)
Wine Tasting
We are not wine experts (much to Bella's French family's dismay) but we do know there are some great wine tasting spots in the valley. Some require reservations and others do not. You can go to visit the wineries themselves (for some beautiful views) or you can bop around the tasting rooms in downtown Los Olivos if you want to try a range of different wines. I provided a site here that gives a breakdown of some vineyards in the valley.
Los Alamos
This is a cool old western town to check out with some great food, wine, and antique shops. It's only a one street town. Los Alamos Gallery has some great local art as does the many antique shops along Bell Street. We suggest stopping for some local wines and bocci ball at Bodega. Full of Life Flatbread is a great casual stop and Bell's is a Michelin star restaurant that is amazing and always booked for dinner but sometimes you can get lucky with a lunch reservation.
Solvang
This town is very touristy but if you are into kitsch and are craving a strudel waffle, stop by. It feels like a Danish disneyland!
Santa Ynez
There is a cool record store, olive oil tasting, a western hat store, and great sandwiches at Hen and Larder. If you want a drink at a great dive bar, check out The Maverick.
OstrichLand
Apparently you can visit and feed ostrichs on this farm. Never done it but could be cool (or not, who knows!). Be sure to report back if you go :)
Favorite Local Restaurants
Buellton- Industrial Eats (causal but creative) Santa Ynez- Hen and Larder (sandwiches) , Santa Ynez Kitchen (fancy) Los Alamos- Full of Life Flatbread (pizza) , Bobs Well Bread (breakfast, lunch, & baked goods) Los Olivos- Bobs Well Bread, Mattei's Tavern (fancy but cool bar), Panino (sandwiches) , Nella (fancy), Bar Le Cote (fancy)
Coffee Shops
Los Olivos (closest to campus)- Leftys Solvang- Good Seed Coffee Buellton- Little King Coffee Santa Ynez- Queens Cup, Pony Espresso Los Alamos- Bobs Well Bread