The sophisticated yet laid-back city of Santa Barbara, just two hours up the coast from Los Angeles, has long been a favorite GLBT vacation spot, thanks to its stunning location on the ocean (nestled beneath some of the most majestic mountains in coastal California), fine restaurants and upscale shopping, distinctive Spanish Colonial architecture, and acclaimed Wine Country. The city has a sizable gay population, if not much in the way of gay nightlife (a mainstream bars in town have a following, notably downtown's Wildcat Lounge, which always GLBT popular and has a specific gay night on Sundays (and is the host of the Pride Closing Party). The city does host the increasingly popular Santa Barbara Gay Pride Festival, known officially as the Pacific Pride Festival, each year in July - the date for this year is Saturday, July 13, 2013.
Book rooms and compare rates on hotels in Santa Barbara during Gay Pride.
Note that Sunday, the same weekend as Santa Barbara Gay Pride, the city of San Luis Obispo - which is a scenic 80-mile drive north - hosts the Central Coast Gay Pride on the Plaza.
Santa Barbara Gay Pride, which is free, takes place at Leadbetter Beach, at Shoreline Drive and Loma Alta Drive, just a short distance up the coast from the city's marina. The festival is on Saturday from 11 am until 7 pm.
Additionally, plenty of gay-popular restaurants, hotels, and shops will have a notable gay presence this weekend and the days leading up. Check local resources, such Pride's organizer, the Pacific Pride Foundation, and the city's hip alternative newsweekly, the Santa Barbara Independent. Also take a look at the excellent travel site produced by the city's official tourism organization, the Santa Barbara CVB.
