Leadbetter Beach (also Ledbetter Beach) is a popular

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, situated below Leadbetter Hill. Lifeguard towers on Leadbetter Beach, Santa Barbara

It is easily accessible from the

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, ma ...

(SBCC) and the marina, and has light surf which is acceptable for learners. Because of the small surf and consistent winds, it is also a popular location for

kitesurfers Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

and

windsurfers Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

during the summer, when the wind is consistent. Of all the

es in the city, this is one of the most frequently visited. Leadbetter is an artificial

, built by accident. When Santa Barbara Harbor was built, it blocked the downshore current, holding up the natural sand flow. The college is built on the original

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

's front cliffs, now about 30 yards off-shore; the original beach front lies where the current SBCC

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

field is located. The blocking of sand from downshore cities prompted several

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

s against Santa Barbara.

External links

Santabarbara.com description of Leadbetter Beach

Satellite photograph and map
Beaches of Southern California Parks in Santa Barbara, California Beaches of Santa Barbara County, California {{SantaBarbaraCountyCA-geo-stub