Parking at Santa Barbara East Beach costs from $1.50/hr. Compare 3 nearby lots and garages by price, walking distance and how full each one is right now, plus metered street parking. Lot locations, rates and hours are real and geocoded. Tap a pin for driving directions.
3 lots · 570 spaces. Scrub the time slider for the crowd estimate.
On-street parking
200 metered spaces · $1.50/hr · Cabrillo Blvd meters -- free after 6 PM. Pay by plate or ParkMobile.
Rates checked Oct 20, 2026; not confirmed: Cabrillo Blvd meters. Posted prices at the lot always win.
Local moves
East Beach has a large lot off Cabrillo Blvd -- $3.50/hour with a $20 daily maximum, payable at the pay station or by PayByPhone or ParkMobile.
The lot at the foot of Stearns Wharf fills first -- arrive before 9 AM for a wharf-adjacent spot.
Chase Palm Park Lot just east of East Beach is metered and a great alternative.
The Leadbetter Beach lot west of the harbor is a pay lot at $3.50/hour, not free.
Parking at Santa Barbara East Beach costs from $1.50/hr. The cheapest paid lot is East Beach Metered Lot at $3.50/hr.
Parking at Santa Barbara East Beach is paid — there is no free beach lot. Lots start at $1.5/hr. Arriving early or late in the day is your best bet for a spot.
Santa Barbara East Beach has 3 lots within walking distance; the largest is Stearns Wharf Parking (250 spaces). The lots nearest the sand fill first, so the ones a block or two back usually have room. Use the live map above to compare walking distance and how full each lot is right now.
On warm, sunny weekend days the closest Santa Barbara East Beach lots fill by mid-morning. Arrive before 10 AM or after 4 PM for the easiest parking, and scrub the time slider on the map above for the crowd estimate hour by hour.
More Santa Barbara East Beach
happy hunting
Lot locations, counts, rates and hours are real, geocoded from each address. No live space-count feed is published, so availability is estimated from typical beach crowds and today’s weather. Your location is used only in your browser to sort by distance.
Main parking at Santa Barbara East Beach: Stearns Wharf Parking ($4/hr) and East Beach Metered Lot ($3.50/hr), plus street parking at $1.50/hr. Check today’s water, surf and UV on the conditions page.