Knapp’s castle is a mysterious landmark located atop the Santa Ynez mountains to the North of the city of Santa Barbara. From these old ruins a stunning panorama of the city, coastline, and channel islands can be seen from the road, and an expansive view of the Santa Barbara back country can be seen after a short walk to the ruins.
Knapp’s castle is on privately owned land but open to the public. It can be reached rather easily from East Camino Cielo road. Take highway 154 turn right on East Camino Cielo, and drive for about 3 miles to a gate in front of a dirt road on the left, which leads to the ruins. However, I elected to hike the Snyder trail up to Knapp’s castle from the other side of the mountains, about a 7 mile hike total. To reach the Snyder trail trailhead, you also take the 154, but go over the mountains. On the way to Lake Cachuma take a right at Paradise road. Take paradise road for several miles, past the white rock swimming hole, until you reach a turnout with the Snyder Trail sign, across from a group of cabins. This hike is somewhat strenuous and steep, but well worth it for the incredible flora and fauna and the feeling of elation caused by rising out of the valley floor to the mountaintop. The hairpin turns and steep drops along this hike attract a lot of mountain bikers, so be careful and keep your ears open.
I started at about ten in the morning. It was overcast and cool, and the first rain since spring had just occurred the previous morning. The air had a damp quality, but everything still looked dry and tortured by drought. The spring’s wildflowers had long since turned into brown stalks and perennials like sage appeared desiccated and on the brink of death. However, the rain will soon turn them into wispy, herbaceous, and brilliant green or gray plants. The hike starts out in an oak woodland, and majestic coast live and valley oaks arch overhead. There is also a small grove of blue oaks near the start of the hike— both valley and blue oaks do not occur on the coastal side of the mountains, so if you have never seen them make sure to stop and take note of their beautiful form and foliage. After a gradual incline the hike becomes quite steep and the vegetation changes to characteristic chaparral species. Throughout this portion of the hike, the view of the valley keeps getting better and better as you hike up. Below, turkey vultures circle and rise slowly on updrafts, and further down the dark green of oak woodland gives into meadows and the sinuous curves of the winding Santa Ynez river, which can be made out by a line of light green cottonwoods. Behind this, to the North and East, mountains with impressive geological features rise up. Bands of ancient seafloor sediment contrast the sky, topped by little pine mountain at 4506 feet.
After this steep rise, in which you can choose to take the switchbacks or go straight up, the trail becomes much more level as you approach the mountain top. Knapp’s Castle will come into view, just a few walls and spires of rock. A short walk and you are finally there, standing on the old foundation, surrounded by pillars, fireplaces, and staircases. At the ruins you are rewarded with an awe inspiring vista of lake Cachuma, the San Rafael range, and a seemingly endless landscape of rippling saw tooth mountains. This is a world scarcely know to Santa Barbara’s visitors and even residents, waiting to be explored. Make sure you bring your camera for this!
What is the origin this strange “castle”, built with the characteristic reddish brown Santa Barbara sand stone? Did a derelict band of forgotten knights escape Europe and found a kingdom on California’s coast? Or was it a Spanish outpost, used to survey the vast new frontier? No, like most of Santa Barbara’s landmarks, it is a remnant of the endeavors of an eclectic rich person. Union Carbide founder George Owen Knapp owned a 160 acre piece of land here, on which he built his mansion in 1916. In 1940 there was a forest fire and the original seven structures burned to the ground, leaving only these stone pieces.
I was surprised to find an RV, work tools, and two men building a structure when I arrived. I asked what they were building, and they said they it is a storage shed for tools that they will use in their efforts to stabilize the ruins. Apparently people have been slowly picking the stones apart, to the point where some of the features like the arch of the old fireplace are on the verge of collapsing. This may be an unfortunate side effect of the full moon parties which regularly take place at Knapp’s castle. These men are not planning on restoring the ruins, but making sure that they do not further decay. I sat for a bit, contemplating the view, but behind me a cold wind and dark clouds blew over the mountains from the coast. I decided to hurry back down to the valley before I got caught in a rainstorm, so I said goodbye to the workers, hoping that their efforts can maintain these scenic ruins for years to come.
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