Santa Ynez Valley Farm Tour

FARMLAND™ & FLAVORS of SANTA YNEZ VALLEY TOUR

Discover the Heart of Local Agriculture on Our Heritage Farmland™ & Flavors Tour

Join us for a fun, family-friendly, and educational experience as we explore three unique farm, ranch, and U-pick farmstand locations in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.

The Farmland & Flavors of SY Valley tour offers a hands-on journey through the region’s rich agricultural landscape. Guests will enjoy U-pick opportunities, on-farm tastings, and visits to one of the area's oldest historic agricultural sites, an olive grove, and organic produce and small family owned walnut grove.

We’ll wrap up the day with a relaxing on-farm picnic surrounded by scenic views and fresh flavors straight from the land.

Tours: Thursday – Sunday 9:00 – 1:00

Three locations and picnic lunch with tastings are included in this bespoke tour.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SMALL LOCAL FARMS, RANCHES and ORCHARDS

Scenic landscape of Santa Ynez Valley with vineyards, rolling hills, and large clouds in the sky. A beautiful winding road beside a fence and trees.

Santa Ynez Valley: A landscape of mountains, rangeland, ranches and vineyards

LANDSCAPE: Much like the wines grown in the region, there’s a real depth and character to this historic part of the Central Coast worth exploring and revisiting often.

The area is home to the native Chumash tribe, who recognized the land’s bounty, characterized by undulating hills, gnarled oak trees, and electric fields of grasslands and wildflowers. Following the arrival of Spanish and Danish colonies, ranching and generational viticulture took hold in this corner of Santa Barbara County, and over time, the Valley became a vortex for ranching, farming, winemaking, and beyond. 

U-pick exerience. A hand picking a cluster of ripe blackberries on a blackberry bush with green leaves.

Orchards: Heritage Tree Groves and U-Pick Farmstands

TREES: Santa Ynez Valley is known for wineries and beautiful tree-crop farms, such as olive and walnut farms. We will visit generational tree groves nestled in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley.

A herd of Black Angus cows grazing in a green pasture with rolling hills and mountains in the background under a blue sky.

Ranches: Heritage Livestock

RANCHES: Santa Ynez Valley features many family-owned ranches with unique charm. Our visit highlights a rare livestock breed that is reminiscent of the 18th Century. This journey through the picturesque valley reveals the essence of ranching heritage. Discover the land's beauty and the passion behind these farms as you reconnect with nature.

A small historic stone grist mill with a red tiled roof and a wooden door, surrounded by green grass and trees under a bright blue sky.

Historical Agricultural Sites: Olive Orchard and Grist mill

HISTORIC DISTRICT: Nestled in a picturesque field up against the majestic Santa Ynez Mountains and in view of the Santa Ynez Mission, stands a noteworthy historic grist mill. Adjacent to this site, 2,800 olive trees have been planted to reintroduce agriculture reminiscent of the early Mission-era. Efforts to interpret the agricultural heritage of the area include the planting of Mission, Manzanillo, Grappolo, Lucca, and Arbequina olive varieties, each significant to the mission period. These initiatives provide a glimpse into the agricultural practices that shaped the region's history and enhance the authenticity of the historic district.

Santa Ynez Valley History

  • Santa Ynez Valley features five towns established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Ballard (1881), Santa Ynez (1882), Los Olivos (1887), Solvang (1911), and Buellton (1920).

  • The valley has always enjoyed a strong agricultural base. In the late 1800s, cattle and sheep reigned, followed by crops such as olives, peaches, walnuts, prunes, apples, cherries, and quinces. The dairy industry rose and fell in the mid-1900s. Today, the countryside is dominated by wineries (more than 50), cattle ranches, and horse ranches that specialize in thoroughbreds.

  • The stagecoach played an important role in settling the Santa Ynez Valley. From 1858 to 1889, it ran from San Francisco to Yuma, Arizona, stopping near Ballard.

  • The Pacific Coast narrow-gauge railroad came to Los Olivos in 1887. In addition to transporting people up and down California, it made the shipment of farm products cheaper and more convenient.

A person traveling on a paved country road alongside a vineyard with lush green vines, dry rolling hills, and trees; mountains under a partly cloudy sky in the background.
A hand picking ripe blackberries on a bush surrounded by green leaves.

A hand picking ripe blackberries on a bush surrounded by green leaves.

Olive oil tasting with a loaf of sliced bread with olive oil being drizzled onto it, beside a glass bowl of olive oil and some black olives on a rustic wooden table.

Olive oil tasting with a loaf of sliced bread with olive oil being drizzled onto it, beside a glass bowl of olive oil and some black olives on a rustic wooden table.

Santa Ynez Valley Landscape and Vineyard with a large tree in the center, rows of grapevines with golden leaves, mountains in the background, and clear sky.

Santa Ynez Valley Landscape and Vineyard with a large tree in the center, rows of grapevines with golden leaves, mountains in the background, and clear sky.

Historic Black and white photo of multiple cows feeding from a trough on a farm, enclosed by wooden fencing.

Historic Black and white photo of multiple cows feeding from a trough on a farm, enclosed by wooden fencing.

A white chicken walking on straw-covered ground in an outdoor farm setting.

A white chicken walking on straw-covered ground in an outdoor farm setting.

A group of goats grazing on a grassy field under a blue sky with scattered clouds, with trees in the background.

A group of goats grazing on a grassy field under a blue sky with scattered clouds, with trees in the background.

Close-up of a cow's face with two different-colored eyes, black and white fur.

Close-up of a cow's face with two different-colored eyes, black and white fur.

Vineyard with rows of grapevines in a hilly landscape under a clear blue sky.

Vineyard with rows of grapevines in a hilly landscape under a clear blue sky.

Group of people walking through an olive grove orchard with rows of green-leafed olive trees, green grassy path, fencing, rolling hills, trees, and mountains in the background.

Group of people walking through an olive grove orchard with rows of green-leafed olive trees, green grassy path, fencing, rolling hills, trees, and mountains in the background.