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Food window and entrance of center. — Indian Arts Center

Steaming Tender Restaurant

Tiptree Jam Museum entrance. — Tiptree Jam Museum

The Reading Room blends the intimacy of an inviting bar with the inviting solace of a good bookstore. — The Reading Room

Building — The Mountain House

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Goleta

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Goleta

3 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Goleta, California

Updated September 14, 2017

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Unusual Attractions in Goleta

clutters of Monarchs

Goleta, California

Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove

A popular winter vacation destination for migrating monarch butterflies.

It sits behind chain link and barbed wire

Goleta, California

Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station

This little gem of Spanish Colonial architecture has been abandoned since the 1950s.

Monument to the Bombardment of Ellwood in Goleta, California.

Goleta, California

Monument to the Bombardment of Ellwood

The first attack on the continental U.S. during WWII occurred off the coast of a quiet California golf course.

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The AlloSphere, photo by Paul Wellman.

Isla Vista, California

AlloSphere

360-degree virtual reality chamber physically immerses scientists into their data.

1 mile from Goleta

Santa Barbara, California

Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park

Colorful Native American paintings are hidden within this small cavern.

5 miles from Goleta

The tavern.

Santa Barbara, California

Cold Spring Tavern

Hidden in the Santa Ynez Mountains off Highway 154, this tiny restaurant once served as a stagecoach stop.

5 miles from Goleta

Cold Spring Arch Bridge from Stagecoach Road

Santa Barbara, California

Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge

California's largest steel arch bridge.

6 miles from Goleta

In partnership with GetYourGuide

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Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.

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