A Santa Ynez day trip from LA works if you leave by 8: it's about 2 hours 40 each way without traffic. Pick one route: walkable Solvang and Los Olivos, quieter Los Alamos and Foxen Canyon, or the Sta. Rita Hills for Pinot. Go Thursday to Sunday, taste at three or four walk-in rooms, and eat before you drive home.
The short version
- Leaving LABy 8am, for an 11am first pour.
- First-timersSolvang and Los Olivos, no booking needed.
- Been before, want back roadsLos Alamos and Foxen Canyon, Thursday to Monday.
- Pinot loversSta. Rita Hills, ending at Hitching Post 2.
- Heads-upTuesday or Wednesday, when the best kitchens close.
This week
- Nov6–8Buellton Fall Festival · Visit Buellton
Avenue of the Flags; Fri 4-10pm, Sat-Sun 12-10pm; carnival rides, live music on two stages; Ales on the Avenue beer and wine tasting Sat (tickets) · Free · by City of Buellton
- FriNov 6NatureTrack Film Festival · Visit NatureTrack Foundation
8th annual; reception 6pm, program 6:45pm at the SYV Grange Hall · $25 · by NatureTrack Foundation
- SatNov 7SYV Historical Museum Vaquero Benefit Dinner & Auction · Visit Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum
42nd annual · Tickets (early bird from Aug 1) · by Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum
- SatNov 7Alma Rosa Fall Harvest Dinner · Visit Alma Rosa Winery
Winery event; check access on the listing · Not published · by Alma Rosa Winery
Solvang and Los Olivos
Best days: Wed to Sun. The easy one: two walkable towns 14 minutes apart, so you park twice and never need the winding roads.
| When | What | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| 10:45 | Park free at the 1639 Copenhagen Drive lot in Solvang, beside the Visitor Center. Parking rules. | 2 h 41 from downtown LA |
| 11:00 | Taste at Lucas & Lewellen, open from 10, no booking under 7. Taste here and you get half off at Toccata, its Italian-varietal room across the street. | |
| 12:00 | Lunch at peasants FEAST, a block away on Atterdag Road. No reservations; order the Solvang Hot Chicken. | |
| 1:30 | Drive to Los Olivos and park by the flagpole. Walk-ins at SAMsARA ($30, five wines) and Evan's Ranch, the Gainey family's Sta. Rita Hills label. | 14 min |
| 4:00 | Early dinner at Bar Le Côte (happy hour 3 to 5) or Los Olivos Café, whose Wine Wall is the backdrop of a Sideways dinner scene. | |
| 6:00 | Head home. | 2 h 39 to downtown LA |
Monday or Tuesday, swap peasants FEAST for Leonardo's and Bar Le Côte for Los Olivos Café, both open.
Los Alamos and Foxen Canyon
Best days: Thu to Mon. The quieter one: lunch on Los Alamos's one-street Old West main drag, then the estates out on Foxen Canyon Road.
| When | What | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Lunch at Bell's on Bell Street, 11 to 3 (mostly walk-in; a few lunch reservations), or pastries at Bob's Well Bread from 7, kitchen closing at 3. | 2 h 56 from downtown LA |
| 12:30 | Walk to Bedford Winery (walk-ins, garden patio) and Bodega Los Alamos, natural wine by the glass. | |
| 2:00 | Out Foxen Canyon Road to Zaca Mesa. Courtyard flights need no booking, and you can bring food with a tasting. | 30 min |
| 3:30 | Andrew Murray Vineyards, open until 5:30, later than almost anyone on the trail. | 14 min |
| 5:15 | Dinner in Los Olivos, then home. | 12 min, then 2 h 39 |
Bell's and Bob's both close Tuesday and Wednesday. Bell's dinner is a $125 prix fixe plus a 20% service charge and tax, and it books out the day tables open, the 1st of the month at 1pm.
Sta. Rita Hills and Buellton
Best days: Wed to Mon. For Pinot people: Santa Rosa Road out, Highway 246 back, and an oak-fire dinner in Buellton before the drive.
| When | What | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Alma Rosa's estate ranch house on Santa Rosa Road. By appointment, walk-ins welcome, safest Wednesday to Sunday. Founder Richard Sanford planted the Sta. Rita Hills' first Pinot Noir in 1971. | About 3 h from downtown LA |
| 12:30 | Sanford Winery, daily 10 to 4. The $40 estate tasting is waived with a $150 purchase. | 13 min |
| 2:00 | West to Lompoc and back east on Highway 246 to Babcock (no booking for 7 or fewer, bring your own food) and Melville next door. | 31 min |
| 4:30 | Dinner at Hitching Post 2, 40 years in 2026, from 4:30. Order the grilled artichoke. Book ahead. | 14 min |
| 6:30 | Home. | 2 h 44 to downtown LA |
Hitching Post 2 is closed Tuesday. Industrial Eats, a few minutes away in Buellton, is open daily noon to 8.
How many stops in a day?
Three or four tastings and one proper meal. Visit Santa Ynez Valley counts more than 120 wineries in the valley, and Santa Barbara Vintners counted 325 wineries and tasting rooms across the county in 2024, so trying to see a lot is how the day falls apart. Most rooms pour their last flight by 4 or 4:30, and flights run $25 to $35 a person. Our walk-in tasting guide lists who takes walk-ins; with six or more people, book everything.
Who drives home?
Settle it before the first pour. Times above are without traffic, and weekend afternoons heading back south are slower, so the driver needs a clear head at 6 as much as at 2. The alternative is a charter-party carrier, licensed by the California Public Utilities Commission. Prices for two, from a shared trolley to a private driver, are in Santa Ynez Valley wine tours. Want it slower? Turn it into a weekend from LA.
Plan your day
- MorningBreakfast first: Breakfast in SolvangDanish pancakes to bear claws
- MiddayGo tasting: Wine tasting in SolvangNebbiolo to Rhône in an adobe
- EveningBook dinner: Solvang restaurantsBib Gourmand chicken to aebleskiver
- LateNight out: Solvang happy hoursSpritzes, Industry Night, 8pm deals
- OvernightFind a bed: Solvang hotelsNordic rooms to a 1946 ranch
Your next move
- Then readRoute one in detail, with the village hour by hour. The Solvang day trip
- Every ThursdayWhat to eat, where to go and what to book this weekend. Get the weekend note
Good to know
How many wineries can you fit into a day trip from LA? Three or four, with lunch. Visit Santa Ynez Valley counts more than 120 wineries in the valley and Santa Barbara Vintners counted 325 wineries and tasting rooms countywide in 2024, so the trick is picking one area. Most tasting rooms pour their last flight by 4 or 4:30.
Which route is best for a first visit? Solvang and Los Olivos. Both towns are walkable, they are 14 minutes apart, and most rooms take walk-ins. Los Alamos and Foxen Canyon is quieter and more of an insider's route. The Sta. Rita Hills route is for Pinot Noir drinkers and needs the most driving.
Can you do a Santa Ynez day trip from LA without driving? A tour is the practical way. LA Discovery Tours runs a 9-hour day for $399 a person with LA hotel pickup. Amtrak only reaches Solvang by train plus bus, which is too slow for a same-day return. If you drive yourselves and both taste, hire a licensed driver once you arrive.
What day should you do a day trip to Santa Ynez? Thursday to Sunday. Bell's and Bob's Well Bread close Tuesday and Wednesday, peasants FEAST and Bar Le Côte close Monday and Tuesday, and Hitching Post 2 closes Tuesday. On any day, leave LA by 8 so you are tasting by 11.
LA day trip FAQ
Is the Santa Ynez Valley a good day trip from LA?
Yes, if you leave early. Downtown LA to Solvang or Los Olivos is about 128 miles and 2 hours 40 minutes without traffic, so leaving by 8 puts you at a tasting room by 11 and home by around 9. Pick one route, two towns at most, and choose a Thursday to Sunday.
Sources
tap to open
- Drive times: OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM), car profile, without traffic.
- Hours, walk-in rules and prices: each restaurant's and winery's own website, linked from its page on this site.
- Visit Santa Ynez Valley, Wine (120+ wineries)
- Santa Barbara Vintners, 2024 Facts & Figures (325 wineries and tasting rooms)
- CPUC, Charter-Party Carriers
- Hitching Post 2 (40 years in 2026)
- Bell's, reservations
Last updated Oct 26, 2026. Hours shift by season. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
