Zaca Lake: can you visit?

Zaca Lake quick facts

Open to the public?

No. Full-property buyouts and events only; no day passes or single-cabin reservations

Mailing address

8000 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441

Where it actually is

At the top of Zaca Lake Road, about 5.6 miles off Foxen Canyon Road in the San Rafael foothills: 13.8 miles (about 40 min) from Los Olivos, 21 miles (about 50 min) from Solvang

Sleeps

Up to 42 guests in 16 cabins and a house, plus 10 staff. Each cabin has its own bathroom, minibar and patio

Size

320 acres, with a swimming dock, the Ranch House clubhouse, horse corrals and a geodesic dome

Elevation

About 2,400 feet

Contact

info@zacalake.com

Not to be confused with

Zaca Mesa Winery (6905 Foxen Canyon Road) or the Inn at Zaca Creek in Buellton

Can you visit Zaca Lake?

Only as part of a booked group or a ticketed event. The property's contact page says it is "currently being offered for complete group buyouts or events only" and can't offer day passes or single-cabin reservations. The lake and its shore are private land, so the surrounding national forest doesn't get you to the water either.

The one way in without renting the whole place is an occasional hosted day retreat. The events page has listed past ones such as Agua Sagrada (June 28, 2025) and Healing the Healers (March 8, 2025). Watch zacalake.com for new dates.

Booking the whole property

A Zaca Lake buyout means booking all of it: all 16 cabins and the house, for up to 42 overnight guests, plus room for 10 staff. Groups use the Ranch House as a clubhouse, the dock for swimming, the corrals and the geodesic dome for retreats and gatherings. Rates aren't posted; email info@zacalake.com. For guests who'd rather stay in town, see Los Olivos hotels, about 40 minutes away.

The bottomless lake stories

Santa Barbara Magazine says Zaca Lake was once rumored to be bottomless, and that it formed about 10,000 years ago when a landslide dammed the canyon. The lake bills itself as the only naturally occurring, spring-fed lake in Santa Barbara County. A Chumash legend held that the lake could pull swimmers under and carry them somewhere else; a later version had a tunnel running all the way to Santa Cruz Island.

The people stories are as good as the legends. In her Santa Ynez Valley News column, Judith Dale traces a Libeu family homestead claim in the 1890s, silent films shot there by the Flying A studio around 1913, and John J. Mitchell, a co-founder of the horseback society Los Rancheros Visitadores, who lived at the lake from 1929 until the early 1960s and sold it to Jimmy Stewart. A New Age retreat era followed in the 1980s, and the Zaca Lake Foundation formed in 2002. The lodge was damaged by fire in 2015. Details that survive from the earlier eras include the redwoods and cabins from the 1940s and an outdoor kitchen known as the Alamo, carved with the date 1939.

The 2024 Lake Fire

The Lake Fire, which CAL FIRE says started near Zaca Lake on July 5, 2024, burned 38,664 acres of the surrounding backcountry. Zaca Lake's own site takes buyout and event inquiries.

Where Zaca Lake really is

The Los Olivos address is a mailing address, not the lake's location. From Grand Avenue, drive north on Foxen Canyon Road past the wineries for about 7.8 miles (19 min), then turn up Zaca Lake Road for about 5.6 more miles to the lake. That's about 40 minutes in all, nearly twice as far as Zaca Mesa Winery, which sits on Foxen Canyon Road itself. From Santa Barbara it's about 48 miles. With no day use, don't drive up without a booking.

Lakes you can visit

Want water you can actually reach? Lake Cachuma, 12 minutes east of Santa Ynez, is the public alternative: boat rentals, camping and yurts, though no swimming. For the same backcountry views, drive Figueroa Mountain from Los Olivos, or make a day of the Foxen Canyon wine trail you'd pass on the way to Zaca.

Good to know

Is Zaca Lake bottomless? No, though it was long rumored to be. Santa Barbara Magazine says the lake formed about 10,000 years ago when a landslide dammed the canyon, and that Chumash legend told of swimmers being carried away.

Is Zaca Lake the same as Zaca Mesa? No. Zaca Mesa Winery is a public tasting room at 6905 Foxen Canyon Road, about 24 minutes from Los Olivos. Zaca Lake is a private retreat much farther up a side canyon.

Did the Lake Fire start at Zaca Lake? CAL FIRE says the Lake Fire started near Zaca Lake on July 5, 2024. It burned 38,664 acres of the surrounding backcountry. Zaca Lake's own site takes buyout and event inquiries.

Nearby: eat, taste, stay

• Zaca Mesa Winery: The other Zaca, on Foxen Canyon Road and open to visitors
• Foxen Canyon wine trail: The road you take toward the lake
• Lake Cachuma: The public lake, with boats and camping
• Figueroa Mountain: Backcountry views without a booking
• Los Olivos hotels: The nearest town beds

Quick answers

Is Zaca Lake open to the public?

No. Zaca Lake is private and currently books only whole-property buyouts and hosted events. It offers no day passes and no single-cabin reservations.

Can you stay at Zaca Lake?

Only if your group books the whole property, which sleeps up to 42 in 16 cabins and a house, or during a hosted event that includes cabins. Rates aren't posted; email info@zacalake.com.

Where is Zaca Lake located?

In the San Rafael foothills north of Los Olivos, at the top of Zaca Lake Road off Foxen Canyon Road. Its mailing address is 8000 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, but the lake is about 13.8 miles and 40 minutes from town.