LIMPETS: Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students

Student Scientists on our Sanctuary Shores

Carpinteria State Beach

LiMPETS site
GPS coordinates:
34° 23’20” N, 119° 31’6” W
LiMPETS monitoring site since:
2005
Directions:
This site is located at the east end of Carpinteria State Park in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County. Take Highway 101 to Carpinteria (east of Santa Barbara). Get off at the Casitas Pass Rd exit and turn toward the ocean. Take a right on Carpinteria Drive, then take the first left on Palm Avenue. Go all the way to the end of Palm Avenue and enter Carpinteria State Park. After going through the kiosk, take a sharp left and proceed down the coast to the very end where there is a little cul-de-sac where you can park. A staircase, just southeast from the parking lot, leads to the beach.
Restrooms:
There are a few public restrooms inside the park.
Site description:
The site is straight offshore, about 40 meters from the staircase and centered on the outermost and largest mussel-covered rock outcrop. The outcrop is surrounded by sand. It consists of a oceanward portion and a shoreward portion, separated by a narrow connection (“neck”) that bridges over two small tunnels.
LiMPETS methods:
  1. random quadrats in a permanent area
  2. total organism counts in a permanent area
  3. size measurements in a permanent area
Download site-specific protocols and datasheets used at this site.
Permit and visitor information:
Contact Carpinteria State Park well in advance of your scheduled rocky intertidal trip. The Park has a policy about the number of people who can go on the reef in a day (tell them you are part of the LiMPETS program and they may be able to accommodate more students on certain low tide days). The Park also waives parking fees for school groups, but you must first submit a school group reservation form that the park will send you when you call to schedule a field trip. Contact is Marie Lindsey at (805) 684-7487 or . You might also consider scheduling a tidepool walk with a ranger on the day of your LiMPETS sampling. The guided walks last approximately one hour.
Contact your LiMPETS site coordinator:
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary •