East Beach with kids today
Santa Barbara, California
Updated 1:00 AM PDT
What decides a families with kids score
Water quality
Where you swim changes the answer here — we score this beach 30 at its worst monitored point and 62 at its best.
Cleanest today
- Mission CreekA+
Avoid today
- Sycamore CreekF
These are storm drains and piers, which are sampled precisely because they are the worst spots on a beach.
All 2 monitoring points
| Monitoring point | Distance | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Sycamore Creek storm drain / pier | 1.7 km | F |
| Mission Creek storm drain / pier | 0.2 km | A+ |
Dry-weather bacterial grades from the Heal the Bay Beach Report Card, updated 2026-10-09. Grades reflect the most recent agency sampling and can change after rain.
Before you swim
Surf is running 3.7 ft today, which makes shorebreak and currents stronger than usual.
Swim near a staffed lifeguard tower, and check the National Weather Service surf-zone forecast for the official rip-current outlook — we report conditions, we don't forecast rip currents.
Better nearby for families with kids
East Beach is also scored for
About East Beach
East Beach sits on the California coast, where the water runs from about 57°F in March to 69°F in August.
The water here never averages above 70°F — even in August, the warmest month, it sits around 69°F. Most people wear a wetsuit.
Today it is 72°F. That is 6° above the October average of 66°F here.
Tide predictions come from NOAA station Santa Barbara about 1.3 km away on the open coast.
Frequently asked questions
Is East Beach good for families today?
Fine with close supervision — we score it 62 out of 100 today. The limiting factor is surf calmness at 3.7 ft.
What makes a good families with kids day?
We weight surf calmness (35%), water temperature (25%), uv exposure (22%) and combine them into one score. Conditions we cannot read are left out rather than guessed.