A Ranch Called Hope

My rule, which required time to develop, is to not post photographs taken on private streets, where I believe there’s a legitimate expectation that some blogger won’t publish images of your home. (Some people feel that way even though they live on public streets.) But what if a resident invites a blogger to walk in his/her private community? And the HOA doesn’t have a rule against it? At that point, I believe the houses become fair game, just as they would be if I were simply posting photos on social media.

And that’s how I found myself spending a few hours in Hope Ranch, where I’ve obviously been many times to scope out real estate, but never for a walk. My chaperone, R., suggested we focus on the southeast quadrant.

All of Hope Ranch’s streets are private, except for Las Palmas Drive, Roble Drive, and Marina Drive, which combine as the main route through the neighborhood. Hope Ranch isn’t gated, so anyone can roll in and park on the shoulder, and of course cyclists tour through all the time. The private security force could conceivably ask what you’re up to—or even insist that you leave.

And there’s at least one gated community within the community: Bajada Lane, a cul-de-sac extending off of Creciente Drive.

If you live in Hope Ranch, I imagine you learn your way around over time, but I still need GPS (erratic as it can be in the area). The street signs are well-marked, in a faux Wild West fashion.

Good luck with this one, though.

The streets are relatively quiet, but the lack of sidewalks means you have to keep your wits about you. Our route involved a fair amount of backtracking and dead ends—sometimes with turnaround islands.

Pedestrians and cyclists have other options to access Hope Ranch. Cuervo Avenue, for instance, extends into Campanil…

…and Mariposa Drive blurs into two lots on Sea Ranch Drive. R. said that the border isn’t usually this open; we guessed that work trucks are entering the lots from this direction.

While that desolate part of Campanil felt like peering over the wrong side of the tracks, from the east end of Corta Road, you can see 845 Sea Ranch Drive, the fancy new Campanil house that sold for $23 million in March 2025.

Hope Ranch is a world of its own, with its own infrastructure—including reservoirs and some sort of power station. Someone, not R., recently told me that the power goes out rather frequently in the community.

The one thing that most Santa Barbarans know about Hope Ranch is likely that it’s very horsey (and less than it used to be, I’d bet). Bridle paths, rarely signed in this charming fashion, line many of the streets, but pedestrians are not supposed to use them. I’ll never forget when I was at an open house and another visitor rode in on a horse.

The equestrian vibe extends to fences and outbuildings.

There’s fancy horse stuff, too.

And, as everywhere else, you’ll run across yardifacts. The little bench in the third photo made me laugh: What need does it serve? Awaiting the mail carrier?

The pièce de résistance is the dragon (?) in its own temple on Creciente Drive.

Two ornamental moments that really floated my boat: an inlaid mosaic strip and an impressive feat of espaliering along the mortar in a stone wall.

I don’t think this stone retaining wall on Cantera Avenue was meant to be ornamental, but I loved it just the same.

The trees make more of an impression than you might gauge from my photos, although the streets were not as shaded as I recalled (or would’ve liked). According to R., the neighborhood used to have many more pines, until they were affected by bark beetles. Every now and then, a tree really popped.

Gates were occasionally open, often striking, and sometimes ornate.

A somewhat better look at one of the dudes atop that last gate.

The Circle K Ranch!

The handles on this one look like you could pull the gate open.

As do these chickens.

Oh, to have an “exit only” gate….

Look at that perfectly straight driveway. Drama!

Here’s something I had never seen before: a driveway that’s half stone and half fake grass, done in a “natural” fashion.

Other folks used fake foliage to decorate—or camouflage—their gates. Brown is a surprising choice.

Two “beware of dog” signs stood out. The first dog looks like it requires a big grooming budget, and the second like it’s succumbing to degenerative myelopathy.

R. and I didn’t encounter any other pedestrians, but here’s hoping someone is using these terrific entrances.

This one looks like it leads to Backrooms.

On another note, I should point out that there are occasionally great views.

But these walks generally have me obsessing over details. Like mailboxes…

…and address markers. I’ll forever love any sign tucked into a hedge.

Even random street markings draw attention and conjure up associations.

The lots in Hope Ranch are typically large, but some houses are visible from the street.

We ran across a few under construction. This one is big.

My favorite one on the walk, however, was small. It has the turnaround at the end of Corta Road all to itself.

Every now and then, a detail stands out—like a beauty-mark window on a tower, a round pool house, or magnificent chimney caps.

The Murderers’ Row of Hope Ranch houses, at least in this quadrant, is the western half of Mariposa Drive. We couldn’t always see much, but what we could see was impressive.

If you were only going to walk one street in this area, I’d suggest Creciente Drive, a half-loop off of Marina Drive. It has less car traffic, and plenty of details to savor. Killybegs, you’ll want to know, is Ireland’s largest fishing port.

And, for the first time, I took a book from a street library: Old Filth, a 2004 novel by Jane Gardam that was blurbed by Ian McEwan. I haven’t read it yet, but the Guardian said it’s “surely her masterpiece”—which, come to think of it, could be extremely faint praise.

················

Walk With Me…

Downtown Santa Barbara
• The Manifold Pleasures of Mid-State
• The Arty Heart of Downtown Santa Barbara
• Downtown and a Little to the Left
• The Gritty Glamour of the Funk Zone
• The Upper Upper East Is Busting Out All Over
↓↓↓ The Presidio: In the Footsteps of Old Santa Barbara
• Brinkerhoff, Bradley, and Beyond
• Mixing Business and Pleasure in East Beach
• It’s Only Milpas Street (But I Like It)
• The Haley Corridor Is Keeping It Real
• The Small Pleasures of Bungalow Haven
• Is There a Better Neighborhood for a Stroll Than West Beach?
• E. Canon Perdido, One of Downtown’s Best Strolling Streets

Eastside
• Old Coast Highway Revisited
• Where the Eastside Meets the Lower Riviera

Oak Park / Samarkand
• The Side Streets and Alleyways of Upper Oak Park
↓↓↓ The Small-Town Charms of Samarkand

The Riviera
• The Ferrelo-Garcia Loop
• Scaling the Heights of Las Alturas
• High on the Lower Riviera

Eucalyptus Hill
• On the Golden Slope of Eucalyptus Hill
• Climbing the Back of Eucalyptus Hill

San Roque / Hope
• Where One School Leads to Another
• Amid the Saints of South San Roque
• Voyage to the Heart of the San Roque Spider Web

TV Hill / The Mesa
• Higher Education on the Mesa
• The Metamorphosis of East Mesa
• The Highs and Lows of Harbor Hills
• Walking in Circles in Alta Mesa
• West Mesa Is Still Funky After All These Years
• A Close-Up Look at TV Hill

Hidden Valley / Yankee Farm / Campanil
• Campanil is a Neighborhood in Flux
• An Aimless Wander Through Hidden Valley
• The Unvarnished Appeal of Yankee Farm

Hope Ranch / Hope Ranch Annex / Etc.
• A Country Stroll on El Sueno Road

Cielito / Mission Canyon
• A Walk in the Clouds in Cielito

Montecito
• Back to the Hedgerow
• The Westmontish Region of Montecito
• East Meets West on Mountain Drive
• A Relatively Modest Montecito Enclave
• Strolling Under a Canopy of Oaks
• Out and Back on Ortega Ridge
• The Heart of Montecito Is in Coast Village
• Quintessential Montecito at Butterfly Beach
• Once Upon a Time in the Hedgerow
• Where Montecito Gets Down to Business
• In the Heart of the Golden Quadrangle
• Up, Down, and All Around Montecito’s Pepper Hill
• Montecito’s Prestigious Picacho Lane
• School House Road and Camphor Place

Summerland / Carpinteria
• On Summerland’s Western Fringe
• A Stroll in the Summerland Countryside
• Admiring the Backsides of Beachfront Houses on Padaro Lane
• Whitney Avenue in Summerland

Goleta / Isla Vista
• In the Shadow of Magnolia Center
• A Tough Nut to Crack in Goleta
• Where the Streets Have Full Names
• The Past Is Still Present in Old Town Goleta
• Social Distancing Made Easy at UCSB

················

Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter and you’ll never miss a post.