3 Best Sights in Santa Ynez, The Central Coast

This stunning 14,000-square-foot facility and 3½-acre cultural park, completed in 2023, has a welcome center; heritage exhibits; an amphitheater; and spaces devoted to the indigenous Samala language, storytelling, basket weaving, and other cultural activities. Landscaping includes 11,000 California native plants, including 140 species used by the Chumash in their daily lives.

Just south of Santa Ynez on the Chumash Indian Reservation lies this Las Vegas–style casino with 2,300 slot machines, three restaurants and a food court, a spa, and a 12-story upscale hotel with a rooftop pool.

The 1,800-acre Gainey Ranch, straddling the banks of the Santa Ynez River, includes about 100 acres of organic vineyards: Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. The winery also makes wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah grapes from the Santa Rita Hills. You can taste the latest releases—the estate Pinot Noir is especially good—in a Spanish-style hacienda overlooking the ranch. Gainey's Evans Ranch tasting room in Los Olivos showcases their six limited-production wines from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.