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Ballard Canyon Road

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Ballard Canyon Road is an approximately seven-mile-long rural highway located in the Santa Ynez Valley region of Santa Barbara County.  The roadway traverses the namesake Ballard Canyon from the outskirts of Los Olivos southwest to California State Route 246 in Buellton.  Ballard Canyon Road is named after the Santa Ynez Valley community of Ballard and was once part of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata.  The original purpose of Ballard Canyon Road was to connect to the Foxen Canyon Road with the Lompoc Road. 




Part 1; the history of Ballard Canyon Road

Ballard Canyon Road is aligned through the namesake north/south canyon which itself is a larger part of Santa Ynez Valley.  The lands comprising Ballard Canyon were once part of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata.  The Rancho was granted in 1845 by then Alta California Governor Pio Pico to Joaquin Carrillo and Jose Maria Covarrubias.  The land grants of Carrillo and Covarrubias were later honored by the American Federal government when California became a state after the Mexican-American War.  

Ballard Canyon itself is named after the community of Ballard.  Ballard is the oldest community in Santa Ynez Valley and was founded in 1880 by William Ballard as a Wells Fargo stage station.  The community itself was located on the stage road from San Marcos to Santa Maria Valley via Foxen Canyon.  Ballard can be seen on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California.  


Ballard Canyon Road can be seen on the 1905 United States Geological Survey map of Lompoc.  The roadway is seen connecting through Rancho San Carlos de Jonata from the Foxen Canyon Road near Los Olivos southwest to the Lompoc Road (currently California State Route 246) near the current site of Buellton.  Rancho San Carlos de Jonata would be subdivided in 1911 and would be used for the town plot of Solvang next to Mission Santa Ines. 


Ballard Canyon Road can be seen in greater detail on the 1959 United States Geological Survey map of Los Olivos.  



Much of Ballard Canyon Road now part of the Ballard Canyon Agricultural Viticultural Area (AVA).  The AVA was declared during October 2013 and is comprised of 7,800 acres.  Ballard Canyon is considered ideal for wine making given the soil conditions being more uniform than the floor of Santa Ynez Valley.



Part 2; a drive on Ballard Canyon Road

Southbound Ballard Canyon Road begins in the outskirts of Los Olivos at the intersection of Foxen Canyon Road and Steele Street.  


Southbound Ballard Canyon Road makes a rapid ascent to the rim of Ballard Canyon.  At the beginning of the ascent traffic is advised that the road ahead is curvy for the next 7 miles.  












Ballard Canyon Road reaches the rim of Ballard Canyon and hairpins sharply.





Ballard Canyon Road continues south and intersects Chalk Hill Road.  Traffic wishing to access Solvang can by continuing straight on Chalk Hill Road.  Buellton bound traffic is required to take a right hand turn to continue on Ballard Canyon Road towards California State Route 246.






















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