Post Office Steps to El Cuartel: Santa Barbara's Friendly Ghosts
An hour on foot through Santa Barbara's Presidio quarter, where a guide pairs local history with friendly ghost stories.
The walk starts on the front steps of Santa Barbara's 1937 main post office on Anacapa Street and spends about an hour in the old Presidio quarter, where the guide trades local history for ghost stories. The listing promises roughly ten of them, traditional and recent, plus photos and videos of ghosts that guests and locals have caught on past tours.
Every story is told outdoors: the owner wrote in a 2021 reply to a guest that any of her tours stays outside, in the places where the people in the stories once lived. The material comes from research by Julie Ann Brown, who founded Santa Barbara Ghost Tours in 2017.
On this listing adults, seniors and teens aged 13 to 17 pay USD 25 each, and children 12 and under go free. Every order needs at least two travelers in the 18-to-64 adult band; the booking form turns away a single adult, one adult with a child, or two seniors on their own. Cancel 24 hours or more before the start for a full refund.
SB Ghost Tour "Invisible Becomes Visible!"- Children FREEOne hour from the downtown post office steps, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 5:00 PM or 8:00 PM. USD 25 per adult, children 12 and under free, at least two adults per order.www.viator.comThe Presidio Quarter Holds Most of the Stories
The listing's only option is titled Walking Presidio Ghost Tour, and the one stop it names is El Cuartel and the chapel at El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, for about ten minutes, with park admission not included. The operator describes its home ground as the Presidio District, which it calls the Enchantment Zone.
A 2025 Santa Barbara Independent feature on Brown's walking tour lists other stops around it: the Lobero Theatre, the post office and the former Jimmy's Oriental Gardens, now the Pickle Room, in what was the city's Chinatown. The listing itself commits to one stop, the Presidio; the others come from a reporter's account of a walk with Brown.
A City College Professor Collected the Stories
Julie Ann Brown is a tenured professor at Santa Barbara City College and chairs its business administration department, according to the operator's site. She started collecting ghost stories as a guide on the Queen Mary in Long Beach while studying at USC, and she volunteers as a docent at Old Mission Santa Barbara.
She does not lead every walk. Reviews on this listing name other guides in 2020 and 2024, and her own replies to those guests confirm it. The listing credits the stories to her research whoever is guiding.
An Hour of Stories in the Open Air
This is a storytelling walk with history mixed in. A traveler on this listing in 2020 expected something closer to a paranormal investigation, got ghost stories and history, and noted a windy, cold evening spent mostly outdoors. Bring a layer for the 8:00 PM start.
The listing says the owner will often stretch the hour by 15 minutes or more if guests ask. It also asks every booker to call the operator to confirm the booking; the number comes with the booking details.
Kids, Strollers, Dogs and a Gift Bag
Children 12 and under go free on this listing, and it notes that infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller. Teens 13 to 17 pay the adult price. The operator's FAQ calls its tours family and pet friendly.
The operator's own site promises a small gift bag with any tour: wrapped sweets and a starter protection kit that can include a rosary, salt or a saint medal. The listing's inclusions name only an experienced guide, so count the bag as a bonus. The listing also flags the walk as not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries or poor cardiovascular health.
📍 Meet on the front stairs of the main post office at 836 Anacapa Street, at the corner of Canon Perdido Street. Walks start at 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM on the days the listing sells: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Single sessions sometimes drop off the calendar, so check the exact date you want.
The post office is itself one of the buildings with a story attached, so the first tale may begin on the steps where you are standing.