El Capitán State Beach is a protected section of California’s Gaviota Coast west of Santa Barbara, valued for its beach, shaded campground, tide pools, and seasonal monarch butterflies. Named for José Francisco Ortega, a retired Spanish Army captain who received the Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio grant, the park was assembled between 1953 and 1967 and later expanded by 2,500 acres in 2002 into oak woodland and chaparral reaching toward the Santa Ynez Mountains. It has also faced major disruptions from the 2015 Refugio oil spill, the 2016 Sherpa Fire, and severe storm damage in January 2023, while recent work has aimed to restore steelhead passage and update long-range planning.