Gaviota Rest Stop is located on Interstate Highway 101 near Gaviota State Beach just at the south end of the Gaviota Pass.

The area of Gaviota Pass was a hospitable home to mostly Chumash Indians dating back 13,000 years, and probably much longer. The Chumash were some of the most innovative people, fishing, using tar as water sealant on their tomol boats that provided transportation to the near island, and spending time in arts, making intricate baskets and ornate shell beads tied on strings, traded to inland tribes for food and items they didn't have access to along the coast.  used as a form of money.

Gaviota Pass, the narrow gorge cut through the sandstone cliffs by ancient Gaviota Creek, marked an important prehistoric corridor to the interior valleys. The route is a time honored one.

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