The San Rafael Wilderness is a wilderness area in the mountains of north central Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is completely contained within the Los Padres National Forest, and is north of the city of Santa Barbara and east of Santa Maria. Formed in 1968, it was the first wilderness area to be created from a previously designated Primitive Area after the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act. It also includes the Sisquoc Condor Sanctuary, created in 1937, which is the oldest designated sanctuary for the large endangered birds.