Channel Islands National Park

Most people have never heard of Channel Islands or have any idea where it is, even though it’s access point is less than 70 miles from one of the most populated places in the United States. Well there’s good reason for that since it takes over an hour by boat to get to the closest spot in the park. Wait, did I say “boat”? That’s right, an island national park!

Actually Channel Islands is a series of five islands off the coast of Ventura California, making it one of the most unique national parks we have. Isolation over thousands of years, these islands have created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth. Some of the oldest human remains have been uncovered on these islands. Each island has its own unique characteristics, but not all are as easily accessible as others. I’ll cover them briefly and then go into what we experienced.

Anacapa Island is the closest to Ventura at only 14 miles from the mainland visitors center. The island stretches 5 miles long and 1/4 mile wide. 30 sea caves. It is defined by its volcanic 40 foot arch rock that can be seen from afar, 30 sea caves, historic lighthouse and wildflowers that bring the rocky soil to life.

Santa Cruz Island is 20 miles from Ventura. and is the largest and most diverse of them all at 24 miles long and 6 miles wide. It’s a rough mountainous island cut by a massive fault line with its highest peaks standing 2,450 feet above the sea. It is home to nearly 60 plants and animals found nowhere else on earth and is the most popular island of the five.

Santa Rosa Island is 40 miles from Ventura and stretches 15 miles wide by 10 miles long. Its landscape roles from the mountains to the marshes sheltering rare Torrey Pines, weathered sandstone canyons and traces of a ranching past.

San Miguel Island is the westernmost island, 70 miles from Ventura. It is an island of extremes, stretching 4 miles wide by 8 miles long. It’s wild, windy and remote where isolated beaches protect one of the largest rookeries of seals and sea lions in the world. Ancient dunes reveal the fossilized caliche forest trees from long ago.

Santa Barbara Island is 44 miles from Ventura and the smallest of the islands at 1.5 miles wide by 1 mile long. It’s a mesa framed by twin peaks and steep rock faces with stunning wildflowers and nesting seabirds.

In addition to the land that makes up this national park, it also includes miles of underwater wilderness and is considered one of the planets great marine ecosystems, flowing with life.

GETTING TO THE ISLANDS

Island Packers is the official tour company and transport to the Channel Islands. They have ports out of both Ventura and Oxnard Harbors and offer island tours and whale watching adventures. Tours are available for day trips or overnight backpacking to all of the Channel Islands except Santa Barbara which is inaccessible due to a damaged pier.

If you are simply looking for a day trip, the logical choices are Anacapa or Santa Cruz because of their closer proximity to port. Anacapa Island is accessible from either Ventura or Oxnard and is about an hour and a half boat ride each way. All of the other island tours depart out of Ventura Harbor including Santa Cruz which is a about an hour and fifteen minutes to the Scorpion Cove dock and about 2 hours to the Prisoner Harbor dock. Since the island is so large, there are two choices of areas to visit.

Although day trips are available to Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands the 3-4 hour one-way commute would make it difficult to do much adventuring once you reach the island. Most people go to these more remote islands for multi-day camping and backpacking adventures. Whatever your choice is, keep in mind that there are minimal facilities on the islands so come prepared with food, water, clothing options and camping gear if you’re staying overnight.

OUR RECOMMENDED DAY ITINERARY

We’re used to thoroughly exploring national parks throughout many days or weeks, seeing all there is to see and experience, however that’s not quite as easy with Channel Islands since it would require many boat tours and overnight camping (the tent kind). So, after much research, we decided the biggest bang for the buck was a day trip to Santa Cruz, and specifically the Scorpion Cove area.

Weekend trips offer more flexibility in boat departure and return times but also larger crowds. The schedules are also adjusted seasonally. We did a Thursday trip departing from Ventura Harbor at 9am and returning from Santa Cruz at 3:30pm. With a boat trip of approximately 1:15, we found this was plenty of time on the island to see what we wanted to.

Sometimes the boat trips take a little longer because they are looking for sea life along the way and will stop if they do. We were lucky enough to see a group of four gray whales and hung out with them for a while. The visibility wasn’t great in the morning so we didn’t get very good pictures, but it was an amazing experience. Our first whale sighting!

Once on the island, we went through a short required ranger briefing. The Ranger was offering a guided tour but we already had our agenda, so off we went.

From Scorpion Cove there are two key areas that are easily accessible through a day hike, Potato Harbor and Cavern Point. The round trip trail to Potato Harbor Overlook is just over 5 miles and the Cavern Point is just a short detour off of that trail. If you just do the Cavern Point hike it’s a 2 mile loop on its own. Either trail is mostly flat but there is a short 1/4 mile section near the beginning with some uphill elevation.

The hike out to Potato Harbor takes you along the edge of the cliffs with spectacular views along the way. Shortly after we started our hike we saw an Island Fox, a unique breed of fox only found on the Channel Islands. Potato Harbor Lookout is a beautiful, Caribbean’ish cove and a great place for us to stop and eat lunch and take in the view for a while.

On the return hike we took the detour over to Cavern Point which is another beautiful overlook. On the way there we saw a Peregrine Falcon diving for some prey over the cliffs edge. These birds are the fastest divers of any bird species, accelerating up to 242 MPH. It was an awesome site to see, but too fast to get a picture.

We were back with plenty of time to check out the small visitors center and explore on the beach for a while before our relaxing boat ride back. A boat ride, cool hike on an island and wildlife sightings all together in the same outing makes for a great day!

If we were here longer and the weather had been more cooperative we might have spent another day on Anacapa Island, but that would have also required another tour purchase as well. Still, we left very satisfied with our Channel Islands experience.

OTHER THINGS TO DO AROUND VENTURA

We found the Main Street district of Ventura quite enjoyable with blocks and blocks of shops, good restaurants and bars. Everything in the area is very walkable including the Ventura Pier, ocean boardwalk and several of the beaches in the area including San Buenaventura State Beach. The recent storms had the beaches a mess with debri but the ocean breezes can’t be beat.

Also within walking distance is the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura, a historic spanish mission with a 1700s church and gardens and a small museum showcasing local artifacts. Well worth the $5 admission.

It was nice staying at an RV park where we were backed right up to the ocean for a week. It’s amazing how much better you sleep with the sound of the ocean through your bedroom window. It was a good and relaxing stay and as Kevin Costner’s remarks in the official National Park documentary on Channel Islands…”a glimpse of what California used to be”.

Be sure to check out all of our pictures from Channel Islands. Safe travels and see you down the road a piece.