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Channel Islands National Park

Channel Islands National Park's five islands are located off the coast of southern California and are a divers, snorkelers and kayakers paradise.

California

2014

About the Park

Channel Islands National Park was, for me, a one-day park. It is located about 20 miles offshore from California’s Ventura Harbor which is where the visitor center is located. The National Park is also a marine sanctuary and comprises eight islands. It is most popular with campers, kayakers, snorkelers and scuba divers. There’s hundreds of sea caves along the coastal areas that the kayakers find enticing. There are 72 along the northern coast of the Santa Cruz Island with some of going back 600 feet into the island. Whale viewing is also very popular during the months that the whales are in the area.

Getting to the park requires a one hour boat ride from Ventura Harbor to Santa Cruz Island which is the most common destination for one day visitors. A private concessionaire, Island Packers, runs boat trips to five of the islands on different schedules. The Santa Cruz Island trip is run almost daily. Trips to the other islands are much less frequent. For two of the islands, San Miguel Island and Santa Rosa Island there is also the option of flying with Channel Islands Aviation. The flights land on dirt airstrips.

Despite its proximity to our most populous state, where every park and canyon seems to be visited by the maximum number of people, Channel Islands National Park gets none of that. It ranked 42nd on the list of visitors to national parks in 2017, with 366,000 visitors, and actually had less visitors in 2018. Obviously that can be attributed to the $100 per person cost of the boat ride to get there.

This is not really a park for serious hikers. Of the 97 square miles of Santa Cruz Island, the Nature Conservancy owns 76% of the land and it is off limits to visitors to the National Park. There is a fence to enforce that. Visitors to the National Park are restricted to about 24 square miles.

On the day that we went it was cloudy and the boat ride across Santa Barbara Channel was a little rough. We quickly switched our seat in the front of the boat to one as far back as we could get to smooth out the trip. As you cross the channel you’ll see giant oil platforms in the distance.

What we also saw on the trip out and which we were very fortunate to see was a pod of about 4,000 dolphins according to both the Captain and the national parks naturalist on board. They were everywhere around us stretching out about a half mile to a mile. There were mothers with calves and others just enjoying themselves around the boat, riding the bow pressure wave and putting on quite a show for us. At one point the Captain slowed the boat to a crawl and everyone was out on the deck with their cameras completely in awe of the sight.

We ran into the same pod on the trip back that day and got a replay of what we experienced on the way out. It was a magnificent spectacle and we had the great fortune to experience it twice. The dolphins just seem to enjoy the moment and were close enough to the boat at times that you felt you could reach over and touch them. I’ve heard many tales of dolphins and their affinity for humans and have heard of them aiding people in distress. Watching them come so close made it that much easier to believe. They seem to like people. The picture at the top of the page is from that pod as are some others in the photo gallery.

When you arrive at the island and walk off the boat dock you are basically on your own. There’s no visitor center on the island; the visitor center is on the mainland. There wasn’t even a typical national parks sign. The Ranger gave a talk and you could walk around with him in the area of the boat dock and learn something about the park. That didn’t last very long which was fine with us because we wanted to do some hiking and explore a bit of the island.

One the way to the trail head we passed through a campground and were greeted by the sight of some Channel Island foxes. This is a small subspecies of fox that was in danger of becoming extinct because of Golden eagles preying on them. They are small enough for the eagle to pick up a full grown one. The Park Service managed to remove the eagles from the area and that helped save the foxes. They really are cute and we could see them scavenging around the campground. The Ranger said that they are docile, have little fear of humans, and are easily tamed. At one point we saw one enter a tent and scamper off with a candy bar. I managed to get a picture of his tail sticking out of the tent while another fox walked by. When we sat at a picnic table to eat our lunch they kind of staked out the area hoping to scavenge something. Feeding them is illegal but they will steal unattended food.

There’s a number of outfitters that will rent kayaks, snorkeling and scuba gear as well as give guided kayaking tours of the sea caves. They also have sightseeing, sailing and whale watching tours.

Wildlife

Channel Island foxes, deer mice and spotted skunk are the only mammals endemic to the park. The island fence lizard is only known in the park. The sea life comprises most of the wildlife in the park. Among the larger sea life are harbor seals, California sea lions, dolphins and at certain times of the year gray and blue whales which come to feed on the plankton. In the avian family there are kestrels, barn owls, meadowlarks and pelicans.

The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary extends six nautical miles out from the coast lines of Channel Islands National Park. As such you can be sure that the amount of marine creatures found there dwarfs the amount of land wildlife in the park.

Lodging

There is no lodging in the park. Camping is allowed. There’s ample lodging options in Ventura, California and in the many other towns along that stretch of California coastline.

Hiking

If you arrive by the tour boat there are a half dozen hikes with the longest of them a 10-mile loop. On my visit I took these hikes and would recommend them.

Cavern Point Loop

This was a moderate 2 mile hike along the coast and high above it. There were terrific views of steep cliffs and small rock islands just offshore. This is a good point to view migrating gray whales between December and April.

North Bluff Trail

Rather than complete the Cavern Point Loop as one hike, we elected to take it into the North Bluff Trail and continue our walk along the cliffs on the northern coast of the island. Along this trail the cliffs are 350 feet above the water. After a couple of miles we reversed course and came back and completed the loop back to the Scorpion Anchorage.

Scorpion Rock

This was a short walk up a road to get to the trail head for the short walk to Scorpion Rock. You climb up the hill and along the way you’ll be looking down at the beach where the kayaks are rented. It was an easy hike and for us it was a time-filler after doing the hikes above. We still had time before the boat left and a desire to hike some more.

The terrain for these trails, when you reached the top, was mostly rolling hills and low shrubbery. There were very few trees so, on a hot sunny summer day, you’re not going to find much shade. We didn’t have much sun on the June day that we were out there so it wasn’t a problem.

The National Park’s Service has a page on Hiking on Santa Cruz Island where you can also find a trail map.

Channel Islands National Park Photo Gallery

Picture of a pod of dolphins seen on the way to Channel Islands National Park

Other National Parks Within a Day’s Drive

Pinnacles National Park with its assemblage of eroded volcanic rocks pointing skyward is located 234 miles north of Ventura and about a 4 hour drive.

Joshua Tree National Park where you can see the Joshua Trees that the park is famous for is located 240 miles east of Ventura and about a 4 hour drive.
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