NPS Website; Local Website; Island Packers Website
WHAT IS IT?Five Pacific Ocean islands located west of Ventura, California. The deep ocean canyons that separate the islands give them their name, the Channel Islands. The islands that make up the Park, from east to west are Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel. Santa Barbara is outside that chain and sits to the southeast of Anacapa.
BEAUTY (9/10)
We saw the sun come up over the Pacific Ocean. We boated into the largest sea cave in the world. We saw sea lions riding the surf. We saw fields of orange and purple wildflowers. We saw herds of elk. We saw a juvenile bald eagle soar less than 20 feet above our heads. We awoke every morning to a view of the Pacific. We hopped around tidepools with crabs, starfish and sea anemone. We saw rolling island hills returning to their natural state. We walked along a blindingly white sand beach. We saw dense fog burn off instantaneously, revealing a dense blue sky. We saw different shades and depths of ocean from atop a mountain peak. We saw the mainland in the distance and wondered how things could be so different on the Channel Islands.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (4/10)
Archeological evidence of human life on Santa Rosa dates back some 13,000 years. The Chumash Indians inhabited the Islands until their removal in 1822. Santa Barbara Island is the setting for the popular Scott O’Dell children’s book, Island of the Blue Dolphins.
The first European to reach the Islands was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, also the first European to sail the Pacific coast. He wintered on the Channel Islands where he would ultimately meet his demise. The specifics are understandably sketchy but the accepted story is as follows. Argument with natives. Violent fight that perhaps included a large rock. Cabrillo gets leg crushed. Gangrene sets in. Painful death. His Spanish crew leaves in a hurry.
Spotty evidence of Cabrillo’s tomb has appeared on a few different islands but no definitive proof has ever been found.
CROWDS (9/10)We stayed in Santa Rosa Island from Sunday through Wednesday. When we arrived, nearly all of the Island’s 15 campsites were full, having spent the weekend there. We spent our stay, however, with only one other couple. They were the only people we saw on Monday. Rangers and Park volunteers showed up intermittently on Tuesday and Wednesday. Other than that, we had our own private 53,000-acre Island. We saw no one during any of our 10+ mile hikes. The solitude was overwhelming.
Each Island brings a slightly different crowd given their respective accessibility. Anacapa and Santa Cruz will be more crowded while San Miguel and Santa Barbara will be even less crowded than Santa Rosa. The Channel Islands are an effective place to escape from society.
The boat rides to and from the Island were fun. On the way in, the boat was half-full. The seating proximity sparked many inter-traveler conversations. We had a great talk with a couple from Vermont who were day hiking on Santa Cruz. Most of the tourists disembarked at Santa Cruz leaving about 20 travelers on their way to Santa Rosa. The four remaining tourists, us included, were a distinct minority. The other passengers were archeologists, ecological researchers and Park Service workers.
Dotting the coasts of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa were sea kayakers weaving their way through the beckoning sea caves and hearty surfers riding the seemingly endless perfect waves. We watched one surfer ride the curl for over a minute.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (1/5)
We are talking about islands in the Pacific Ocean, the nearest being about 12 miles from the mainland. The NPS website advertises two boat concessionaires: Island Packers in Ventura and Truth Aquatics in Santa Barbara.
The Island Packers boat service is by far your best way onto the Islands unless you have a boat. In July, Island Packers runs 97 trips to the Anacapa or Santa Cruz. Truth Aquatics is more geared towards scuba diving and snorkeling trips and runs only two trips onto any of the Islands in July.
Trips onto Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Barbara are much more sporadic. Consult Island Packers outer islands schedule.
The Channel Islands NPS Visitor Center and the Island Packers main office are both located in Ventura Harbor on Spinnaker Drive. The NPS VC is at 1867 Spinnaker and Island Packers is at 1691 Spinnaker. The NPS directions to Spinnaker Drive are here.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
The Channel Islands NPS Visitor Center is a pleasant place. The multiple story building has a top floor balcony that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day, and when is it not a clear day in Ventura, you can see the Channel Islands looming in the distance. The bookstore inside will not get you any closer to the Islands but it will provide you with plenty of reading material.
The store sells the Islands’ most famous representation, Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins (about Santa Barbara) and the sequel, Zia. There are dozens of Channel Islands specific books including: Cowboy Island: Story of a Ranching Legacy (about Santa Rosa); Diary of a Sea Captain’s Wife (about Santa Cruz); The Legendary King of San Miguel; and Water Soaked and Covered with Barnacles (about Anacapa).
The store sells hiking books, topographic hiking maps, navigational charts, Chumash Indian books and more titles about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo than the Cabrillo NMEM in San Diego. The plastic whales on display behind the checkout space tempted us but we were strong.
Once you leave the mainland, you are on your own. The Island Packers boat sells snacks but there are no services on the Islands. Be prepared.
COSTS (1/5)The Pacific Ocean kind of island isolation does not come cheap. Here are the Island Packers rates for each island, daytrip rate and camping rate. Anacapa - $42 day, $54 overnight; Santa Cruz - $46 day, $60 overnight; Santa Rosa - $62 day, $85 overnight; San Miguel - $70 day, $102 overnight; Santa Barbara - $56 day; $85 overnight. The more you pay, the greater the isolation but the more rugged the experience.
If you plan to stay the night, there is an additional $10 per night NPS campsite charge.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
NPS Rangers live (year round?) on all of the Channel Islands. We found that they appear on Santa Rosa when you least expect. One morning, a volunteer appeared out of nowhere and asked how our stay had been. After a brief conversation, he left and returned, we assume, to the Ranger living quarters. That’s a four-mile round trip hike just to see how we were!
After a long hike, we returned to the campground to find a backhoe. Weird, but there must be an explanation. Soon a Ranger drove into the campground in a pick-up truck filled with bags of concrete. “Uh, hello,” we mustered. “How has your trip been? Anything I can do for you?” “What are you guys doing here?” “Oh, we are putting in a new bathroom with flush toilets and showers. It should be ready in about a week.”
When the bathroom remodeling is done, the Santa Rosa campground will be close to luxurious. Last year, the Rangers installed wooden barriers that protect your tent from the vicious winds. The barriers include capacious bear boxes to protect your food. There are no bears on the Islands. The most ferocious animal you will find is a field mouse.
TOURS/CLASSES (6/10)
Pick up a copy of Island Views, the Channel Islands NP newspaper. It is the most comprehensive and helpful free National Park publication. The paper has 24 pages stocked with every practical thing you need to know about you visit.
Two pages are dedicated to each specific Island. On those pages you will find bullet lists explaining Things to Do and Island Facts, a hiking information spreadsheet and an Island map. The newspaper forgets nothing and serves as an example of a perfect National Park newspaper.
We did not encounter any Ranger tours on Santa Rosa Island, but we were two of only four tourists there. The Mainland VC has an interesting living tidepool exhibit that includes a life-sized elephant seal replica. The Mainland VC also offers a real time interactive Ranger-led dive. A Ranger dives off Anacapa Island with a video camera. The images are immediately relayed back to the VC auditorium TV monitors. We did not witness this lesson but it sounds fascinating and a lot warmer than diving off Anacapa.
On your boat ride to and from the Islands, the Island Packers boat captain points out wildlife, tells stories of the Channel Islands and points out the best surf spots. We wished he could have pointed out a whale but we came at the wrong time.
FUN (9/10)We loved our time on Santa Rosa. It was the perfect Island for us. Long hikes, tidepools, isolation, beaches, few rodents, lots of birds and ancient Torrey Pines. The best part of the Channel Islands is that all five Islands are so different. So study the NPS newspaper, pick out the destination that fits you the best, and pray for good weather. We were lucky and avoided Santa Rosa’s infamous gusty winds. If you are camping on Santa Rosa, bring a few good books.
The Island you visit will determine your options and ultimately your fun. Know yourself and plan well. Once you get out here, you are all alone.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (7/10)
The idea of the Channel Islands is a lot more rugged than the reality. It sounds hardcore to everyone who has not been here…and so few people have been here. Still, there are a lot easier (and cheaper) ways to get away from it all.
Some publications have dubbed the Channels the ‘American Galapagos’. There are a few endemic species and mutated species (the Island jay and the Island fox) but if you are looking for swimming sea lizards and giant tortoises, you will be disappointed.
TOTAL 54/80
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