Channel Islands National Park
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In the midst of the pandemic when new experiences seemed inaccessible, we discovered Channel Islands National Park. And to not share that with fellow Californians (and beyond) seemed criminal, so here I am typing away. As self-professed National Park fiends, it’s lucky we ended up in California, the state with the most number of national parks totaling at 9. The Channel Islands are not nearly as popular as some of the other parks, but after having been now, I’m lost for reasons why. It’s so unique is so many ways, primarily for the chance to experience marine wildlife up close in our own backyard. By the end of this blog post, I hope I can convince you to go visit this amazing NP!
Back in October when we cancelled our intended trip to Hawaii for the 3rd time since March, a spontaneous roadtrip to Southern California seemed like the closest feasible replacement. Settling on Ojai as the final destination for sentimental reasons (it was the first ever trip Kushal and I ever made as a couple 10 years ago!), we mapped a fun drive through places we had always wanted to visit together but never gotten around to like Salinas, Solvang, Ventura and The Channel Islands, tucked Brio into the backseat and set off. It ended up being exactly the low-key mindful break we needed after a long period of burnout. Ojai was the most special walk down memory lane and the new memories we made along the way and back will always go down in the books as the first time we traveled with our pup. Someday, I’ll get around to writing about the entire route, but for now, The Channel Islands is a start.
How to get there
Off the coast of the sleepy surf town that is Ventura in Ventura County, the islands are only accessible by water transportation or private planes. The most convenient way to get there is through Island Packers, an operator of affordable scheduled ferry services from Ventura and Oxnard Harbors to all five islands. TL;DR- I could not recommend them enough! Little did we know that we were not only paying for a safe commute to Santa Cruz Island, but an entire marine wildlife watching cruise. The informed ferry staff went out of their way to locate the rich wildlife populating the route through the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary at no extra cost and boy, was there wildlife to see! Our Ventura Harbor -> Santa Cruz boat ride showed us pods upon pods of playful dolphins (10,000 in total as per the Captain’s guesstimate!), a majestic humpback whale and lots of seals and birds. It could not have been a more magical day, and we had Island Packers to thank for it. 💯
What it is
This National Park comprises a chain of five islands- Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara, and San Miguel- that are part of a larger 8-island archipelago. All islands are untouched by any commercial interests, so much so that the island we visited, Santa Cruz, did not even have a trash can! As the park ranger explained upon landing, the islands are fiercely protected and preserved as the home of endemic plant and animal life found nowhere else in the entire world(!), like the fascinating island fox, island scrub jay and atleast 8 different plant species. From what we could tell, the efforts so far to keep this paradise undisturbed have been very successful. 🙌🏽 It follows from this that no hotels or businesses exist on the islands, although overnight camping is possible during clement weather on campgrounds. There is also a full-service sailing expedition if a multiple-day stay is desired via Santa Barbara Sailing. Food, water and other camping necessities have to be carried from the mainland and all waste is to be carried back there, leaving nothing but footprints behind. ❤️
What to do on Santa Cruz Island
An easy day-trip destination from Ventura Harbor, Santa Cruz is a mere dolphin-sightings-filled 2h ferry ride away and only beat by Anacapa in proximity. If planning a weekend visit, be sure to reserve ferry tickets in advance- we had a 2 day itinerary on our wishlist to see both Anacapa and Santa Cruz, but our spontaneity allowed for only enough luck for ferry tickets to Santa Cruz. The largest Channel Island in California, Santa Cruz is home to a rich tapestry of flora, fauna and wildlife including the exotic island fox and island scrub jays. To preserve and protect the the unique environment, 76% of the island belongs to The Nature Conservancy and the remaining 23% to the National Park Services. Depending on the amount of time available, several activities can be enjoyed on this 23% - picnicking, hiking, kayaking, fishing and bird/wildlife viewing to name just a few.
We chose to hike the Pelican Bay Trail mostly out of necessity. Scorpion Anchorage, the more popular harbor for its higher access to trails and campgrounds, was closed for construction when we visited and we landed instead at Prisoners Harbor, from where this trail was the only one that fit in our time window. If we had more time or if we had landed at Scorpion Anchorage, we’d have loved to kayak and/or snorkel. Kayaking is considered the best way to explore the island with access to the famous Painted Caves, and the calmer waters at Scorpion Beach are prime for snorkelers and divers to explore the rich kelp forests that lie underneath. Although we did see plenty of water activities launching off of Prisoners Beach, our amateur selves deemed it wise to abstain given that there are no lifeguards on the island.
The Pelican Bay Trail is a 4.2 mile long roundtrip with sometimes steep and strenuous hill climbs, insanely scenic views and a picturesque end at Tinker Beach. The trail is normally open only to guided group hikes, but has been opened to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a muddy ~1.5h hike, the secluded cobblestoned cove that is Tinker Beach was a cool, refreshing respite to have a picnic lunch at. Be warned that it isn’t the most foot-friendly beach, though- the combination of wobbly cobblestones and Pelican Bay’s choppy waves had me content to sunbathe on a steady rock most of the time! We made it comfortably back in time to Prisoners Beach for our evening ferry, upon which we expectedly recounted the day’s adventure all the way back. 🙏🏽
If you read all the way through… you want to go here, I can tell! 😉 I hope this post inspires you to travel to this hidden gem of a national park. Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!
XO Sushmitha :)
