It is also called the Galapagos of North America, but it is a lot more affordable and a lot closer. Take an adventure to Channel Islands National Park, an island chain conveniently located off California’s central coast.
A rustic island adventure
The five islands are located off the central coast of California, in the Santa Barbara Channel Channel Islands National Park.
Today, the ancestral home of the Chumash tribe is a never-evolved tribute to the way California used to be and is visited by more than 300,000 travelers every year.
The most visited island is one of the closest, Anacapa Island. The others nearby are Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Rosa. The most remote, almost off the coast of Los Angeles, is Santa Barbara Island.
Each island is very rustic. Think of no public toilets and no water. There is enough seawater that visitors cannot drink. However, there is no drinking water and all water needed for drinking must be brought to the islands by boat.
This makes camping quite limited. While studying in Santa Barbara as a Channel Islands volunteer, I was able to experience firsthand the rugged beauty of the islands after dark. As soon as the lights go out at the campsite, the rats start running, because on some islands they have no natural enemies.
I took a boat to Santa Cruz, landed at Scorpion Cove, explored the small National Park Service residential village, and explored half the island on foot. Only half of the island is open to the public, as the other half is privately owned by the Nature Conservancy and is not officially part of the park.
I’ve also been to Santa Barbara Island, the furthest island and rarely visited by non-National Park Service personnel, and it’s quite an overnight camping adventure.
How do you get to the islands?
There is only one way to reach the islands, and that is via an Island Packers charter. They are the only company authorized to take travelers to the islands.
Boats to Anacapa Island, the most popular island visited by travelers, depart from Oxnard Harbor in Oxnard, California.
Meanwhile, boats to the other islands leave from Ventura Harbor in nearby Ventura, California.
Both ports offer day trips to the islands and travelers are urged to bring everything they need for the trip. There are no convenience stores or restaurants on the islands.
More information about boat schedules and reservations is available at islandpackers.com. Travelers should be aware that weather in the Channel and islands is unpredictable and boats can be canceled with little notice.
Channel Islands for landlubbers
For those who prefer to stay on land to explore more about the islands, Channel Islands National Park has the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, where I volunteered during college.
There are numerous marine life exhibits on and around the islands, along with exhibits on each island and a bookshop full of information.
They also offer the Channel Islands National Park Junior Ranger Program, where young people have a activity book across the islands and then officially sworn in as an official Junior Ranger.
Children who complete the program can receive an official Junior Ranger collector’s badge from the Channel Islands National Park and can even purchase a matching patch.
The Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center is located at 1901 Spinnaker Dr, Ventura, CA 93001 and is open to tourists daily from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. There is no charge to visit the visitor center.
