It’s been called the Galapagos of North America, but it’s a lot more affordable and a heck of a lot closer. Take an adventure to Channel Islands National Park, an island chain located conveniently off the Central Coast of California.
A Rustic Island Adventure
Off the Central Coast of California, in the Santa Barbara Channel, are the five islands of Channel Islands National Park.
The ancestral home of the Chumash tribe, today they are a never developed tribute to the way California used to be and visited by more than 300,000 travelers each and 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, practically off the coast of Los Angeles, is Santa Barbara island.
Each island is very rustic. Think no public bathrooms and also no water. Well, there is plenty of seawater visitors can’t drink. However, there is no potable water and any water needed for drinking purposes needs to be brought to the islands by boat.
Because of this, camping is pretty limited. As a volunteer at Channel Islands when I was in college in Santa Barbara, I got to experience the rugged beauty of the islands after dark firsthand. Once the lights go out at the campsite, the rats start scurrying since they don’t have natural predators on some of the islands.
I’ve been to Santa Cruz by boat, landing at Scorpion Cove, exploring the small National Park Service housing village and exploring half the island by foot. Only half of the island is available to the public because 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 farthest one away and rarely visited by non-National Park Service staff and it’s quite an overnight camping adventure.
How to Get To The Islands
There is only one way to get to the islands, and that is by 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, leave from Oxnard Harbor in Oxnard, California.
Meanwhile, boats to the other islands depart from Ventura Harbor in nearby Ventura, California.
Both harbors 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 on boat schedules and reservations is available at islandpackers.com. Travelers should know that the weather is unpredictable in the channel and on the islands and boats can be cancelled 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 while in college.
There are plenty of displays of sea life that can be found on and around the islands along with exhibits about each island and a bookstore full of information.
They also offer the Channel Islands National Park Junior Ranger program where young ones can complete an activity book about the islands and then get officially sworn in as an official Junior Ranger.
Children completing the program can receive an official Junior Ranger collectable badge from Channel Islands National Park and can even purchase an accompanying patch.
The Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center is located at 1901 Spinnaker Dr, Ventura, CA 93001 and is open for tourists to visit daily from 8:30am to 5:00pm. There is no charge to visit the visitors center.