We opted to travel to Santa Cruz Island and land at Scorpion Anchorage (there are two other harbors on the island). We opted for the five mile long Potato Harbor Overlook trail which starts at sea level and then rises to the cliffs for beautiful vistas. There are strict limits on how much gear you can take, and they did weigh everything before we boarded to check. Most of the inner island is dry and hot. Campground camping. This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. Once you have figured out the above details, the rest of the paddle should be pretty standard. As interesting as it was to see, the fields of wildflowers stole the show for us!

Search Channel Islands flights on KAYAK. It's worth preparing for the hoist before you depart on this trip. 805-884-9283 Touring kayaks are kept on the island at Scorpion Anchorage so you do not need to reserve transport for kayaks when taking a guided tour. It’s an incredibly peaceful walk surrounded by birds and the ocean tide as you dry off in the sun. As mentioned before, it is definitely possible to paddle to the Prisoners Cove landing and hike to the Del Norte Campground - but it would likely be too tiring for all but the most accomplished kayak teams. The rocky outcrop is a protected area for wildlife, so although we stepped onto the sandbar, we didn't cross it to the other side.
Some of the links on this site may be affiliate links for other companies for which we earn from qualifying purchases. Members who are knowledgeable about this destination and volunteer their time to answer travelers' questions. The best kayaking (in my opinion) is along the North side of the island - and the scenery is fantastic. The campground at Scorpion Cove is a short walk, and like the Santa Rosa Campground, it has potable water. The day we opted to travel to Anacapa from Santa Cruz, the water was glassy. Camping fees are required for each island campground. The journey across the channel will be a memorable one but it isn't to be taken lightly. I’ll admit the caves were a bit intimidating, so I appreciated that our guide made paddling through them optional. This will leave you with a MUCH shorter walk to the campground. Our tiny 2-person (well, so Diana claims - I think it's a 1-person) tent is quick to erect, and within no time at all we had the tent set up and water boiling on the stove for a cup of tea! They seemingly have no fear of people at all, and will sniff around looking for food within feet of you.

A note about hiking in the Channel Islands. The price shown for each flight will be the average for all passengers, including any infants. On the South Side of the island, the water was glass.

Lovely post and beautiful photos. In fact, when we made our reservation, we couldn't find a site available for 2 nights when we wanted to visit. I responded to this request mostly because I'd hate to hear a story about another visitor attempting a very difficult paddle without the proper experience and equipment getting rescued by the Coast Guard (or worse!). As I previously mentioned, there are three main activities on the island: sea kayaking, snorkeling and hiking. Any of these are a nice option, especially when the goal is a clean and comfortable bed after a day full of fresh air and exercise. In fact, roughly 7 miles of ocean around the Park make up the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. Once we got into "vacation mode," this site became very appealing. We had the good fortunate to see three of these island fox on the day of our visit. If you enjoyed this blog post and still want to learn more, visit our dedicated Channel Islands National Park page with a map and links to lots more useful resources!

Fortunately, we checked later and none were poisonous, but the overgrown trail wasn't particularly fun to hike. Also, heading to Oxnard may be more favorable, depending on the direction of the wind and seas. Depending on your experience level, that might be a while.

Another option is to make your reservations on the fly.

Despite their proximity to the densely populated area of Southern California, their remoteness has helped to keep them relatively undeveloped - almost. The trip to Oxnard is only 12.6 miles (also as the crow files). The most famous of these is the Island Fox - the smallest canine in California - which nearly became extinct in the 1990s but whose population has rebounded thanks to conservation efforts. The islands aren't going anywhere so take your time in preparing. Several companies offer tours from either the Oxnard or Ventura Harbors. Whale watching, snorkeling and diving are options as well. We even managed to find a helmet that a previous visitor had attached a GoPro mount to. Explore books, maps and guides to the Channel Islands National Park. No fees, paperwork, or headaches.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. You will need to pay for transportation to and from any of the islands. All equipment and food must be brought over by boat and then carried to the campsite. Since we were kayaking before September 16th, we were only allowed to beach camp in the area between Johnson's Lee and East Point. We did 2 of the 3 hikes (Cardwell and Harris Points). Instead, land here: N 33.99447 W 120.04153. In fact, there are six species of Island Fox in the Channel Islands - each unique to the island it lives on (2 islands have no foxes). Santa Cruz Island is the largest and most accessible island (and the launching point of your sea kayaking trip) while Anacapa Island, Santa Rosa Island, San Miguel Island and Santa Barbara Island make up the rest of the National Park. Overall, Channel Islands is an incredibly underrated, relatively unknown National Park. I drew the green and blue routes in by hand using Photoshop. Whilst the Robert J Lagomarsino Visitor Center is located on the California mainland, the islands themselves are accessible only by boat (or plane) - either operated by the Park or privately run.
Kayaking, hiking, dolphin spotting and magical sunsets abound at these isolated and undeveloped islands just a short boat ride from Los Angeles. Our goal is to explore, not just visit, every single National Park Unit in the US. I'm in the process of planning a 3-day weekend trip to the Channel Islands. Next, be prepared to bring all the food and water needed for the length of your trip since you’ll find no concessionaires in the park. Copyright © 2020 Adventurous Way LLC.All rights reserved. We have all our backpacking gear in our RV, so we packed up as though we were going backpacking - our tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, fuel stove, etc. I doubt we would have gone much further into the cave with our kayak!

It's about 27 miles of paddling from the Santa Rosa Campground in Becher's Bay. Thank you so much for your thorough reply. On the day we went out via Island Packers, the seas between Ventura and Santa Cruz were choppy with 4 ft wind waves. Unfortunately, the weather was not good for kayaking past Harris Point. This was truly a great experience getting to camp here. Sea kayaking, primarily through sea caves, has always been on my bucket list. We would have liked to stay for an extra day to do the Point Bennett hike, but we finally got a break in the weather after 4 days, and decided to head for Santa Rosa. Santa Cruz Island and the main thoroughfare of Channel Islands known as Scorpion Anchorage naturally contains countless caves and openings around the outer cliffs along the water. The best source for kayaking information (other than this report) is the National Parks Page of Kayaking the Channel Islands. This was our first time kayaking in a National Marine Sanctuary, and the abundance of marine life was impressive. We even went through some tunnels with our double 22' kayak. Boondocking in beautiful remote places as we often do, we're no strangers to incredible sunsets. Very informative. I suspect that this crossing is also the most likely to be calm because Santa Cruz Island creates a significant lee unlike some of the smaller islands. No camping is allowed here.

Channel Islands National Park is comprised of, Either before or after your day on the island, be sure to check-out the, While Jason and I enjoyed everything about our visit to Santa Cruz Island, the highlight was definitely the sea cave kayaking tour with, I’ve been fortunate to go kayaking in California many times, but it’s never been as enjoyable as in the Channel Islands. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. The reason for this is the higher transmission power available to these types of phones. Channel Islands National Parkis the only National Park in California that we have nev… Finally, make sure to check out these videos on YouTube, and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel to be notified when we publish new videos! Trust me, leaning away from where your pushing puts too much pressure on the opposite side of the kayak and you will tip into the ocean. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Traveling from Santa Cruz to Anacapa might be the most popular crossing (of the four possible crossings being San Miguel to Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz to Anacapa, and Anacapa to mainland). From here it was a short paddle back to Scorpion Anchorage to land the kayaks and get changed. In case camping isn’t your style (as it normally isn’t mine), then there are plenty of Channel Islands hotels to choose from. Bring your own snorkeling gear to Santa Cruz. From talking to the volunteer, it sounds like you just need to let them know where you will be hiking so you don't accidentally become a target. The Western 75% of Santa Cruz Island is owned by the Nature Conservancy, and they do not open camping on any of this land to the public. Travel tip: I did experience some sea sickness on the ride to the island, so consider bringing Seabands, Bonine, or both. We opted to unload the hatches before pulling out boat out of the water. It’s recommended that reservations be made a few months in advance and can be made at Recreation.gov. Over time these islands were home to U.S. military bases as well as sheep and cattle ranches. Listen to the folks on r/Kayaking! email

This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. One note about the water situation - San Miguel and Anacapa supposedly don't have water. As our guides informed us, kelp is edible (and is considered by some to be a superfood). Depending on the weather, you may even see whales in the water below. It wasn't too far - another 5 minutes or so - but just bear that in mind when you're packing. We’re not the seller. I suggest you check your weather radio before you decide whether to go South or North. Over the next five decades, through a number of successful conservation efforts, the health of this land has significantly improved.