Channel Islands National Park – Santa Cruz Island
Little fact about me, I am a huge national park enthusiast and never pass up on an opportunity to check another park off of my list! A month ago, when my husband suggested that we fly into LA for a couple of days, I agreed as long as we could spend a day at Channel Islands National Park. After that was settled, I immediately started researching which island to see and how to get there.
Channel Islands National Park is comprised of five beautiful islands off the coast of Southern California. We settled on Santa Cruz Island, which offers day hiking options with epic cliff and beach views. The island is only about an hour ferry ride from Ventura, California, and is one of the closest to the mainland. This post will focus mainly on hiking, activities, and things you should know about Santa Cruz.
How to Get to Channel Islands National Park
Our trip started from Ventura, California. There is one option for getting to the islands, Island Packer Cruises. Their staff and crew were all trained naturalist and very willing to answer any questions we had about the wildlife or the island.
I have to give the Island Packers crew huge kudos. Leading up to our trip, we had been hearing on the news about stories of national parks being trashed and vandalized during the government shutdown. We were anxious about the experience that we would have at channel islands with the government shutdown but Island Packer Cruises has stepped it up, their staff voluntarily cleans us trash on the islands and maintains the restroom facilities without compensation during the shutdown. It was encouraging to see them care so much about our public lands. Way to go, Island Packers!
The ferry ride to the islands lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. We had several dolphin sightings as well as many different bird species. Whale sightings are also common in this area, but none were seen on our trip.
Hiking
We arrived at Scorpion Anchorage about 10:15 AM. Which gave us a little less than 5 hours for hiking.
From the beach, we hiked to Cavern Point and then to Potato Harbor via the North Bluffs Trail. The round trip to Potato Harbor was about 5 miles. Views from the trail were breathtaking. This trip took us about 4 hours with lunch and plenty of photography stops. We could have done it in probably half the time with fewer stops.
Even though our ferry ride to the islands was full of hikers, as soon as we landed on the island, everyone dispersed. We felt as if we had the whole island to ourselves for most of the day, it was wonderful.
If you are a more serious hiker and wish to do more, I would suggest hiking Scorpion Canyon (either part or the whole loop). Just keep and eye on the time so that you don’t miss your ride.
Plan on spending some time at one of the campgrounds to spot the island fox. The foxes are plentiful on the island and are at the top of the food chain on Santa Cruz. These little creatures are not scared of humans and you can get fairly close to them.
We made it back to the beach/pier by 2:30 PM, about an hour before our ferry left Santa Cruz and passed the time by sitting on the beach and taking in these views. What a relaxing end to our day.
Simply put, Channel Islands blew our expectations out of the water! It surprises me that this stunning national park is so close to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country and is one of the least visited national parks. We cannot wait for our next trip to Channel Islands.
Things to know:
- There is no food available on the island, so bring a picnic lunch for your hike.
- There is well drinking water available on the island. But make sure you bring a refillable water bottle.
- Restrooms are available on the island.
- Keep an eye on the time, if you are not back in time for your ferry departure, you may end up staying a night on the island. So bring a watch or keep your cell phone charged!
- If your traveling in the winter, bring layers. The ferry ride to the island can be quite chilly.
- Watch out for the ravens, they are aggressive and are known for flying away with anything shiny. So keep close to your day packs or you just may watch your car keys fly away.
More National Park Adventures:
- Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park
- The Ultimate Guide to Glacier National Park
- One Day in Badlands National Park
Save on Pinterest
