My Visit to Channel Islands National Park
Last week I visited Channel Islands National Park for the first time. I had a great time. This is a brief summary of my visit, and a little bit of information about the islands and the park.
The Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an eight-island chain located in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.
The Chumash Native Americans, and later the Tongva, lived on the Channel Islands as far back as 13,000 years ago. They were later displaced by the Spanish in the 1800s, who used the islands for fishing and agriculture.
The eight Channel Islands, listed in alphabetical order are:
Anacapa
San Clemente
San Miguel
San Nicolas
Santa Barbara
Santa Catalina
Santa Cruz
Santa Rosa
The most populated and most well known of the Channel Islands is Santa Catalina, typically referred to simply as Catalina. It is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian population. About 4,000 people live in Avalon, the island's only incorporated city. Catalina is a popular tourist destination. I have visited Avalon several times in the past.
Two of the islands, San Clemente Island and San Nicolas Island, are used by the US Navy as training grounds, weapons test sites, and strategic defensive locations.
Channel Islands National Park
The remaining five islands make up the Channel Islands National Park: Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa.
On April 26, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a proclamation designating Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands as Channel Islands National Monument. President Jimmy Carter signed, Public Law 96-199, on March 5, 1980, creating Channel Islands National Park.
Our group (with Road Scholar) visited Anacapa, and Santa Cruz Islands. We did day trips, hiking on each island. It is about a one and a half hour drive my home in Los Angeles to Ventura, California. And then a 1 hour boat ride from Ventura Harbor to the islands. When you are on the islands, you feel like you have been transported to different world.
Anacapa
Anacapa is the second smallest of the Channel Islands, at just over 1 square mile. It is made up of three islets: East, Middle, and West Anacapa. We visited East Anacapa. East Anacapa's most notable natural feature is Arch Rock, a 40-foot high natural bridge (shown in the photo at the top of the page). It is also the location of the Anacapa Island Lighthouse.
The weather was cool and a bit overcast. But, it was clear enough to see the beautiful views. One important consideration if you plan on visiting Anacapa, due to the steep cliffs, once ashore, you will have to climb 157 stairs to the top of the island (10 to 12 flights assuming 13 to 16 stairs per flight) This was probably the most difficult part of the hike that day.
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is the largest of the Channel Islands, at 96 square miles. It is California's largest island, almost three times the size of Manhattan.
It was a beautiful day when we visited. The views were amazing.
Santa Cruz has the greatest number of plant and animal species of all the Channel Islands, including over 60 endemic, or unique, species.
The Island Scrub-Jay is only found on Santa Cruz Island. We saw two of them during our visit.
We also saw an Island Fox, a small fox, which is endemic to 6 of the 8 Channel Islands.
More Information About The Park
If you are thinking about visiting, you should check out the NPS website.
Channel Islands National Park provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities and a delightful break from the congestion and clamor of urban life. However, since the park encompasses five islands and their surrounding one mile of the ocean, the decision of where to go, what to do, and how to do it can be challenging. So compiled within this "Planning Your Visit" section is detailed information to help you make sense of it all.
The video below is the The Official Film of Channel Islands National Park, narrated by Kevin Costner. This film is shown at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.
Update, 11/6/2024: If you want to see more photos of the islands, check out my slideshow video below.