favorite itinerary: visiting channel islands national park
kiddo hikes to potato harbor on santa cruz island
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visiting channel islands national park was like a dream come true! of the nine california national parks, i definitely assumed visiting channel islands would come last. alas, life has its way of changing plans, and we were able to make a trip to channel islands national park the first stop on our unexpected coast to coast road trip.
indigenous land
the channel islands are the indigenous homeland of the Chumash. Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, an island descendant, shares a Chumash creation story:
"Saxipaka, once upon a time, here on this beautiful island that we call Limuw, meaning "in the sea", we know it today as santa cruz island. Mother Earth, Hutash, was out here. and as she had created many things here on the island, she thought something was missing. so she went to a very special plant, and she gathered some magic seeds. and she threw the seeds out into the earth, here on the island. and pretty soon, up from the ground, up from this beautiful earth, grew these beautiful people. she gave them many gifts here, and showed them how to live happily on this island. well, her husband, Suyapo'osh, the sky snake, today we know him as the milky way, he wanted to give the people a gift too, so he gave the gift of fire by shooting a bolt of lightning to the ground. well, the fires burned hot, and they kept warm with these fires, and they cooked their food. the villages started to grow and grow and be populated with more and more children. pretty soon, with all the noise from these children, Hutash was annoyed. and she decided that it was time for these people to move on, and to move to another place. so she said to herself, I've got to think of some place to put these people, a different place where they can spread out and be very happy. well the next morning she gathered all the people up to a very high, high mountain, Siwot, or as we know it today, mount diablo. and as she told the people to look, and as they looked up into the sky across the ocean, they saw a beautiful, beautiful rainbow, Wishtoyo, and she told them that image was a rainbow bridge. and the rainbow bridge was going to take them to a new land that was very large, and they could fill that with people. well, as the people started to climb over the bridge and cross over, many became very dizzy and very frightened, because there was a mist and a fog below - they couldn't even see the ocean. well, as they started falling off, crying to Hutash for help, she took pity, and she changed them and transformed them into dolphins, and that is what we call our brothers and sisters today of the ocean, Alolk'oy. those people who crossed over on the bridge went to a place called Ts'ismuhu, "where it steams out." today we know that place as carpinteria. and the people came off that rainbow bridge and spread out into all these beautiful places on our mainland. and that is all."
two dolphins jumping out of the water in the santa barbara channel
channel islands national park is made up of five islands. the largest, easiest to get to, and thus most frequently visited is santa cruz island. because we visited during winter, santa cruz island was our only option due to limited ferry runs. ferries to the island are hosted exclusively by island packers. the winter ferry left the ventura dock at 9am, arriving on santa cruz island by 10:30am. the only ferry back to ventura departed santa cruz island at 3:30pm. so, we had a total of five hours on the island.
what to bring to channel islands national park
importantly, there are no concessions on the island - no food options or gift shop. you’ll want to bring all the food you’ll need for the day with you. i packed lunch and some extra snacks in my daypack here. there is water available at the campgrounds, but many of the hikes get quite a distance from the campgrounds, so be sure you fill up with all the water you’ll need before hitting the trails. i brought a 32 oz. water bottle and kiddo had his camelpak here. if you end up forgetting anything or want some extras, you can purchase some items on board the ferry before you disembark.
a note: kayaking channel islands
we would have loved to do kayaking at channel islands national park! because of the ferry schedule, and availability of kayak tours, this is the only activity we would have had time for if we signed up. we really wanted to do some channel islands hikes and have the opportunity to explore on land, so we opted out. having been on the island, i’m glad for this decision, but if we had an extra day i would absolutely do a kayaking tour of channel islands!
a note: camping at channel islands national park
there is one primitive campground on each of the five channel islands! all have pit toilets and picnic tables but only santa cruz and santa rosa islands have potable water. all campgrounds are located away from the boat launch, so you must essentially backpack in with your gear. we checked out the santa cruz island campground up close (and the anacapa campground from afar), and i am very eager to return to camp someday!
and with that, here’s our itinerary for one day on santa cruz island.
standing in front of the channel islands national park sign at the boat launch
one day at channel islands national park: santa cruz island itinery
channel islands visitor center
it’s important to note that the channel islands visitor center is located on the mainland, near the ferry dock in ventura. there are ranger outposts at each of the five islands, but none are places where anything can be purchased - or even where there is a ranger posted. because you need to check in at the ferry before the visitor center opens and then return right around when it closes, it’s best if you can swing by the channel islands visitor center the day prior to your island excursion. we lucked out and our santa cruz island ferry got back just after 4:30pm and were able to hustle over to the visitor center (it’s down the road from the dock). we were able to explore the channel islands visitor center a bit and make purchases just before closing. however, because the ferry stops for animal sightings (yay!), your ride could last up to two hours and you could miss open hours altogether.
island packers ferry ride to channel islands
view from the channel islands ferry
board the morning ferry to santa cruz island! since we visited in winter, there was only one ferry to any of the the islands the entire day - and it was to santa cruz. during busier seasons there will likely be more options. i’d absolutely recommend taking the earliest ferry possible, though.
the ride to santa cruz island is about an hour, but if you’re lucky it will take longer because the ferry stops for animal sightings. we were fortunate to have a couple grey whale sightings. our ride to santa cruz island took about 75 minutes.
note: if you get sea sick (i do!), sit outside at the back of the boat. i am very prone to motion sickness, and i did great sitting back here and not moving. you’re also closest to the bathrooms, should the need arise.
hiking channel islands: interpretive hike to cavern point
cavern point trail on santa cruz island
after we disembarked, we took the obligatory photos at the national park sign (there are actually two on island! keep reading to discover where the second is). we had a few minutes to use the restroom and collect ourselves before a guided interpretive hike with a channel islands naturalist. our guide, bart, has been visiting the islands for 15 years and was able to share some of the significant changes (good ones!) he’s witnessed over that time.
the interpretive hiking trail was the cavern point loop. during our leisurely (though uphill!) walk we learned about many of the over 150 channel islands endemic species, as well as the ranching history of santa cruz island. we hiked with the group to cavern point and then split off to do another hike on our own.
best hikes channel islands: potato harbor at santa cruz island
potato harbor at santa cruz island
we ate our sandwiches while making our way from cavern point to the potato harbor trail on santa cruz island. potato harbor is a five mile hike that takes you along the coastline, through stunning grasslands to an overlook above a beautiful cove. we were pretty enchanted with the whole hike. it’s relatively flat and brings near-constant sweeping views. we saw lots of evidence of the endemic island fox along the way, as well as many of the island’s endemic plant species. we took a snack break at the end point and took in all the beautiful views before heading back toward the boat launch. we’d definitely rate this as one of the best hikes on santa cruz island and one of the best hikes of channel islands, overall!
santa cruz island visitor center
we had a bit of time left after our hikes, so we went to explore the on-island visitor center. again, this visitor center isn’t the same as the typical national park visitor center with souvenirs, books, a ranger desk, etc. there was no ranger inside, at all, and nothing to purchase. it is more of a museum that highlights the chumash, the indigenous people of the islands, the ranching history, and the conservation efforts of various species. we especially loved learning about the chumash and the island fox.
santa cruz island beach play
finally, we headed to the beach to play a bit on shore. there’s actually another channel islands national park sign right on the beach! we saw lots of birds, a sea urchin, and a few playful sea lions! it was the perfect way to spend our last minutes at channel islands natural park.
channel islands ferry back to mainland
it’s time to depart santa cruz island! there was only one ferry to the island and one ferry back. our ride back to mainland was at 3:30pm. if you miss the boat, you have no option but to stay overnight. from what was repeated multiple times, this has happened before. however, they did have a list of expected passengers and waited until everyone on the list was on board. our return ferry was faster as we didn’t have any animal sightings (other than the silly sea lions while we were boarding). it ended up taking just about an hour to get back.
since we had enough time, we went straight to the channel islands visitor center in ventura after disembarking! also, for those doing the junior ranger program - we got our book from island packers in the morning and our channel islands naturalist had been deputized to give badges. so, on our ferry ride back he reviewed kiddo’s book, swore him in and presented his pin.
it was a long but thrilling day at channel islands national park! but, we had one more day to explore the area, so we went whale watching!
channel islands day 2: island packers whale watching
two dolphins in santa barbara channel
since we opted out of kayaking the channel islands, we decided to spend another day doing a whale watching tour. one of the benefits of visiting in winter is you can catch the grey whale migration! we used island packers again and did a half day excursion that took us out to anacapa island and back. we had seen grey whales the day prior, but on our tour we actually saw humpback whales! the crew said they hadn’t seen humpbacks a long time and we saw quite a few, so it was a big day! we also saw hundreds and hundreds of dolphins. they absolutely love surrounding the boat, so we got some pretty up close interaction with them which was a thrill! we really enjoyed our tour and highly recommend it!
important tip: be sure to bring sunscreen! even on a winter day, the water reflects the sun quite strongly. this is our favorite sunscreen that we bring on all our adventures. we love the mousse for easy application, but you can also get the lotion or the spray.
visiting channel islands national park was such an incredible adventure. we are so grateful we were able to make it happen and are hoping to return soon to try out camping on channel islands.
i hope this itinerary for one day at channel islands national park’s santa cruz island helps you plan your own adventure. let me know if you’ve visited and what else you’d add to this list! have a great time and go out wild at channel islands national park!
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