Visiting Channel Islands National Park is a great one day experience. It’s unique, rugged landscape is well worth a visit!
Channel Islands National Park consists of a series of islands just off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura in Southern California.
Visiting Channel Islands National Park
Very cool dolphin experience!
| Location | Off the Coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara in Central California |
| How Long for a Visit? | 1 day for a good experience. 2 days (or more) if you want to explore other islands. |
| Worth a Visit? | Yes — well worth a day if you are in the area. |
| When We Visited | March 2020 |
We did the one day tour to Santa Cruz Island with the add-on Painted Cave tour. This was a really good overview of the Channel Islands with several very interesting experiences.
If (when) we go back, we will definitely try to get a tour to Anacapa Island. Based on our research, that looks like a really great place to spend a day. It has a beautiful lighthouse and is a small enough island you can really explore it well.
Highlights of Visiting Channel Islands National Park
The Channel Islands Dolphins
One of the great treats of our Channel Islands experience is definitely seeing hundreds of dolphins as we crossed the channel (both ways). We saw dolphins up close as they played in the wave created by the front of the boat. Then we saw dolphins in the distance as a feeding pod was just breaking up. And we saw dolphins near and far jumping out of the water.
The boat trips across the channel are not short, but they are evidence that sometimes the journey is the best part. We were thrilled by the dolphin experience and felt that the day would have been worth it just for that!
Painted Cave at Santa Cruz Island
We definitely recommend going on the Painted Cave tour. It is a beautiful natural wonder — the water is an amazing color and the walls of the cave are very colorful (as one would expect with the name “Painted Cave”).
We added on the Painted Cave excursion. The way that worked is that our boat pulled up to the pier at Prisoner’s Harbor and let everyone off that had not purchased the Painted Cave add-on. All of us that had purchased the add-on stayed on board. We took this opportunity to have an early lunch.
Once all the others had departed, the boat headed down the coast of Santa Cruz Island (another 9 miles or so I think they announced) to the Painted Cave. This was an interesting ride because the boat was just off shore the entire time and so we got a nice view of the rugged coastline.
The Painted Cave was a very interesting experience! From afar, it looked like a small gash in the island rocks. As we got closer we could see that it wasn’t just a small gash but a pretty large opening. The boat traveled right up into the mouth of the cave giving us an up-close look at the colorful walls and the squawking birds inside.
Just as we thought that we had a pretty good look and were probably going to turn around, the boat went into the cave a good bit more! We could almost touch the walls from where we were on the deck of the boat.
Apparently if you are in a kayak, you can actually go pretty far into the cave system beyond the mouth that we were in. For the truly adventurous, that could be a pretty neat way to see the cave as well.
Prisoner’s Harbor
When you arrive at Santa Cruz Island, you will be at the Prisoner’s Harbor pier. It is a cool wooden pier but getting off involves climbing up a ladder. Once on shore, there are some cool old buildings from the island’s previous life as a ranch. We particularly enjoyed our time looking at the amazing spectrum of beautiful colors of rocks all along the rocky beach.
Exploring the Rugged Channel Islands
There are some hikes that start out from Prisoner’s Harbor. Before heading out, you need to decide which way you want to go — National Parks or Conservancy.
A large portion of the island is not National Parks land but under the control of a private Conservancy. When you board the boat, they hand you a form to fill out if you want to explore the Conservancy land — it seemed like you had to be in a group with a Conservancy person leading.
We were worried our Painted Cave excursion would mess up getting on that tour so we elected to go our own way. Our hike went up a pretty steep service road with some great views of the coastline and interior valleys. We didn’t get too far along that road before we decided we had ascended high enough and it was time to head back down.
If we were to do it again, I think we would try to get on the Conservancy tour. It would have been interesting to have someone with intimate knowledge of the island showing us the cool things we were seeing and explaining some of the history of the island.
Need to Know
Access to Channel Islands National Park
Visiting Channel Islands National Park is only possible by boat (or plane but that’s not as common). We made reservations for our day trip ahead of time through the official Channel Islands vendor — Island Packers.
As mentioned above, getting off the boat at Santa Cruz Island involves climbing up a ladder to get on the pier. (Also when you leave you will climb back down that same ladder). If you have mobility concerns with climbing a ladder, you may want to check whether there are more accessible alternatives for your visit.
Food/Drinks
There are no services on land at the Channel Islands so any food or drink you want to enjoy must be brought in with you. There was limited drink and food service on board the Island Packers boat we were on but we didn’t get anything so we can’t say exactly what was available.
We went to Santa Cruz Island on our tour and there were quite a few picnic tables under cover of some very tall trees at the edge of the beach at Prisoner’s Harbor (where the boat lets you off). We had actually eaten our lunch on the boat while waiting for the add-on tour to Painted Cave but the picnic tables would have made a very nice lunch spot if we hadn’t eaten yet.
Restrooms
While there aren’t any services on land at the Channel Islands, there are restrooms. Our trip took us to Santa Cruz Island and there were restroom facilities right near the pier at Prisoner’s Harbor. Also, the boat we came on had restroom facilities as well.
Weather
We visited the Channel Islands in March. Our day included rain, clouds, sunshine, and wind which meant that we found ourselves cold during the boat rides and hot during our hike. Layered clothing is highly recommended so you can tailor your clothing for the weather and activity of the moment.
Links and Resources
Channel Islands National Park
The is the official information page for the National Park Service. It has comprehensive information about the National Park and is the best resource for planning a visit.
Island Packers
Island Packers is the official boat concessionaire (as of March 2020) that provides access to the Channel Islands. You definitely want to book ahead if possible. And check the schedule as you are planning your trip — not all trips go every day. If you want to do something specifically (like visit Anacapa), you need to make sure you are there on the day that tour runs.
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy owns and controls a large portion of Santa Cruz Island. You must follow their rules if you access any part of Santa Cruz Island within their control.