Channel Islands National Park has beautiful views, incredible hiking trails, and more! On your next visit to Santa Barbara, take a day to explore Channel Islands and embrace the nature available to you!
What is Channel Islands National Park?
Channel Islands National Park is a national park composed of five smaller islands. While there are eight Channel Islands total, there are 5 that make up the national park. These five islands are:
- Anacapa Island
- Santa Cruz Island
- San Miguel Island
- Santa Barbara Island
- Santa Rosa Island
Each of these islands has wonderful activities to offer. You can easily spend a day exploring the islands!
What can I do at Channel Islands?
There are so many incredible activities at Channel Islands National Park! You can see a full list of activities here, but we’re going to focus on some of the most popular activities. Explore by land or by sea when you spend the day on the islands!
Hiking
Each island offers incredible hiking opportunities. Anacapa Island’s hiking trail is an easy trail that leads you to coastal views and the last lighthouse built on the West coast. Santa Cruz Island also has easier hiking trails, so they’re fun for the less experienced hikers.
If you’re a more experienced hiker, check out the trails on Santa Barbara Island and San Miguel Island.
Santa Rosa Island has both flat and mountainous trails so you can hike according to how you’re feeling that day.
Whichever hiking trails you choose, you’ll be able to see beautiful views and explore the nature of the national park.
Kayaking
Kayaking through the sea caves is one of the most popular activities at the Channel Islands. This is an incredible opportunity that will give you access to some of the most incredible sights in California. On the Santa Cruz Island sea cave tour, you’ll explore sea caves that are widely known to be some of the most beautiful in the world!
You can also kayak around the coves without venturing into the caves, if you don’t want to be in the caves themselves. This will still get you incredible views of the islands and the water, and you’ll appreciate their beauty even more from the sea!
…and more!
Other water-based island activities you can do are: scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, boating, fishing, and more.
Some of the other land-based activities are: backpacking; whale, seal, bird, and sea lion watching; viewing wildflowers; picnicking; and taking part in some of the specialized series where you can learn more about the islands.
Hours and location
Channel Islands National Park is located at:
1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001
Channel Islands park is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round
Will you be visiting Channel Islands on your next trip?
Let us know! And during your next trip to Santa Barbara, stay at Marina Beach Motel! We’re only 37 steps from the beach, so you can follow up your trip to the Islands with a nice relaxing day on the beach. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest in Santa Barbara.
