Channel Islands National Park Santa Cruz Island

Channel Islands National Park provides numerous recreational opportunities from camping, hiking, kayaking, wildlife or even just beach lounging. But to see this unique National Park, it will take some planning and some cash. Channel Islands National Park encompasses five islands and their surrounding one mile of the ocean. There are no services or shops on the islands, so everything you need must be brought by you. Each island is a bit different and requires the range of one day to several days to see everything. The Island Transportation visits certain islands on certain days so you will need to plan your trip based on their schedule or just go where they are going if you are stuck with specific dates. If you plan to stay overnight, you will need to make a reservation for the campsites you want before purchasing tickets for the boat.

Channel Islands National Park has a mainland site, the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center in Ventura. The visitor center features a bookstore, a display of marine aquatic life, and exhibits featuring the unique character of each park island. Visitors can also watch a 25-minute park movie available upon request.

Scorpion Anchorage The boat dumps you here, at the historic ranch and visitors center. You can walk around exploring but you should have enough time, even on a day tour, to do the Cavern Point Loop.

Cavern Point Loop 2 miles, great coastal vistas, loop starts at visitors center at Scorpion and loops around to the campground near site #22. This is the best hike if you are slow or short on time. From Cavern Point, you can also follow the North Bluff Trail to Potato Harbor.

Potato Harbor 5 miles round-trip, great coastal views at sunset when the rest of Scorpion is facing the wrong direction.

Scorpion Canyon Loop 4.5 miles, this is a interior loop with visits to the old oil well. You can combine this when you visit Smugglers Cove since the Cove trail leaves about mid-way on the loop.

Smugglers Cove 7.5 miles RT, hiking Smugglers Road to Smugglers Cove is very scenic and ends you on a beautiful beach.

Montanon Ridge 8 miles round-trip, for those who love hiking, this trail takes you to the high ridge of this half of the island. From the trail highpoint, a minor trail follows the highest ridge to the National Park highpoint.

Channel Islands National Park - Santa Cruz Island