Some 12 miles off the California coast near Ventura, the rugged volcanic ridges that form the spine of Anacapa Island, or more precisely its three closely connected islets, thrust upward from the Pacific.
It’s an intimidating and austere environment, a cliff island, with only one small beach that can only be reached by boat and has barely a nod to any requirements to support habitation.
The 40-foot sea arch rock just offshore serves as both the symbol of the park and a guidepost on approach to East Anacapa.
Visitors ferried by Island Packers Cruises, the concessionaire in charge of transportation to the Channel Islands National Park, must climb a ladder to a series of cliffside staircases to mount the island. The transition from boat to ladder is aided by a small mechanical lift, with visitors timing their movement to match the sea swells.
Forty-foot-high Arch Rock and the light station are visible on approach to East Anacapa Island, CA on Monday, April 14, 2025. The natural bridge is a symbol of Anacapa and Channel Islands National Park. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ferry service to the island is dependent on tides and weather. Boats do not run to Anacapa every day; mostly, they drop off or pick up returning passengers in a single stop.
On days when tides permit, Island Packers runs extra trips to give visitors a chance to explore the island and return home the same day, but in terms of scheduling, those dates are few and need to be booked well in advance.
After landing on East Anacapa, the island’s 1932 lighthouse is nearby and the roundtrip to Inspiration Point on the west of the islet is an easy 1.5 miles. Other features along the figure-8 trail system include Pinniped Point, where California sea lions can be sighted, and Cathedral Cove which is noted for its beautiful rock formations.
Forty-foot-high Arch Rock is visible on approach to East Anacapa Island, CA on Monday, April 14, 2025. The natural bridge is a symbol of Anacapa and Channel Islands National Park. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
For campers, a primitive experience awaits. Campsites lie in a small valley and include a picnic table, food storage box, pit toilet and nothing else. Fires are not allowed.
On a recent visit, photographer Paul Bersebach and a friend found themselves two of the only three campers staying on the often fog-shrouded Anacapa, with gray and white Western gulls squawking to protect their nesting spots all over the island. While often noisy and in some cases camping out on food storage boxes, the birds weren’t aggressive.
Anacapa also is home to the largest brown pelican rookery in the United States. Park advisories note the island can be noisy and smelly depending on the bird nesting season, but wildflower displays can be vibrant. Anacapa has no food, services or water for visitors.
Visitors’ guide: Channel Islands National Park
California is home to some of the most stunning gems of the National Park system: Yosemite, Sequoia, Redwood and Joshua Tree national parks, to name a few. But one might argue any collection that speaks to the Golden State’s nature, must also represent the coast and, in the sparkling Pacific, the Channel Islands.
Established in 1980, Channel Islands National Park consists of five islands — Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel and more detached Santa Barbara — and the marine reserves which lie within 1 nautical mile of the group’s 175 miles of coastline. The archipelago was thrown up by tectonic collision of the Pacific and North American plates and is named for the deep trough that separates them from the mainland.
The view from Inspiration Point on East Anacapa Island. Anacapa Island is one of five islands that make up Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Ventura, CA and is composed of three islets: East, Middle and West. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Considering a visit, or just want to learn more?
Start with an easy trip to the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.
Off Highway 101 at Telephone Road in Ventura, roll past shopping and business centers to a bridge over railroad tracks where the route drops into a broad agricultural expanse.
A little further on, a right turn on to Olivas Park Drive leads to the South Jetty Beach, Island Packers Cruises and the visitor center. The center offers a visual and tactile display of all the islands have to offer.
Just inside the center’s doors, on the walls to the left, are screens with images from island webcams; straight ahead are fossil replicas and life-sized models of island fauna — including a massive elephant seal — all inviting closer examination; and to the right is a functional tidepool exhibit populated with an array of creatures, plus a bookshop.
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A whiteboard just to the right of the entrance displays tallies of marine mammal sightings: March 20, 20 gray whales and 1,500 common dolphins; March 21, 30 humpback whales, 18 gray whales, 3,600 common dolphins and 10 Risso’s dolphins. …
Entries for other days note high numbers of common dolphins as well as bottlenose dolphins. Collected by Island Packers and relayed to the Park Service, the numbers reflect the abundance of life in the channel.
The islands offer diverse opportunities for visitors and have a long history of human use and occupation. Besides Anacapa, here’s a brief look at what each offers:
Santa Cruz: At 96 square miles, Santa Cruz is the largest of the National Park group. Perhaps the most family friendly, it offers visitors a more hospitable stay with opportunities to hike, visit tidepools, camp and explore sea caves either by kayak or boat tour. Information about guided kayaking can be found at sbadventureco.com/adventures/channel-islands.
While the human presence on the islands by the Chumash Indians dates back some 13,000 years, Santa Cruz provided grazing for both cattle and sheep in more recent history. Visitors can explore some of that past at the Scorpion Ranch House, which was built in the 1880s.
Santa Rosa: Neighboring Santa Rosa is the park’s second-largest island and has a similar history of ranching and offers beach and backcountry camping, a coastal lagoon, tidepooling, rare Torrey pines, beach dunes and driftwood. Another attraction different from its neighbors, Santa Rosa’s Lobo Canyon is reported to feature spectacular sandstone cliffs, but the trek to the canyon is described by the Park Service as a strenuous 9.6-mile round-trip hike.
San Miguel: The westernmost of the group, San Miguel gets the most severe weather and its 28-mile coastline is surrounded by submerged rocks. The island was used by sheep ranchers for almost 100 years until the mid-1940s. The island was subsequently used as a bombing range by the Navy, which officially owns San Miguel although the island is managed under an agreement with the Park Service.
Today, San Miguel is a breeding ground for seals and sea lions and the home of pristine tidepools. While visitors can do some limited exploring on their own, access to other areas is only allowed when accompanied by a park ranger.
Santa Barbara: At 655 acres, Santa Barbara is the smallest of the Channel Island group; it’s also more distant, well detached from the other four and some 55 miles to the southwest of Ventura County. Described as a cliff island with no beaches but technically open to the public, there is no boat service to Santa Barbara Island as the landing dock remains closed as a result of damage from 2015 storms.
A note on safety and a general advisory
While the Park Service strives to provide safe and reasonable access to the islands, visitors would be wise to remember the Scout motto, “Be prepared.”
Help is not as immediately available as it might be at a mainland park. Never hike alone; stick to marked trails; avoid cliff edges; carry water, and know boat departure times and be aware that changing weather conditions can alter or interrupt boat schedules.
RESOURCES
Channel Islands National Park visitor center1901 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, CA 93001
805-658-5730