Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Channel Islands → Santa Cruz Island

Location: Santa Cruz Island

Time Required: 1-2 days

Red Tape/Notes: There is no fee to enter the National Park For a general list of things to do and additional information on the island, visit the Channel Island NPS website, or for a more specific list of hiking options on Santa Cruz, visit this webpage. You’ll need a ferry (or charter plane) to get to and from the island; Island Packers is the only approved ferry operator, and they run trips out of Ventura Harbor on a variable schedule, but there are always trips on weekends. Reservations can be made online at their website.

Of the islands in the Channel Islands National Park, Santa Cruz is the easiest to get to and offers a wide variety of activities. It’s the largest island, and the only one that offers enough hiking to make an overnight backpacking trip possible. Scorpion Anchorage has a nice camping area, called Scorpion Canyon Camp, with easy access to the water and kelp beds near the pier, making it a great base for both hiking and snorkeling. The nearby sea caves are great for exploring in a kayak, or you can take a dedicated trip to the Painted Cave, one of the largest and deepest sea caves in the world (it’s on the northwest side of the island, so it’s not easily accessible unless you’re on a specific trip). Smuggler’s Cove is an easy day hike (it’s 7.5 miles round-trip) that gives you beautiful views of the island, and you can do an overnight backpacking trip to Del Norte Camp (just remember to bring lots of water – there’s no water available once you leave Scorpion Canyon Camp), coming out at the less-visited and very scenic Prisoner’s Harbor (where you can catch a ferry back to Scorpion Bay or back to Santa Barbara).

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Channel Islands → Santa Cruz Island