Channel Islands National Park

Lately, when I make my vacation plans, I try to include one of the US's many national parks, monuments, historical sites, etc.  I realized though that there was a national park right in my backyard that I had never visited - Channel Islands National Park in Ventura.  I decided that the next Sunday that I had free, I would take a trip 60 miles north and check it out;  this past Sunday was that day.

Channel Islands National Park is a United States national park that consists of five of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura County. Although the islands are close to the shore of densely populated Southern California, their isolation has left them relatively undeveloped. The park covers 249,561 acres of which 79,019 acres are owned by the federal government.  The Nature Conservancy owns and manages 76% of Santa Cruz Island, the largest island in the park.  I took an hour boat ride with Island Packers to the National Park side of Santa Cruz Island.

The island has the feel of the Santa Monica Mountains, which it's actually a continuation of (partially submerged).  The island was used as a sheep ranch a hundred years ago, and the vegetation is still recovering from that.  It's a lot larger and a lot steeper than you would expect and even though there were several boatloads of sight-seers and campers on the island, I ended up doing most of my hiking in splendid isolation.

Here are some photos of my day, including rocky beaches, sweeping grasslands, some flora (buckwheat and fennel) and some fauna (the Island fox).  And even a short video of a pod of dolphins that played in the wake of our boat.

Hope you enjoy them all.