Channel Islands
A Guide to Visiting Santa Cruz Island, of Channel Island National Park
Potato Harbor Trail
Where are the Channel Islands?
The Channel Islands are located off of the coast of California, and are made up of 8 islands. You can take a ferry from Ventura Harbor, California to access most of the islands.
Which Channel Island Should I Visit?
While you can visit 5 of the Channel Islands by ferry, Santa Cruz is the largest of the islands and at the most popular. The chose this island for that reason, and have no regrets.
How Do I Get to the Channel Islands?
You can only reach the Channel Islands by public ferry or private boat. Island Packers is the ferry operator and you can visit their site here. We booked with them and it took about an hour to reach the island from Ventura Harbor. There is a large parking lot near where you check in and board the ferry, where you can park for the duration of your trip.
Can I Camp on the Channel Islands?
You can camp all year round on any of the five islands. Note that the campgrounds are primitive and owned by the National Park Service. You will have to bring all of your own food and water (the Scorpion Canyon Campground on Santa Cruz has potable water). Visit Recreation.gov to book your campground.
What Should I Bring on my Visit to the Channel Islands?
Proper Hiking Clothes. You do not need hiking boots for this island, as the trails are not treacherous.
Tent (if you are camping) and camping gear. It does get windy here, so make sure you have some good stakes.
Food and water. This is a primitive campground and you will need to bring all of your food for you trip. If you are camping on any island besides Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa, you will also need to bring drinking water as there is no potable water on the island.
Headlamps. Not necessary unless you are doing a sunset or sunrise hike, but we definitely needed some on our visit! I did not have mine and ended up falling down the trail and scraping my knee in the dark.
Snorkeling gear. It was a bit too cold to snorkel when we visited, but snorkeling is very popular on the islands. You can also rent snorkeling gear (at least on Santa Cruz) if you don’t have your own.
What are the Best Hiking Trails on Santa Cruz Island?
There are several hiking trails on Santa Cruz Island, and because we only had one day on the island (before our ferry left the next morning), we chose two trails, which both took us until past dark to finish.
Potato Harbor Trail
This 5 mile out and back trail is the most popular on the island, and for good reason. Not only is it considered an easy hike, it is extremely scenic with beautiful views of the coastline the entire way.
Smuggler’s Cove Trail
The second most popular trail on the island, this 7.7 mile trail is a bit more strenuous than Potato Harbor, but gives you stunning views of the island, and will land you at a beach. We look this trail at sunset, and the beach was vacant when we arrived. The beach was pretty dark at sunset, due to the position of the sun, so this would be a better hike for sunrise or earlier in the day for optional lighting. If you do happen to hike it in the dark, make sure to bring a headlamp! We did not leave enough time for this trail and hiked back for several miles in the dark.
Smuggler’s Cove Trail