Channel Islands National Park

Where Is It: From Wikipedia:

The islands within the park extend along the Southern California coast from Point Conception near Santa Barbara to San Pedro, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. Park headquarters and the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center are located in the city of Ventura.

The park consists of 249,354 acres, half of which are under the ocean, and includes the islands of:

San Miguel 9,325 acres
Santa Rosa 52,794 acres
Anacapa 699 acres
Santa Barbara 639 acres
Santa Cruz 60,645 acres 76% owned by the Nature Conservancy, 24% by the National Park Service

The Birth: Channel Islands National Monument is established and is administered from Sequoia National Park. Chanel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary were established in 1980. The administrative headquarters and visitor’s center was constructed in Ventura in 1982.

It Happened Here: Parts of Mutiny on the Bounty were filmed on San Marcos Island in 1935. The film won the academy award for best picture.

Size: 249,561 acres.

# Visitors: 212,029 in 2013.

Animals: From Wikipedia:

More than 2,000 species of plants and animals can be found within the park. However only three mammals are endemic to the islands, one of which is the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) which is known to carry the sin nombre hantavirus. Spotted Skunk and Channel Islands Fox also are endemic. The Island fence lizard is also endemic to the Channel Islands. Other animals in the park include Island Scrub Jay, harbpor seal, California sea lion, island fox, spotted skunk, island night lizard, barn owl, American kestrel, horned lark and meadowlark and California brown pelican. One hundred and forty-five of these species are unique to the islands and found nowhere else in the world. Marine life ranges from microscopic plankton to the endangered blue whale, the largest animal on earth.

Choices: The bald eagle population is resurgent in the Park. The first nest in over 50 years was seen in the Park this year. The eagles disappeared in the early ’60s due to the impact of DDT on eagle’s eggs.

Fees: There are no fees to enter the Park.

Staying There: Camp reservations are $15/night.

Contact Info:

1901 Spinnaker Dr.

Ventura, CA 93001

Visitor Information: (805) 658-5730

Current Issues: The island fox is also recovering from near extinction. The fox has recovered now to 2,500 animals; it had lost 95% of its population in the ’90s.

The Park encompasses five remarkable islands and their ocean environment, preserving and protecting a wealth of natural and cultural resources. Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was. Photo: Victoria Happekotte Borjesson. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/30/14.

Peregrine falcon. From the Park’s Facebook page.

Brown pelican. From the Park’s website.

The bright yellow bouquets of the giant coreopsis are so vivid they can sometimes be seen from the mainland. Photo by: Derek Lohuis. From the Park’s website.