Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National 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.
While the mainland visitor center in Ventura is readily accessible by car or public transportation, the islands are only accessible by park concessionaire boats and planes or private boat. Directions from the Park Service ↗
Alerts
- ClosureNPS ↗Parts of Santa Rosa Island Closed During Wildfire Recovery
Santa Rosa Island is open to limited day use. Burned areas remain closed and overnight use is prohibited. Water Canyon Campground is currently closed, but will reopen October 14, as will backcountry beach camping in northwest and southwest quadrants. Click the more link for additional information.
- InformationNPS ↗Santa Barbara Island Dock Closed; Landings Restricted to Adjacent Rocky Ledge
Santa Barbara Island is open to public access, but landings are restricted to the rocky ledge adjacent to the dock. The dock is closed and is not expected to be repaired in the near future due to the severe winter storm damage.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Channel Islands National Park | Daily · All Day |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Anacapa Island Campground | 16 sites | |
| $15 a night · Anacapa Island campground is open year round. | ||
| Scorpion Canyon Campground | 31 sites | |
| $15 a night · Santa Cruz Island campground is open year round. · 31 reservable | ||
| Del Norte Backcountry Campground | 9 sites | |
| $15 a night · Santa Cruz Island Del Norte Backcountry Campground is open year round. | ||
| Water Canyon Campground | 16 sites | |
| $15 a night · Santa Rosa Island campground is open year round. | ||
| Santa Rosa Island Backcountry Beach Camping | 33 sites | |
| $10 a night · Closed Jan 1 to Aug 14 | ||
Show all 7 campgroundsHide
| San Miguel Island Campground | 19 sites | |
| $15 a night · San Miguel Island campground is open year round. | ||
| Santa Barbara Island Campground | 21 sites | |
| $15 a night · Santa Barbara Island campground is open year round. | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center ↗
The small Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center not only has one of the best views of Santa Barbara, but also offers visitors information about Channel Islands National Park, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, and the City of Santa Barbara.
- Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park features a bookstore, a display of marine aquatic life, and exhibits featuring the unique character of each park island.
- Visitor Center Anacapa Island ↗Passport stamp
Once the historic Coast Guard general services building (workshop and garage), this Mission Revival style building now serves as a small visitor center that features include displays on the natural and cultural resources of the island and the original lead-crystal Fresnel lens from the Anacapa…
- Santa Barbara Island Visitor CenterPassport stamp
A small visitor center is located on the island. Features include displays on the natural and cultural resources of the island.
- Scorpion Ranch Visitor Center on Santa Cruz IslandPassport stamp
The small visitor center resides in the historic Scorpion Ranch house which was constructed in 1886-1887.
- Santa Rosa Island Visitor Contact Station ↗Passport stamp
The historic schoolhouse is now home to this small visitor contact station with exhibits on the ranching history of Santa Rosa Island.
Show all 7Hide
- San Miguel Island Ranger and Visitor Contact Station ↗Passport stamp
The visitor contact and ranger station is only open when staff is present.
Explore
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Webcams
- Channel Islands Live Broadcasts ↗
- San Miguel Island Ranger Station Webcam ↗
- Peregrine Falcon Webcam ↗
- Bald Eagle Webcam (Sauces Canyon Nest) ↗
- Bald Eagle Webcam (Fraser Point Nest) ↗
- Ocean Webcam ↗
- Anacapa Island Webcam ↗
- Mount Diablo Webcam ↗
Camera images load live from the National Park Service and partner agencies
Events
- Guided Hikes on the Islands10/1410:00 AM · runs through Jul 11 · freePark Islands
- Native Plant Sale10/2409:00 AM · freeFollow signs to the amphitheater behind the mainland visitor center in Ventura Harbor.
News
- Overnight Camping to Resume on Portions of Santa Rosa Island on October 14 ↗2026-09-22
Channel Islands National Park will reopen Water Canyon Campground and designated backcountry beach camping areas in the northwest and southwest quadrants of Santa Rosa Island beginning October 14. The southeast quadrant…
- Initial Assessment Indicates Potential for 80% Mortality Among Rare Torrey Pines Following Santa Rosa Island Fire ↗2026-09-01
Initial assessments indicate that 60% to 80% of Santa Rosa Island's iconic Torrey pines may perish as a result of the largest wildfire in Channel Islands National Park history.
- Channel Islands National Park Opens New Campground at Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island ↗2026-08-17
Beginning Aug. 27, Channel Islands National Park will open the new Prisoners Harbor Campground on Santa Cruz Island, introducing overnight visitors to a new way to experience the park's largest island.
- Bald Eagles Continue Recovery at Channel Islands National Park ↗2026-07-13
As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary, partners in one of the nation's most successful wildlife restoration efforts are celebrating another productive nesting season for America's national…
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for Channel Islands National Park and California's national parks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthIsland Fox 20× · Burrowing Owl 4× · Brown Pelican 2× · Peregrine Falcon 2× · Common Dolphin 2× · Bald Eagle 1× · Harbor Seal 1× · California Sea Lion 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 354 birds, 42 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Barn Owl · Burrowing Owl · Cooper's Hawk · Flammulated Owl · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Prairie Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Swainson's Hawk · White-tailed Kite
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Black-crowned Night-Heron · Blue-winged Teal · Brandt's Cormorant · Brown Pelican · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cattle Egret · Cinnamon Teal · Clark's Grebe · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Double-crested Cormorant · Eared Grebe · Eurasian Wigeon · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Green-winged Teal · Harlequin Duck · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Lesser Scaup · Northern Pintail · Pacific Loon · Pelagic Cormorant · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-throated Loon · Ring-necked Duck · Ross' Goose · Ruddy Duck · Snow Goose · Snowy Egret · Virginia Rail · Western Grebe · Wood Duck
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · American Oystercatcher · Arctic Tern · Ashy Storm-Petrel · Baird's Sandpiper · Black Oystercatcher · Black Storm-Petrel · Black Turnstone · Black-bellied Plover · Black-footed Albatross · Black-vented Shearwater · Blue-footed Booby · Bonaparte's Gull · Brown Booby · Buff-breasted Sandpiper · California Gull · Caspian Tern · Cassin's Auklet · Common Murre · Common Snipe · Dunlin · Elegant Tern · Flesh-footed Shearwater · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Glaucous Gull · Glaucous-winged Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Heermann's Gull · Herring Gull · Horned Puffin · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Laysan Albatross · Leach's Storm-Petrel · Least Sandpiper · Least Storm-Petrel · Lesser Golden-Plover · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Curlew · Long-billed Dowitcher · Long-tailed Jaeger · Magnificent Frigatebird · Marbled Godwit · Mew Gull · Mountain Plover · Parasitic Jaeger · Pectoral Sandpiper · Pink-footed Shearwater · Pomarine Jaeger · Red Phalarope · Red-footed Booby · Red-necked Phalarope · Rhinoceros Auklet · Ring-billed Gull · Royal Tern · Ruddy Turnstone · Sabine's Gull · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Short-billed Dowitcher · Short-tailed Albatross · Snowy Plover · Solitary Sandpiper · Sooty Shearwater · Spotted Sandpiper · Thayer's Gull · Tufted Puffin · Upland Sandpiper · Western Gull · Western Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope
Gamebirds & dovesBand-tailed Pigeon · California Quail · Mourning Dove · Pigeon Guillemot · Ringed Turtle-Dove · Rock Dove · Spotted Dove · White-winged Dove · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersAcorn Woodpecker · Lewis' Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Nuttall's Woodpecker · Red-breasted Sapsucker · Red-naped Sapsucker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAllen's Hummingbird · Anna's Hummingbird · Black Swift · Black-chinned Hummingbird · Calliope Hummingbird · Chimney Swift · Costa's Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · Vaux's Swift · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Crow · American Dipper · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · Ancient Murrelet · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Baltimore Oriole · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Bell's Vireo · Belted Kingfisher · Bendire's Thrasher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black Scoter · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Black-chinned Sparrow · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-legged Kittiwake · Black-necked Stilt · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Grosbeak · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Bobolink · Brant · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Bushtit · Canada Warbler · Canvasback · Canyon Wren · Cape May Warbler · Cassin's Kingbird · Cassin's Vireo · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-collared Longspur · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping Sparrow · Clark's Nutcracker · Clay-colored Sparrow · Cliff Swallow · Common Nighthawk · Common Peafowl · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Common Yellowthroat · Craveri's Murrelet · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Dusky Flycatcher · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Phoebe · European Starling · Fox Sparrow · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-crowned Sparrow · Grace's Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray Flycatcher · Gray Vireo · Green-tailed Towhee · Hammond's Flycatcher · Harris' Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · Hermit Warbler · Hooded Oriole · Hooded Warbler · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Hutton's Vireo · Indigo Bunting · Island Scrub Jay · Kentucky Warbler · Lapland Longspur · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Lawrence's Goldfinch · Lazuli Bunting · Least Flycatcher · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Lucy's Warbler · Macgillivray's Warbler · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Marbled Murrelet · Marsh Wren · McCown's Longspur · Mountain Bluebird · Mourning Warbler · Nashville Warbler · Northern Fulmar · Northern Goshawk · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Northern Waterthrush · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Ovenbird · Pacific-slope Flycatcher · Painted Redstart · Palm Warbler · Phainopepla · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Siskin · Plumbeus Vireo · Prairie Warbler · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Pyrrhuloxia · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-billed Tropicbird · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-throated Pipit · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Ring-necked Pheasent · Rock Wren · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Rusty Blackbird · Sage Sparrow · Sage Thrasher · Savannah Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scarlet Tanager · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Scott's Oriole · Song Sparrow · Sora · South Polar Skua · Spotted Towhee · Summer Tanager · Surf Scoter · Surfbird · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's Warbler · Tree Swallow · Tricolored Blackbird · Varied Thrush · Vermillion Flycatcher · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Wandering Tattler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · Whimbrel · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · White-winged Scoter · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Winter Wren · Xantus' Murrelet · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-billed Magpie · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Warbler
Small mammalsBlack Rat · Deer Mouse · Western Harvest Mouse
Marine mammalsBlue Whale · California Sea Lion · Common Dolphin · Dall's Porpoise · False Killer Whale · Finback Whale · Gray Whale · Guadalupe Fur Seal · Harbor Porpoise · Harbor Seal · Humback Whale · Killer Whale · Minke Whale · Northern Elephant Seal · Northern Fur Seal · Northern Sea Lion · Pacific Beaked Whale · Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin · Pacific White-sided Dolphin · Pygmy Sperm Whale · Right Whale Dolphin · Risso Dolphin · Rorqual (Sei Whale) · Rough-toothed Dolphin · Sea Otter · Sperm Whale
PredatorsChannel Islands Gray Fox · Spotted Skunk
BatsBig Brown Bat · California Myotis · Fringed Myotis · Hoary Bat · Long-eared Myotis · Mexican Free-tailed Bat · Pallid Bat · Red Bat · Silver-haired Bat · Townsend's Big-eared Bat · Western Mastiff Bat
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Diving and snorkeling in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Stargazing in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 34 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
In general, the islands have a Mediterranean climate year-round. Temperatures are relatively stable, with highs averaging in the mid-60s (°F) and lows in the low-50s. However, there are seasonal differences that visitors should take into consideration when visiting the park. In addition, visitors also should be aware that ocean and weather conditions vary considerably from day-to-day and island-to-island. For more information visit: http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/weather.htm
Questions people ask
Does Channel Islands charge an entrance fee?
No. Channel Islands is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Channel Islands open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Channel Islands?
Yes. The Park Service lists 7 campgrounds in Channel Islands: Anacapa Island, Scorpion Canyon, Del Norte Backcountry, Water Canyon, and Santa Rosa Island Backcountry Beach Camping, and more. 7 take reservations through Recreation.gov.
Do any Channel Islands campgrounds have hookups or showers?
No. None of the 7 listed campgrounds report showers, electric hookups, or a dump station.
Source: Campgrounds
When do Channel Islands campgrounds close for the season?
Santa Rosa Island Backcountry Beach Camping is closed Jan 1 to Aug 14.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at Channel Islands right now?
2 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Parts of Santa Rosa Island Closed During Wildfire Recovery; Santa Barbara Island Dock Closed; Landings Restricted to Adjacent Rocky Ledge.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Channel Islands?
227,186 recreation visits in 2025, number 166 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was Channel Islands established?
1980. It covers about 390 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Channel Islands?
In general, the islands have a Mediterranean climate year-round. Temperatures are relatively stable, with highs averaging in the mid-60s (°F) and lows in the low-50s.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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