Off the Beaten Track: A Day on Santa Cruz Island

We put a checkmark against our 15th US National Park with one that is not only off the mainland but also off the beaten track. Compared to the millions of visitors that Yellowstone and Yosemite receive each year, Channel Islands National Park is said to receive just around 350,000 visitors per annum. Having decided to add our headcount to that number, we picked Santa Cruz Island to be our destination, this time. Out of the 5 islands that make up the Channel Islands National Park in CA, Santa Cruz is the largest of the archipelago, the easiest to get to — and most importantly — the one recommended for a first-time visitor to these islands off the coast of California.

A visit to Santa Cruz Island did not demand an entrance fee but what was almost mandatory was to book some seats on a ferry that carried visitors to this national park in the Pacific Ocean. With seats and time slots for the to-and-fro trips guaranteed, we took the *Island Packers ferry from Ventura one July morning.

The Ferry Ride
The ferry ride that began at Ventura Harbor was an eventful one. As the mainland shrunk before our eyes, the blueness of the Great Pacific engulfed us and threw in sightings of sea lions popping up and down the calm waters. And when we went further into the ocean, we saw several pods of dolphins ditching the calm waters and rushing into the disturbance that our ferry caused on the ocean’s surface. The dolphins seemed to get excited by the turbulence and the spray that the ferry left, and rushed to dive into action.

The naturalist on the boat told us that these were some of the smartest and happiest creatures in the Pacific Ocean, and that they only got happier when they were able to play in these disturbed waters. What a delightful sight they were! And on the way back from the island later that evening, we would see more dolphins rushing to the vicinity of the ferry and once there was a huge pod of at least two dozen dolphins in almost synchronized action. And that was not all, we had another pleasant surprise on that return trip — some whale sightings!

Santa Cruz Island

Of all of the five islands, Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the Channel Islands but not all of it is under the National Park System. It is the eastern part of this island that the NPS looks after, and what is protected here is the fauna and flora that are endemic to the islands. In fact, these islands in the Pacific Ocean are referred to as the Galapagos of North America.

My reading had told me about the Santa Cruz Island Fox, and I was desperate to see it, as well as the unique Island Scrub Jay, two of the creatures that are found only about here. And by the end of my day on the island, I got to see both and bring back a few pictures, too. And that means that you get to see the fox and the bird if you haven’t had to chance to see them as yet.

Now Santa Cruz Island and the other islands of the Channel Islands National Park (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Barbara) are all undeveloped islands. There are no paved roads here. There are no resorts or hotels here, and no restaurants or shops either. That, and its distance from the mainland just might be the reasons that this national park gets only a few visitors.

The things to do here on Santa Cruz Island are hiking, kayaking and maybe some underwater adventure. We were here for the hiking, the sights from the island, to see the fox and the blue birds that call this island home, and to experience the unspoiled state of the island. For this, we had booked a day trip to the island. (The other option is to camp on the island.)

Hiking on the largest Channel Island

The plan was to have a quick bite as soon as we got to the island before we set out on the Potato Harbor hike. The kids had had a very light breakfast, keeping seasickness in mind. They did have their acupressure wristbands in place and had avoided all the foods that were likely to bring their young stomachs discomfort. But we also thought it might be a good idea for them to have their light lunch before the hike so that the walking could take care of the digestion before we were to board the boats back that evening.

However, it so happened that as we sat down to eat at a shadeless picnic table, the hot summer sun got its chance to cast upon us its heat spell. And by the time we were on the uphill trail, the temperature and the tiredness had already had a grip on us. But we had come this far and we had to see the sights that were quintessential to this island so we pushed ourselves through the dry scrub and then up the hill so as to be able to get to the cliffs on the northeastern part of the island.

Believe me, I can generally do a 4-6 mile hike easily. But that day, I learned that if 2 miles and the scorching island sun were my hiking buddies, they’d be bad company. As we trudged up the dry slopes, it became quite clear that Potato Harbor would be a far cry in that heat. We decided to make it up to the bluffs and see Cavern Point Overlook and do a small out-and-back hike at least. However, on seeing a scenic trail that lined the periphery of those treacherous cliffs, we coaxed the kids into taking that scenic but slightly longer trail back rather than retracing the inland trail. And we ended up completing the Cavern Point Loop! Woohoo!

To take that coastal trail that ran over the cliff, turned out to be just the thing to do in that sweltering heat. The views along the way were breathtaking. It helped numb the arduousness of the hike through the shadeless trail on a sultry summer day. We enjoyed the picture of kayaks dotting the turquoise waters down in the depths beside the cliffs, took in overhead views of the Scorpion Anchorage — the harbor through which we had gotten on this undeveloped island and we even spotted another of those cat-sized foxes that are special to this island.

And when we finally descended those cliffs and nestled into the scarce shade on that part of that island, we managed to see a couple of Island Scrub Jays and I had my fill of the creatures I badly wanted to see. I didn’t get to see the other animals on the island but the rare ones, I did manage to click a few pictures of, for my travel albums.

Afterthoughts
After the day trip to Channel Islands’ Santa Cruz Island, I was quite disappointed that I was not able to complete the hike I had set out to do. I feel like I didn’t make the best use of my visit to the remote island. Although I knew summer wasn’t the best time to be there (I’d noted this down for a fall trip but this island visit happened because of some other changed plans), I didn’t think the heat had plans of foiling what was supposed to be a moderate hike and triggering my migraines later that day.

The silver lining is that we got to visit a beautiful offbeat destination, caught some panoramic vistas of the Pacific Ocean, did some hiking on an undeveloped island and last but not least, we laid eyes on the rare, petite Santa Cruz Island Fox and Island Scrub Jay. The sights from the ferry — of the wild dolphin shows and the humpbacks — were a whale of a bonus!

Things to know before you visit this Channel Island

• Make your ferry bookings with Island Packers a few weeks prior to your visit
• If you’d like to camp here, you might want to book your campsites at least a month in advance if you’re looking at a summer visit.
• Carry your lunch, snacks or medicines should you need any, as there are no shops or restaurants on the island.
• If you’d like to go kayaking, you could carry your own gear. You can also rent them on the mainland and have them loaded onto the ferry before the visitors board it.
• Don’t forget to carry a couple of water bottles each. Some good news: you can refill them at the visitor center.
• Look up the trail you’d like to hike on and see how much time you’re going to need because you will have to return to the dock on time to be able to make that return trip. They don’t have more than a couple of services each way, every day.
• Look out for the wildlife that is unique to this island.
• Don’t get too close to the foxes, the rodents or the other critters you might come across.

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