Channel Islands National Park — Visitor Info

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Channel Islands National Park protects five islands off the Southern California coast — Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara. There are no roads, cars, or bridges here: every island is reached by boat or small plane, and once ashore, everything is on foot. Here's what to know before you go.

Page content last verified: July 2026

Check current conditions before you go: Passenger boat service to Santa Barbara Island is currently suspended due to dock damage, and schedules to San Miguel and Santa Rosa run only part of the year with limited departures. Always check the official Channel Islands Alerts & Conditions page and the concessionaire's current schedule before you book.
Quick Facts
Location
Off the coast of Ventura & Santa Barbara, California
Entrance Fee
None — free to visit
Reservation Needed to Enter?
No entrance reservation — but boat/plane transportation must be booked separately
Permit Needed For
Camping (paid reservation, all 5 islands)
Lodging
None — camping only, or visit as a day trip from the mainland
Managed By
National Park Service

Visitor Centers

Two mainland visitor centers plus small island stations — tap one for official hours & facility info.

Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center
In Ventura, at the harbor. Open daily year-round; exhibits, bookstore, and a park film. The best first stop for trip planning.
Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center
In Santa Barbara Harbor. Open daily; shared space covering the park, the marine sanctuary, and local maritime history.
Island Visitor Centers & Contact Stations
Small staffed stations on Anacapa, Santa Barbara, and at Scorpion Ranch on Santa Cruz; smaller contact points on Santa Rosa (historic schoolhouse) and San Miguel (ranger station).

Hours vary seasonally — confirm current hours on the official NPS visitor centers page before you go.

Fees & Passes

Channel Islands National Park has no entrance fee and does not require an entrance pass. Because there's no fee to waive, the park has not sold federal interagency passes (America the Beautiful, Senior, Access, etc.) since 2015 — those are only useful at other fee-charging federal sites. There is a separate camping reservation fee (see below), and boat or plane transportation to the islands is booked and paid separately through the park concessionaire or a private operator.

Every Kid Outdoors — Free 4th Grade Pass

Since Channel Islands has no entrance fee, this pass doesn't apply here directly — but it's worth grabbing at everykidoutdoors.gov for other fee-charging federal sites on the same trip.

Getting to the Islands

There's no bridge or ferry-in-the-usual-sense — the islands are reached only by park concessionaire boat, private boat, or small aircraft (private planes may not land within the park; a minimum altitude applies). Boat travel times run from about 1 hour (Anacapa, Santa Cruz) to 3–4 hours (San Miguel, Santa Barbara Island) each way from Ventura or Santa Barbara harbors. San Miguel and Santa Rosa have limited seasonal schedules (roughly April through early November), and San Miguel and Santa Barbara Island departures run only a handful of days per month. There is no transportation on the islands themselves — once ashore, all travel is on foot. Book your boat or plane trip well before your visit, especially in summer.

Permits & Reservations

You do not need a permit to day-visit any island. You do need one for:

Camping

Every campground on all five islands requires an advance reservation — there is no walk-up or first-come camping. A $15 per-night, per-site fee applies. Reservations open up to 6 months ahead and must be made separately from your boat or plane transportation.

Backcountry Camping

Limited backcountry camping is available on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands only.

Campgrounds & Camping

There are no roads or vehicles anywhere in the park, so there's no RV camping of any kind — every campground is a backpack-in tent site, one per island, reached by carrying your gear from the boat landing. All are primitive: pit toilets, no trash cans (pack everything out), and no campfires (gas camp stoves only).

Anacapa Island Campground
7 sites. Reach it by climbing 157 stairs from the landing. Western gulls nest nearby April–mid-August (noisy, odorous rookery conditions). No water.
Scorpion Canyon Campground (Santa Cruz Island)
31 sites, the park's largest and easiest to reach — a flat half-mile walk from the pier. One of only two campgrounds with water on-site. Only the eastern part of Santa Cruz is open to camping; the western 76% is Nature Conservancy land.
Water Canyon Campground (Santa Rosa Island)
15 sites, about 1.5 miles from the pier. The other campground with water on-site. Can be very windy — bring a sturdy, low-profile tent.
San Miguel Island Campground
9 sites, a steep 1-mile uphill carry from the landing. The most remote and weather-exposed campground; no water; limited seasonal boat schedule.
Santa Barbara Island Campground
10 sites, a steep quarter-mile climb from the landing. No water. Passenger boat service here is currently suspended due to dock damage — check current status before planning a trip.

Bring your own water except at Scorpion Canyon and Water Canyon. Boat gear limits typically apply (around 45 lbs per item) — pack accordingly. Fees and current conditions: NPS – Camping.

Good to Know

  • No cars, roads, or bikes: everything on every island is reached on foot — plan for the stairs, ladders, and uphill carries noted above.
  • Two separate bookings: a campsite reservation does not include your boat or plane trip — arrange both.
  • Weather can strand you an extra day: pack a spare day of food and water in case rough seas delay your return pickup.
  • Hantavirus and ticks are present — keep food sealed and tents zipped, and check for ticks after hiking.
  • No firewood, plants, or soil may be brought to the islands, to protect the native ecosystem.

More National Parks

See our other National Park visitor guides, or browse the full National Parks guide.

Boat schedules, campground availability, and conditions change from year to year. This page is a starting point for trip planning — always confirm current details on the official Channel Islands National Park site before you go.

Sources: NPS – Fees & Passes · NPS – Visitor Centers · NPS – Camping · NPS – Island Transportation · NPS – Alerts & Conditions