Channel Islands National Park: Pure and Wild California

Wild California Untouched, unspoiled. California in all its natural splendor, as you would have found it half a thousand years ago Channel Islands National Park spread across five of California's Channel Islands lie just offshore from Santa Barbara in Ventura on the Central Coast. This park is more than a federally protected Catalina, much more. The Mainland Visitor Centers on California Southern Coast are full of information. Sheltered from the Pacific, and a bustling harbor. A jumping-off point. It's a salt spray boat ride to the park. Being islands, the only way they can be reached is by water or by air. You arrive at Scorpion Ranch on the North Shore of Santa Cruz Island. Here, you get down to basics. You are isolated, you must cope. You pitch your tent on a campsite you've booked in advance. You've brought only what you can carry. There are no telephones and no food vending machines. You bring what food you need, but fires are not allowed. So you cook on a camp stove. In hiking through this island wilderness, you'll find that the trails are primitive. Some of the hikes can be strenuous, but the rewards are worth it. Close to a thousand species of plants and animals thrive on these tiny islands. Some species are found nowhere else in the world. But it is the abundancy life that most amazes us. From tiny life and tide pools, to seals and sea lions. That bicker and bark or bask in the sun. Dolphins frolic. While Myriad Seabirds circle in the sky overhead. Of the entire stretch of coastline of the Western United States, the Channel islands are an all-important nesting ground for seabirds. In particular, the brown pelican. You can voyage astride the islands shores on an excursion boat inside of the Anacapa Island Lighthouse. Land of this former lighthouse station. Steep stairs lead to your island adventure. The lighthouse still stands. Sentinel to the storms of the Pacific. Hike through forests of yellow Coreopsis. And myriad other flowering plants. On a clear day, from the west end of Anacapa, Inspiration Point. It's a stunning view down the chain of islands. For the more adventurous, voyage by kayak. Just you, the shoreline and the sea. Then, you might explore some of the largest and deepest sea caves in the world. Once you've probed the wonders of Channel Islands National Park, you'll know why it is often called America's Galapagos.