Santa Cruz Island Day Trip To Channel Islands (2024)
Want to know how to enjoy the best day trip to Santa Cruz Island? We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know!
Surprisingly, I had never heard of Channel Islands National Park until I moved to California.
I decided I should start visiting all of the National Parks in California and that is how I learned that this place existed.
It can easily be a day trip from Orange County, but we had the whole weekend available to us to explore.
So we made a weekend getaway out of it and added a visit to Santa Barbara onto our itinerary.
You can watch our full itinerary in this video on our YouTube Channel.
Planning A Trip? Use Our Favorite Resources Below!
👉🏼 Accommodations
👉🏼 Tours/Experiences
👉🏼 Flights
👉🏼 Car Rentals
Santa Cruz Island Day Trip Itinerary
Santa Cruz Island is one of the islands that make up Channel Islands National Park, just off the coast of Ventura, California.
There are 4 islands that you can regularly visit throughout the year on day trips or overnight camping trips – Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island, Anacapa Island, and San Miguel Island.
There’s also a 5th island – Santa Barbara Island – that’s open to the public, but there currently isn’t any infrastructure for transportation.
To get ready for the day we had to get up pretty early.
The boat was scheduled to leave at 9 am.
It was about a 30 minute drive from our resort to the harbor, but along the way we had to stop and get our food for the day since there’s no food on the island.
We stopped at a local grocery store to get some bottles of water, sandwiches, and snacks.
I was able to fit those and our jackets in a backpack without it being too heavy to carry around for the day.
We got to the harbor early to check out the gift shop and the visitor center for the park.
Every trip we take together we buy a Christmas ornament as our one souvenir, so that it lasts and we can look back on all of our trips when we set up our tree each year.
So we picked one up before we ventured out to the island since we knew the gift shop would be closed when we returned.
The Boat Ride From Ventura Harbor Village To Santa Cruz Island
The boat ride there was about an hour or hour and a half.
It was pretty cold out on the water, so I am glad we brought jackets.
Once we docked, they got everyone off the boat and a park ranger briefed us on the rules of the park.
Things To Do On Santa Cruz Island
From there we headed out on our hike.
We hiked up Potato Harbor Road which leads to the top of the cliffs.
Along the way you might see some little red foxes called the Island Fox.
They are harmless, but don’t approach them or feed them.
These foxes are native to 6 of the 8 Channel Islands and since the islands are obviously separate from each other, each island has formed it’s own sub-species over time.
They’re very cute and little and you may see them around picnic areas or just out on the trails.
1. Potato Harbor Road Trail
It is a pretty steep climb up, but the views once you’re up there are worth it.
The pathway is very clearly defined, so you shouldn’t have any issues navigating your way around the island.
Also, most visitors will be following similar trails, so following the crowd is a pretty safe bet here.
If all else fails, ask any of the workers before you head out and they’ll give you directions.
You may get lucky and have a volunteer naturalist onboard that will take you around the island.
2. Potato Harbor
From there we trekked to Potato Harbor and sat down on some rocks by the edge of the cliff to have our picnic lunch.
There are no nearby trashcans, so we just put our trash back in the grocery bag and carried it in our backpack until we got back to the dock.
Our favorite part of our picnic lunch here was admiring the scenery.
You’ll notice one of the rocks looked like Skull Rock from Peter Pan.
3. North Bluff Trail
To circle back to the dock we took North Bluff Trail which follows the top of the cliffs all the way back as opposed to walking back down the way we walked up.
We got back early enough that we had time to hang out on the beach and rest until it was time to board the boat.
The video linked at the top of this post shows a bit about the time we spent on the beach.
If you skip ahead to the 1 minute mark, that is when we are sharing the Santa Cruz Island itinerary.
Then the last 10 seconds or so of the video is the beach views.
We visited Santa Cruz Island about 2 years before we even thought about blogging, so we unfortunately don’t have too many photos or videos, but I think we’ve been able to piece it together enough that it makes sense and is easy to follow!
Santa Cruz Island to Ventura Harbor Village
The return time is usually around 3 or 4 pm, so we spent about 4 or 5 hours on the island total.
They have campgrounds if you want to stay overnight, which we might try in the future.
At the time, we didn’t have any camping equipment yet or the time to add an extra night to our trip.
From our experience, the boat ride back seemed to take much longer.
The water was definitely rougher.
The great part about the location of Island Packers though is that it is part of Ventura Harbor Village.
So you can have dinner and browse the shops when you get back. Since the boats come back any time from about 5-6:30 pm, the timing is perfect.
Where To Eat In Ventura Harbor Village: Boatyard Pub
Ventura Harbor Village has plenty of shops and restaurants to enjoy after spending a day out in the Channel Islands.
A favorite of ours is Boatyard Pub.
We enjoy their clam chowder and their seafood dishes after a long day hiking out on the islands.
Stay Local: Hampton Inn & Suites Channel Islands Harbor
Since our boat left so early in the morning, we didn’t want to have to drive all the way from Anaheim in rush hour traffic.
So we found a nearby hotel for the night.
For one night stays, we usually check with Hilton first since we get a friends and family discount.
This one wasn’t the absolute cheapest option, it was about $20 more than the others, but it was less than 15 minutes from Ventura Harbor Village (rather than 30+ minutes like the others), so we figured we’d pay extra to be closer.
When I went to choose our room, I noticed one room seemed noticeably larger than the others, so of course that’s the one I chose.
It’s labeled as a “King Larger Room” on the website, as opposed to just a standard king room, which is what we had booked.
Side note – even though the name of this Hampton Inn is “Channel Islands Harbor”, it is located in the Oxnard Harbor, not the Ventura Harbor.
Some Island Packers excursions leave from Oxnard, while others leave from Ventura.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Stay At Hampton Inn Channel Islands Harbor Today!
Know Before You Go – Island Packers
Only one company takes people to Channel Islands and it is Island Packers.
For Santa Cruz Island, there are two different itineraries.
One drops you off on one end of the island (Scorpion Anchorage) and the other itinerary drops you off at Prisoner’s Harbor.
After researching several different day trip itineraries online, we settled on the first stop, Scorpion Anchorage.
The round trip day trip fare ranges from about $45-$63 per person.
For children under 3, it’s free, but you need to include them in your guest count and make a reservation for them.
For children 3-12 years old, trip fare is $45.
Adults ages 13-54, get trip fare for $63.
Seniors 55 years old and older, get trip fare for $58.
Santa Cruz Island is one of the most popular itineraries, so most days an excursion is available.
Just be sure that when you’re booking that if you’re going to the Scorpion Anchorage dock, you schedule your pickup at that same dock.
Don’t book your return trip from Prisoner’s Harbor because you won’t be there.
More Fun Things To Do Near Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park is made up of a few other islands that we hope to visit in the future.
Santa Cruz Island also has a whole other side that we hope to check out on our next trip.
We visited Scorpion Anchorage, so next time we go to Santa Cruz Island we’ll go to the Prisoner’s Harbor side.
☑️ Santa Rosa Island Day Trip Itinerary
Another island you can visit that is a little further out is Santa Rosa Island.
It’s another island where a one day excursion is perfect for exploring.
Once we visit the other islands we’ll be sure to add them to this list.
☑️ Ventura Weekend Getaway Guide
If you’re staying in the area for another day or two, Ventura has plenty to explore.
There’s the historic downtown with one of the best preserved California missions, plus fun activities like mini golf.
☑️ Santa Barbara and Solvang Weekend Getaway Guide
Not too far from the Ventura and Oxnard area is Santa Barbara and Solvang.
Both are great destinations for weekend getaways.
We actually stayed in Santa Barbara the night before visiting the Channel Islands one time.
More National Park Itineraries In California
California is home to many national parks all over the state.
We’ve visited all but 2 so far and some of them we’ve visited several times now.
Below are our recommended itineraries for visiting more national parks in California.
🥾 Death Valley National Park One Day Itinerary
Death Valley is home to the lowest elevation in the US, which is actually below sea level.
It’s also famously one of the hottest places on earth.
But if you visit in a shoulder season like we did, the weather and crowds will be much more tolerable.
🥾 Joshua Tree National Park Itinerary
Joshua Tree is just outside of Palm Springs and is the perfect desert getaway.
February is an amazing time to visit as long as it’s not raining.
🥾 Lassen Volcanic National Park One Day Itinerary
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a relatively unknown and severely underrated national park in Northern California.
We paired our trip here with visits to Lake Tahoe and Reno.
🥾 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks One Day Itinerary
Sequoia and Kings Canyon are like 2 national parks in one.
It’s only about 4 hours northeast of the LA and Orange County areas, so it’s an easy weekend getaway from that area.
🥾 Yosemite National Park One Day Itinerary
You can do a surprising amount of things in Yosemite in just one day.
There’s a bus that runs through the entire valley taking you to all the highlights, so you can hop on and off throughout the day as much as you’d like.
🥾 Pinnacles National Park One Day Itinerary
Pinnacles is in Central California and it’s known for it’s caves that you can hike through during certain times of the year.
It’s all dependent on not disturbing the bats!
🥾 Redwood National Park One Day Itinerary
The Redwoods are along the Northern California coast and are home to some of the largest and tallest trees in the world.
This park is also made up of a bunch of state parks, so there is so much to explore.
Conclusion: Santa Cruz Island Day Trip To Channel Islands
Channel Islands National Park is one of the least visited national parks in the US, yet it’s near one of the most populated areas.
It’s the perfect day trip getaway to get out and explore a new place, while also getting some fresh air and exercise.
A Santa Cruz Island day trip is the perfect introduction to visiting Channel Islands National Park.
