The protected waters found on some islands at Channel Islands National Park are perfect for kayakers still working on their skills/Patrick Cone

Imagine a place in Southern California without freeways, a place without strip malls, smog, or freeway-clogging traffic. Then, imagine a necklace of grassy islands where eagles soar and foxes run, where abandoned olive groves and ripening figs attract ravens. Imagine crystal-blue ocean waters, where the golden Garibaldi swims through swaying kelp forests beneath wave-battered sea caves, undisturbed by cargo ships and oil platforms.

Fortunately for us, there was just such a place last fall when I visited Channel Islands National Park with my wife and young son. But it wasn’t always so.

These islands have been called the American Galapagos due to their biodiversity. They are home to more than 2,000 plant and animal species, 145 of which are found nowhere else. The park has rebounded from decades of ranching and cultivation, which nearly devastated the landscape. Over 5,000 feral pigs wreaked havoc on the native flora and fauna and feeding on fennel introduced by ranchers. Today, the pigs, and wild goats are gone, and nature is repairing the damage. These islands lay like a wilderness necklace in the Pacific, just 20 miles and an hour’s boat ride away from the crowded beaches of Santa Barbara and Ventura County. It’s a world apart.

Five of the eight Channel Islands were set aside by Congress in 1980 after two centuries of private ownership, cattle ranching, farming, and fishing. The fields and ranches are a legacy of those days. The park covers nearly a quarter-million acres, half of which lies beneath the sea (the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary extends six nautical miles around the park) and the park is mostly undeveloped. Once on the island, there is no transportation available, so you’ll be walking everywhere you want to go on land, or by kayak or private boat on the water. No bicycles are allowed, but recreation opportunities abound with snorkeling, diving, kayaking, backpacking, hiking, and wildlife watching. Visit these islands and experience what California used to be.

The crystal clear waters found at Scorpion Landing/Patrick Cone

We started our journey from the bucolic Ventura Harbor, at the park’s mainland Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center. There’s a great replica saltwater tidal pool, observation tower, maps, and historic photographs. We looked to the west, and the islands were easily visible. About 300,000 people go through the visitor’s center each year, but only ten percent ever go out to the islands themselves. Not having a private boat, we hopped aboard the Island Packers ferry for a trip out to Scorpion Landing on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the chain. There, we set up a tent beneath a towering grove of eucalyptus trees, just a few minutes’ walk from the beach. And what a difference from the mainland.

There are no campfires allowed at this tent-only site, so the air was clean and fresh. And the only noise was the distant rumble of the waves; there are no RVs, generators, or vehicles here, either. There’s water available from a central spigot, as well as pit toilets, and a small visitor’s center next to the old ranch houses. It’s one of the most peaceful places you will ever spend a night. We headed back down to the beach where we were outfitted with snorkels and wetsuits, and headed out to see what the sea had to offer. We floated along above the swaying kelp forests, and watched as the golden Garibaldi flitted between. The wind had come up, but we were in the lee of the cliffs, and the swells were mild. For the afternoon we boarded one- and twoman sea kayaks from Channel Islands Outfitters, and paddled along the cliffs to the west towards the sea caves. Formed by crashing waves and surf, these features are honeycombed with entrances, tunnels, and slots, which, when timed right, made a thrilling ride in and out. Ocean wildlife viewing is terrific too, with over 30 species of marine mammals.

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This was a great way to cool off. Guide Johnny Dresser brought up a few critters from the ocean floor, and my 12-year-old son Aidan was intrigued by the homely sea potato, which squirts water when threatened. There was the beautifully translucent sea hare, and urchins as well. Some visitors spear their dinners beyond the marine exclusion zones, and kayakers bolder than us head to the other islands in the chain. Along the Santa Barbara Channel, you may spot dolphins, sea lions, elephant seals, and gray whales.

Perhaps the most iconic of the islands is Anacapa, with its grand sea arches. The closest island to the mainland, Anacapa also sports one of the chain’s last lighthouses, built in 1932. To the west, Santa Rosa Island is almost as large as Santa Cruz Island, but Santa Barbara Island is a mere 639 acres. While San Nicolas Island, to the south, is not part of the Channel Islands National Park, it’s also well-known for the setting of the book, The Island of the Blue Dolphin, which tells the true tale of a lone, female, Chumash native inhabitant in the late 1800s. In fact, these islands have a long human history, and the oldest human remains in North America were found here, dating back over 13,000 years ago. A half-century ago an estimated 2000 Chumash Indians lived on the islands.

San Miguel Island’s Port Bennett is home to more than 30,000 sea lions. And, as evidence of this island’s extreme weather, you can visit the shipwreck of the Tortuga, which ran aground on Cardwell Point in 1987, or the remnants of a B-24 crash from 1943 on Green Mountain.

Visit in the spring and the grasslands are so green they’ll hurt your eyes. In the summer and fall the amber waves sway with the winds. The isolation and separation of these islands from the mainland have allowed evolution to proceed independently, with astonishing results. The Channel Islands Fox, for example, has come back from the brink of extinction—with only 50 individuals—and today is commonly viewed. But keep an eye on them, or they’ll invite themselves into your camp. The islands in prehistory were home to the now-extinct Giant Vampire bats. A fossil pygmy mammoth was found in 1998, lived about 12,000 years ago, and stood a little under five-and-a-half feet tall.

After a day on the water and dinner, we took an evening hike to Cavern Point, above our camp, for sunset. We watched the sun fall to the west; its fading light turned the landscape red before it was extinguished by the curved edge of the Pacific Ocean. The next morning we cooked our breakfast on our camp stove under the watchful eyes of the playful Channel Island Foxes, packed a lunch, and headed into the interior for a day hike to another landing: Smuggler’s Cove, which gained its name in 1920 for being a popular smuggling stop during Prohibition. While roughly two-thirds of Santa Cruz Island is owned by The Nature Conservancy and is off limits to visitors, there’s plenty of room to roam.

An almost 8-mile round-trip, the trail wound upwards on old roads and trails, past an abandoned dry oil well, with terrific views to the east. An old olive grove covered one whole hillside above this remote cove, where ranchers once grazed cattle. Adobe ranch buildings were tucked away under palms, and a grove.

On the way back we passed through Delphine’s grove, Monterey cypress named for the rancher’s daughter in the late-19th century. Once back we soaked our sore feet in the clear, warm sea waters and headed back up to our camp for the night, a warm meal and quiet night well-earned, with dreams of what California used to be.

With a little imagination you too can transport yourself back to those more simple times, with a visit to the Channel Islands. You’ll leave with regrets, and vow to return, for this is indeed a most special place.

No noisy generators, no smoky fires are found in the campground of Channel Islands National Park/Patrick Cone