California has a new State Park about 90 miles east of San Francisco.
29.05.2024 - 12:43 / lonelyplanet.com
Hovering just off the coast of Southern California are a string of under-explored islands that offer a peaceful escape from the noise and hubbub of the mainland. If you fancy camping in serene scenery in front of epic sunsets, look no further than California's Channel Islands.
The eight Channel Islands earn every bit of their 'North America’s Galapagos' nickname – more than 150 endemic species of plants and animals are tucked onto these specks of land scattered across the bay between Santa Barbara and San Diego.
For nearly 13,000 years, these islands have stayed largely aloof from domestication, and even from tourism, with one notable exception. This is all rather surprising given that the isles lie within sight of one of the most densely populated parts of the US.
While the island of Santa Catalina is fairly well-known and developed, the other Channel Islands are still wonderfully unspoiled. And while a visit is not as easy as say, a trip to Disneyland, you can have a meaningful experience even on a short day trip from a Southern California harbor.
Here's how to experience each of the eight islands, starting with the five islands protected as the Channel Islands National Park.
While the Channel Islands archipelago stretches from Santa Barbara County all the way south to the fringes of San Diego, the five national park islands are more tightly grouped off the shore near Ventura. The National Park Service (NPS) keeps the human impact on these hilly islands to a bare minimum to preserve their raw and natural character.
The islands are mostly treeless with little cover from the near-constant winds, but the wildflowers in spring are superb, as is the hiking year-round. Rangers and volunteers run guided hikes timed to meet some, but not all, boat trips – the NPS operates visitor centers in Santa Barbara and Ventura where you can make inquiries.
Each of the islands has a small, primitive campground with pit toilets and not much else. Everything has to be packed in and out, including water (unless you are staying at the sites on Santa Cruz or Santa Rosa). Make camping reservations with the NPS in advance to secure a spot.
Island Packers runs boat services to the park from Ventura Harbor and nearby Oxnard, and you can take day trips most days to Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands. Boats run less often to Santa Rosa and San Miguel and there are currently no boats to Santa Barbara (though services may resume once the jetty is repaired). Other ways to reach the islands include private boat charters and multi-day cruises, some focusing on diving in the rich and pristine waters of the national park.
If you're camping, consider bringing along TC Boyle’s 2011 book When the Killing's Done – part murder-mystery, part
California has a new State Park about 90 miles east of San Francisco.
Disneyland guests who paid nearly $1,400 for a Dream Key annual pass can soon expect a check from Disney.
People who paid nearly $1,400 for an annual pass to Disneyland will begin receiving checks in the mail this month from a $9.5 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit that accused Disney of misleading customers into believing that the program carried “no blockout dates.”
The world’s largest cruise operators are expected to disclose upfront port and other manadatory fees, as well as taxes, to consumers in the U.S. starting July 1 to comply with California’s junk fee law.
Connecting in a major international airport is a careful balance between leaving enough time to make the next flight and not wasting hours waiting. In most places, 45 minutes is not nearly enough. But Iceland isn’t most places.
Summer is here and that means one thing: summer road trips. And luckily, gas prices have been dropping just in time to plan an epic cross-country adventure.
The cost of a Schengen visa is going up this June, the European Commission has confirmed.
Maine's breathtaking coastline is unlike any other. It's only about 280 miles from the New Hampshire border to the New Brunswick, Canada, border if you follow the region's principal road, U.S. Route 1 (along with state Route 189 for the final stretch).
The Alaskan city of Juneau will cap cruise ship visitors in the coming years in an effort to combat overtourism in the popular state capital.
California is home to more national parks than any other state in the country, covering over 7 million acres of desert, volcanic peaks, seashore, and mountain ranges. Since moving to the Golden State in 2016, I've seen them all — a few more than once.
Utah might not have the most national parks of any state – that honor goes to California – but it certainly has the highest concentration.
It’s already shaping up to be a busy summer travel season in the United States. On the Friday before Memorial Day, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened 2.95 million airline passengers, the highest number ever recorded in a single day. And Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. airlines, has estimated a 6.3 percent increase in fliers this summer over the last. While airports are certainly going to be more crowded, one carrier is trying to make the in-flight experience a little roomier for some lucky fliers.