Anacapa Island

Our experience on the island was very good. We landed around 10:30 and did the guided hike with the ranger till inspiration pt. His info is same as the trial booklet provided there so it can be done at your own pace. Next we snorkeled in the kelp forest in landing cove 2-3pm, this was a nice small activity. 30min to see the kelps and some fish, water wasn't that bad on, but I would recommend to do this while the sun is still on this part of the island, We heard it got a little choppy for people who did it later. Basically we had seen all till 3:30pm except for the lighthouse, which we did the next day. Campsites where pretty good, and clean restroom. A lot of birds come to the island in the evening after sunset. In the nights the birds will not stop making noise, you need to be prepared for it, we were, but still had trouble adjusting. In all its a really nice experience, this is the iconic island which you will see when you search Channel Island, just be prepared for the birds, as its you visiting their home.

If you don’t bring a kayak, everything can be seen in one day. If you do bring a kayak(I highly recomend) you could easily spend a whoke day kayaking around the island and seeing the caves and sea lions. At night time, the birds don’t really quiet down but you get used to the sound quick so it’s not too bad.

It's nesting season for the seagulls this time of year, if you are wondering why there are sites available during peak season, it's because the island is covered in thousands of defensive seagulls feeding and defending their young offspring, yes the chicks are very cute and its a unique experience, but the loud 24 hour nonstop squawking will test your sanity if you decide to camp overnight. If you hike the trails, you will likely be swooped and pooped on. Literally every camper that stayed overnight was on their phone the following morning booking an earlier boat ride out of there! Inspiration point is beautiful, you can see and hear seals in some of the coves at a couple lookouts, I did spot a couple falcons flying along with pelicans and a few other birds, you can't get very close to the lighthouse (trail roped off a distance away) and there is only about two miles of total trail on the island. Campsite tables and Food Boxes are covered in seagull droppings, wind can kick up pretty good at times in the evening, if you have a sensitive nose you can smell seagull everywhere, the vault toilet restrooms .. I'll give them some credit were actually nice with provided hand sanitizer and a highlight of the adventure haha. MY ADVICE, BOOK A DAY TRIP FOR A FEW HOURS DURING NESTING SEASON OR A SEACAVE KAYAK TOUR, DON'T STAY OVER NIGHT THIS TIME OF YEAR, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU, UNLESS YOU WANT TO PLAY A CRUEL TRICK ON A FRIEND HAHA!

Absolutely amazing! Love the gulls on the island!

Camped in mid October, had great weather, and was outside of seagull nesting season. Lighthouse is audible 24/7, light sleepers will benefit from earplugs. Lots of opportunities to enjoy and experience wildlife and being in the wild, especially at night when all the day trippers have gone. Facilities were very well kept.

This island was just… full of birds. Loud loud birds. No wonder this was the only island with last minute availability lol. They’ve nicknamed this island “Bird Island” and I now understand why. There is no shade, it’s HOT, the constant breeze is nice though. The site was fine but I’d choose farther away from the bathroom because when the breeze changed direction we would get whiffs of the pit toilets.. It was a neat experience but to be honest I wish we had gone to a different island instead.

A wonderful experience! I was sad to leave the island and all the birds when returning. It feels like a magical place especially after the day hikers leave the island in the evening. The sunsets are just the most beautiful I've probably seen in my life, especially at Inspiration point (which is probably the most beautiful viewpoint in all of California or the US). The ranger on the island was super helpful and nice to us as well.

Anacapa Island was great to explore for a couple days. Obviously there are tradeoffs, but well worth the time there. The views are beautiful, the campsites are good, and you can get a lot of time to yourself with how few people are around. Obviously the birds make a lot of noise (I recommend headphones / music for sleeping) and there is very little cover from the sun, but if you prepare, you will be good!

Beautiful island and excellent campground for an overnight stay. Swimming at the landing is a phenomenal way to enjoy the marine environment and hiking all of Anacapa is no problem.

If you're staying during the Western Gull mating season (we did) the birds are definitely vocal. All day and night. Kind of incredible and mind-numbing at the same time.

Amazing place.

Our camping experience in Anacapa island was wonderful and unique, we were lucky enough to have the island all by ourselves during our stay, and we could explore the whole island undisturbed once the day trippers left around 3 PM, the ranger was super nice and knowledgeable, the restrooms were one of the cleanest we've been in all the NPS system, the island felt small and cozy, unbeatable vistas all around.
During our stay we shared the island with 9,999,999 seagulls, they were very territorial between them, so much so that the would kill between them, but they never bothered us a bit, never tried to snatch our food or didn't even came close to the trash bags, but please make sure to always keep food in lockers, at night little deer mice will come and check if you had any leftovers, so don't leave anything outside.
In short, great experience, so close to mainland yet so different, will definitely recommend.