Santa Barbara Island

We were the only visitors on the Island, no Ranger either, so had it to ourselves, that was a unique experience in itself.

We very much enjoyed the solitude of the island and wildness of it, the facilities for camping, including outhouses were quite nice, no people to mess them up.

Birds, Sea Lions, Seals, wildlife galore, it was wild!

Hiking was barren but great, the trail that you are meant to stay on is hard to track in some placed but managed.

Now for the drawbacks:

1. Getting ashore - There is no dock or even a beach to go ashore, especially at low tide, you have to climb up on the rocks covered in seaweed. We used our skiff to get people ashore, jumping off the front on to the rocks, the last person anchored the skiff just outside of the so-called pier area and used a paddleboard to get shore that we hoisted up and stowed above the high-water mark.

2. Once ashore you then have to climb up quite a few steep steps, not a big deal, except your path is impeded by some very large sea lions, including a couple of massive bulls. This took some time, as their only way to get passed you is down the narrow stairs you are climbing, so you need to climb up the embankment to allow them to pass.

We were traveling very light, so none of the above was a huge deal, but certainly something you need to be prepared for.

Fact is, it made for a lot of fun and part of the adventure!

Enjoy but be prepared as there is very little info to do it for you.

We were the only visitors on the Island, no Ranger either, so had it to ourselves, that was a unique experience in itself.

We very much enjoyed the solitude of the island and wildness of it, the facilities for camping, including outhouses were quite nice, no people to mess them up.

Birds, Sea Lions, Seals, wildlife galore, it was wild!

Hiking was barren but great, the trail that you are meant to stay on is hard to track in some placed but managed.

Now for the drawbacks:

1. Getting ashore - There is no dock or even a beach to go ashore, especially at low tide, you have to climb up on the rocks covered in seaweed. We used our skiff to get people ashore, jumping off the front on to the rocks, the last person anchored the skiff just outside of the so-called pier area and used a paddleboard to get shore that we hoisted up and stowed above the high-water mark.

2. Once ashore you then have to climb up quite a few steep steps, not a big deal, except your path is impeded by some very large sea lions, including a couple of massive bulls. This took some time, as their only way to get passed you is down the narrow stairs you are climbing, so you need to climb up the embankment to allow them to pass.

We were traveling very light, so none of the above was a huge deal, but certainly something you need to be prepared for.

Fact is, it made for a lot of fun and part of the adventure!

Enjoy but be prepared as there is very little info to do it for you.

We were the only visitors on the Island, no Ranger either, so had it to ourselves, that was a unique experience in itself.

We very much enjoyed the solitude of the island and wildness of it, the facilities for camping, including outhouses were quite nice, no people to mess them up.

Birds, Sea Lions, Seals, wildlife galore, it was wild!

Hiking was barren but great, the trail that you are meant to stay on is hard to track in some placed but managed.

Now for the drawbacks:

1. Getting ashore - There is no dock or even a beach to go ashore, especially at low tide, you have to climb up on the rocks covered in seaweed. We used our skiff to get people ashore, jumping off the front on to the rocks, the last person anchored the skiff just outside of the so-called pier area and used a paddleboard to get shore that we hoisted up and stowed above the high-water mark.

2. Once ashore you then have to climb up quite a few steep steps, not a big deal, except your path is impeded by some very large sea lions, including a couple of massive bulls. This took some time, as their only way to get passed you is down the narrow stairs you are climbing, so you need to climb up the embankment to allow them to pass.

We were traveling very light, so none of the above was a huge deal, but certainly something you need to be prepared for.

Fact is, it made for a lot of fun and part of the adventure!

Enjoy but be prepared as there is very little info to do it for you.