Santa Rosa Island

Thank you Channel Island National Park providing us with such an incredible camping opportunity, with some luxuries, on Santa Rosa Island. The campsites are well maintained, having access to running water is invaluable, and the inclusion of a flushing toilet with a sink was surprising and welcomed.

Santa Rosa is beautiful! Thus hiking there is amazing. The Lobo Canyon trail was a highlight for me. But it's also extremely windy, at least in March. The first night, we barely slept and we had to exit the tent a few times to reinstall the pegs. The following nights, we knew what would happen, so we made sure that the pegs were firmly put in the ground.

Rangers are awesome. The experience is challenging. An excellent space to teach self reliance and environmental stewardship to your children; and have fun too!

Be prepared for some wind! Overall it was a great trip but it was really windy. Depending on how strong the winds are, having some extra paracord to secure the tent to the wind shelters might be helpful. Other than that, it was a great time! The hiking was beautiful and the trails were adequately marked. Most of the hikes were totally doable within a day, which made it even more appealing.

There are numerous day hikes that take you to exceptionally scenic parts of the island, with remote beaches, expansive views and enchanting canyons.
I was on the island Wednesday through Sunday. The weather was excellent all days except Saturday, when the wind picked up with 40 mph gusts. I recommend rescheduling your trip if the forecast is Windy for the island. I did a 14 mile hike on the windy day, and it was definitely a challenge. Nevertheless, saw plenty of wildlife that didn’t seem to mind the wind, like foxes and elephant seals.
Wildflowers were abundant, despite below average rainfall.

This is a beautiful location, surrounded by wildflowers in March. The small shelters are very efficient in protecting against the wind, the toilet is very clean and people were mindful keeping it this way. Everything is made so you are comfortable and have everything you need.

Nice campground. Clean restrooms and nice to have running water in camp. Nice to have the shelters to protect from the wind. I recommend that you stick your entire tent inside the shelter and move your picnic table in front. Winds are pretty common. Day hikes were all fantastic. Amazing views and most in the range of 10-16 miles roundtrip. Note that there is not a lot of shade(if any) on most trails so be aware of too much sun. Helpful Park Rangers throughout my 3 night visit.

Also be aware that on departure day you may be asked to pack up earlier if the afternoon winds kick up. Originally our pickup time was 3:00pm, but rangers came into camp around 7:45am and told us we needed to be at the pier by 10:30am due to rough weather we may encounter in the afternoon trip back to Ventura. Highly recommend this trip.

The campsite was great, and I really recommend this as a summer destination. Water Canyon Beach is as beautiful as it looks in the photos. I had 2 or 3 beautiful sunny days lounging on the soft sand, and cooling off in the crystal clear water. There are fox tracks in the sand on the beach. You can follow them to see what the foxes were up to the previous night. I was there in August during a heat wave, and the water was super refreshing. I was standing in waist deep water watching the (harmless) leopard sharks swim past in the sandy spots. I didn't have my mask and snorkel, but that would have been a great idea too.

If you go to the top of the campground, I think it is behind campsite #16, there is a trail that leads down to the stream at Water Canyon. There I found waist-deep pools of clear water with polywogs swimming in them, so I am sure the place is filled with frogs. It seems like it is possible to hike upstream and there was one tributary branch that looked like it was wide and passable for the hikers to explore.

Beware - There are lots of foxes around this campsite and they are very crafty. They will go into your camp when you are there, but not looking. They will steal anything that is not nailed down; one of their favorites is SOCKS. "Foxes Love Soxes!" is my saying. I actually hiked around in the bushes on the edge of the campground over the edge of the hill. I found a half dozen socks, a pair of shorts, toothpaste, a teabag, sunblock, food bags and foil that had been stolen by the foxes and squirreled away beneath the chaparral for investigation.

All maps of this island are garbage, and there are maybe 6 signs total on the island. That being said, it was amazing. Ford Point can get "crowded" but is a safer bet to avoid elephant seals at La Jolla Vieja beach. If you go past ford point, it's easy to feel like you're the only people on the island and the views are incredible. The campground is also spectacular; both views and amenities. Have everything figured out before you get there though. We didn't see a ranger once in 3 days.

Great camground! Clean toilets, running water, great views.