What’s Happening Now with Channel Islands National Park

These are ever-changing times. With that in mind, Visit Ventura continues to put out current information about everything from beaches, to parking, to, yes, what’s happening at the moment regarding our beautiful Channel Islands National Park.
It’s our chance to tell you — clearly and honestly — exactly how things stand in Ventura, and, in the case of the Channel Islands, nearby environs.
And heartfelt thanks to you for reading and caring. We are a team, all of us working collectively and knowledgeably to put this pandemic behind us.
Today we’ll talk about what’s happening now with Channel Islands National Park, just a few simple — but important — basics, with links on where to go for more information. And as our CEO and fun/fearless leader Marlyss Auster rightly puts it, we can all use some time beneath wide skies — complete with memories to last a lifetime.

• Channel Islands National Park is open — and with their wide-open spaces, there may be no better place to visit.
• Island Packers is the only boat company that runs trips out to the Channel Islands from Ventura Harbor and they are currently running trips to Anacapa, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. Please check their website for their trip schedules. They are offering whale watching trips too. Whale watching season is in full swing. From late December through the middle of April, majestic Pacific Gray Whales pass by the Ventura coast.
• To keep you safe, Island Packers has instituted a host of measures, from limiting the number of people they carry on their boats, to requiring all passengers, three years of age and older, to wear a mask. You can find all their safety measures on their website.
• Happy news! The brand new beautiful pier at Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island is now open! A bigger, stronger, safer pier offering access to a wondrous world where housecat-size foxes scamper through fields of Seuss-like flowers, and moon and sun shine down on, well, nothing. Congratulations to our friends at Channel Islands National Park — a lot of effort behind this success! 
• On the islands you can roam freely — in fact, that’s their beauty — though social distancing rules still apply around folks you don’t know. For safety’s sake, there are currently no guided hikes on the islands — but naturalists are available to answer your questions. And please take all your trash with you.
• The park’s island campgrounds are open — including the popular lower Scorpion Canyon Campground on Santa Cruz Island. The park does close campgrounds occasionally for maintenance. Though this is rare, it’s always best to check the Recreation.gov website for the current status of park campgrounds.
• For detailed information about how Channel Islands National Park is handling the COVID situation, please visit the Channel Islands National Park website.

Yes, it can seem like a lot — and sometimes it is. But don’t lose sight of the glory either. The Channel Islands are one of the most beautiful places in the world — and your visit will provide memories you’ll never forget.
Thank you for seeing the glories of this world in a safe and responsible manner.
And, from all of us here in Ventura, thank you for wearing a mask, thank you for social distancing, and thank you for caring.