Cherry Canyon Loop, Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/19/2026	4.3 miles	2 hours 3 minutes	350'	2.2 mph	318.8

Parking: 

• Free parking on street, next to Island Packers Ferry Terminal

Map:

• Gai GPS app
• NPS map (available at the visitor center)

Directions:

• See NPS map

Today we went to a different island, with a much longer ferry ride (3+ hours). First, our ferry dropped off passengers at Santa Crus Island. Then a few of us continued on to Santa Rosa Island. The sea was choppier today, so I took 2 Dramamine for the ride. We had less time to hike today, due to the longer ferry ride. After talking to a NPS volunteer, we chose to hike the Cherry Canyon Loop. It reminded me a lot of hiking the Fisherman's Trail in Portugal. We started out on hot, dry, dusty roads, then up to a cliffside with views of the ocean. The views up there were gorgeous. 

This island has a reputation of being very windy. In May of this year, a fire burned half of the island. It took them 1 1/2 months to fully contain the fire! Luckily, the island re-opened in time for us to take this trip. You can camp on this island, but I don't know if I'd recommend it. I think you have to hike your gear in 2 miles from the dock. Some people hike with coolers! I can't remember if this site has potable water - we did see people carrying in gallon jugs of water in addition to their backpacking gear. The NPS recommends having 1 gallon of water a day. Then, each tent site comes with a wind shelter. A volunteer told us that typically on the first night, campers put their picnic table in the wind shelter, and tent outside of it. Then, on the second night they switch - putting the picnic table outside of the wind shelter, and their tent inside the wind shelter. 

On the ferry ride back to Ventura, our captain found 2 humpback whales for us to watch. Then dolphins. They actually will take detours to see wildlife! They also took a detour and drove us into a sea cave. I can't believe how far they got the ferry into the cave without crashing! Besides us, most of the people on the ferry ride back were people who had been doing research on the island.

In the evening, we did laundry at our hotel. With the heat and dust, our clothes are getting sweaty and filthy. The man working at the reception was stingy about giving us quarters to do our laundry. Ugh. Note to self - travel with quarters if I plan on doing laundry.

Island Packers Ferry Terminal

We saw 1 humpback whale on the way out.
Hard to time the photos to capture them.

We also saw schools of bottle nose and common dolphins

Santa Rosa pier

Redflower buckwheat

Signs of the May 2026 fire that burned half of the island

Campsites, each with a wind barrier

Campers hiking to their campsites after arriving on the ferry.

We came across 2 whales swimming together on our way back.

Prisoner's Harbor to Pelican Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/18/2026	5 miles	4 hours 37 minutes	647'	1.6 mph	314.5

Parking: 

• Street parking, next to Island Packers Ferry, Ventura

Map:

• Gai GPS app

Directions:

• Take the trail from Prisoner's Harbor to Pelican Bay. Return the same way.

Luckily, we had booked 3 trips to Channel Islands National Park, so although we missed our camping trip there, we still had 2 more trips booked. We woke up early and got to the Island Packers ferry terminal at 7am. I took a Dramamine, but the boat ride was smooth. On the ferry ride to Santa Cruz, we saw sea lions, whales, pelicans, and dolphins.

When we landed, we got instructions from a ranger. We had an option of doing this hike with the ranger, but we preferred to do it on our own. The hike starts in the National Park but continues into the Nature Conservancy property. Part of the island is owned by the NPS, part by the Nature Conservancy. They manage it together. It was a warm day again in the 80's. The terrain was dirt, sometimes quite rocky. We hiked and had lunch at Pelican Bay. A few people went swimming/snorkeling. The water was cold though! Our ferry crew said this year the water is actually way warmer than usual. Our ferry crew told us that Channel Islands National Park is like a mini-Galapagos. It has unique species that exist nowhere else. On our hike back we saw an Island Fox (only found here) and an Island Scrub Jay (also only found here). We also saw so many lizards. They are funny - running down the trail in front of us. We got back to the ferry dock area and waited for our ferry with lots of tired hikers. 

Approaching Pelican Bay

Garibaldi fish

Island Fence Lizard

Island Fox

Island Fox

Island Scrub Jay

Sunset at Ventura, just after returning in the evening.