Channel Islands National Park
California
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
7.2 h fully dark
Crowds
low
Open today
Open
Entrance
Free entry
Closure of Santa Rosa Island Due to Wildfire
Santa Rosa Island is closed to all public use through June 30, 2026, due to a recent wildfire. Day use in unburned areas resumes July 1. Burned areas, including Water Canyon Campground, remain closed through at least August 13. Click the more link for additional information.
Official NPS alert →Western Gulls Nesting on Anacapa Island From April Through Mid-August
During this time, visitors will encounter seabird rookery conditions: guano, strong odor, constant noise, bird carcasses, and birds protecting their territory. If visitors consider these conditions adverse, it is advised that they visit another island.
Santa Barbara Island Dock Closed; Landings Restricted to Adjacent Rocky Ledge
Santa Barbara Island is open to public access, but landings are restricted to the rocky ledge adjacent to the dock. The dock is closed and is not expected to be repaired in the near future due to the severe winter storm damage.
Official NPS alert →Channel Islands National Park encompasses five remarkable islands and their ocean environment, preserving and protecting a wealth of natural and cultural resources. Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was.
Activities
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
The park is open 24 hours a day. Services and facilities have separate hours. Please see descriptions of those facilities elsewhere.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 8056585730
✉ chis_information@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 66°F
🌫️ 66°/62°
⛅ 67°/64°
🌫️ 69°/64°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
44%
Feb
48%
Mar
68%
Apr
71%
May
77%
Jun
89%
Jul
100%
Aug
81%
Sep
70%
Oct
63%
Nov
57%
Dec
48%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Live conditions
Campgrounds
Anacapa Island Campground ↗ · 7 sites
San Miguel Island Campground ↗ · 9 sites
Santa Barbara Island Campground ↗ · 10 sites
Santa Cruz Island Del Norte Backcountry Campground ↗ · 4 sites
Santa Cruz Island Scorpion Canyon Campground ↗ · 31 sites
Santa Rosa Island Backcountry Beach Camping ↗ · 30 sites
Santa Rosa Island Campground ↗ · 15 sites
Prisoners Harbor Campground
Visitor centers
Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center
Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center
San Miguel Island Ranger and Visitor Contact Station
Santa Barbara Island Visitor Center
Santa Rosa Island Visitor Contact Station
Scorpion Ranch Visitor Center on Santa Cruz Island
Visitor Center Anacapa Island
Accessibility
2 accessible campground(s)
492 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Channel Islands National Park — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
Passport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center
🎫 San Miguel Island Ranger and Visitor Contact Station
🎫 Santa Barbara Island Visitor Center
🎫 Santa Rosa Island Visitor Contact Station
🎫 Schoolhouse (Visitor Contact Station)
🎫 Scorpion Ranch Visitor Center on Santa Cruz Island
🎫 Visitor Center Anacapa Island
🎫 Visitor Contact and Ranger Station and National Park Service History
Places to see
A Window Into Their World
audio
Abalone Rocks Marsh
audio
Airstrip
audio
Algae
audio
Allen's Hummingbird
audio
Anacapa Island Landing Dock
audio
Anacapa Island Webcam
audio
Anacapa Island — 'anyapax
audio
Anemone
audio
Arch Point
audioArch Point Hike
audio
Arch Rock — pasawapʰ hoti or ’aɬwaštimot̓o
audioAudio & media
Learn more
Recipients of the 2002 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
Discover the inspirational stories and amazing dedication of volunteers honored with the 2014 Hartzog Award.
Celebrate 50 years of the NPS Volunteer-in-Parks Program, and learn about the contributions of the volunteer recipients of the 2019 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service, for work performed in fiscal year 2019.
Each year nearly 300,000 volunteers across the National Park Service (NPS) donate more than 6.5 million hours of service, for a value of more than $185 million. Through their extraordinary work and dedication, these volunteers make an exceptional contribution to their parks and communities. We are pleased to congratulate the national recipients of the 2020 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
The National Park Service congratulates the regional recipients of the 2023 Excellence in Volunteerism Awards. These nominees embody the values of service, engagement, and stewardship fundamental to our national parks.
The National Park Service congratulates the regional recipients of the 2025 Excellence in Volunteerism Awards. These nominees embody the values of service, engagement, and stewardship fundamental to our national parks.
In this issue of 3Parks3Stories, we would like to share three stories of successful conservation projects in the Mediterranean parks that were reliant upon partnerships between the NPS and one or more dedicated collaborators. In these stories, we hope you see the mutual benefits of these relationships and the value they bring in the effort to protect, preserve, and understand our national legacy.
Like you, we love our National Parks and all of the wonderful flora and fauna that live within them. Our mission is to protect and preserve these natural resources for this and future generations. That’s a big task! Have you ever wondered how we at the National Park Service keep tabs on the status of everything that lives within the park?
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
How Channel Islands National Park connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
Park
Activity
Topic
State
Campground
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
Trail
Alert
Similar parks
Share activities & topics with Channel Islands National Park.
