The Beautiful “Galapagos of North America” is Just 25 Miles from LA, Yet Few People Know It Exists

Channel Islands National Park, California 

Channel Islands National Park sits just off Southern California’s coast. Created in 1980, it includes five islands: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara, covering 249,561 acres of land and sea.

It’s only 25 miles from Los Angeles. Though the park gets around 30,000 visitors each year, it’s pretty uncommon. Here’s everything you need to know about the park.

Early Chumash Settlements

The Chumash people made these islands their home for over 13,000 years. They built traditional plank canoes from redwood logs to travel to the mainland.

The Chumash were skilled at making things by hand, including baskets from local juncus rush plants. They used volcanic rocks to make tools (bone awls and fishhooks) and traded shell beads with other communities from San Francisco to Baja California, leaving behind thousands of artifacts.

Ancient Human Remains

Archaeological evidence from the Channel Islands includes more than 100 early coastal sites dated 7,500 years old, one of the richest clusters of early human habitation in the Americas. Scientists have also found human leg bones on Santa Rosa Island that are 13,000 years old.

Radiocarbon dating further shows continuous occupation from at least 8,000 years ago, including artifacts like basketry and ceremonial items that provide insights into Chumash life.

Ranching Was a Big Deal Here

You can still see old Victorian ranch houses, barns, and the original Del Norte Ranch buildings from 1887. Sheep ranching was the primary land use on Santa Cruz Island from 1880 to 1984, significantly shaping the island’s landscape and ecology.

The Vail and Vickers cattle ranch also operated on Santa Rosa Island for much of the 20th century, with as many as 7,000 cattle grazing the island’s grasslands.

Waters Preserve Diverse Marine Life

The waters around Channel Islands National Park are home to more than 2,000 different sea creatures.

Giant seaweed called kelp grows up to 100 feet tall, creating underwater forests that grow two feet every day. Bright orange garibaldi fish swim through these kelp forests while gray whales pass by during their yearly feeding migration.

Recovery of the Island Fox Species

The Channel Islands fox (one of the smallest canids in the world) were reduced to just 15 individuals each because of golden eagles and feral pigs on San Miguel Island.

Scientists then started a rescue program in which they relocated 44 golden eagles away from the islands between 1999 and 2008. The captive breeding program produced 53 pups between 1999 and 2007 and a total of 62 foxes were released back into the wild.

Native Plants of the Islands

There are more than 800 plant species here, with at least 145 endemic species that are found nowhere else on Earth. Plants like island oak and the Santa Cruz Island silver lotus have adapted to the island’s strong winds, salty air, and little fresh water.These plants began developing differently about 20,000 years ago when the islands separated from the mainland during the last ice age.

Home to One of the Largest Sea Caves on Earth

Painted Cave (12th largest sea cave in the world) on Santa Cruz Island goes 1,227 feet into the cliff and has an entrance 130 feet high. The rocky intertidal zones host a variety of marine life including mussels, anemones, and various fish species.

Inside these caves, you’ll find colorful walls of lichens and algae. Sea lions often use these caves for resting and breeding. The cave pools also contain purple sea urchins and moray eels inhabiting the rocky crevices.

Plenty of Stargazing Opportunities

A study by National Park Service scientists and UCLA researchers found that the islands have some of the lowest levels of light pollution. On a clear night, you can see up to 100 miles away.

Get a comfortable blanket and head to the dark sky island of Sark, which boasts no public lighting or cars. You can also explore top spots on Alderney like The Butes Cricket field, Giffoine, or the Roman Fort Carpark for an amazing stargazing experience.

Rare Bird Sightings

The Island Scrub-Jay lives only on Santa Cruz and has grown in population 30% more than the California scrub jays on the mainland. These smart birds help plant life grow by spreading acorns and seeds across the island.

The islands also provide safe nesting places for seabirds like the Black Storm-petrel and Scripps’s Murrelet. These birds return each year to build nests in the cliffs and canyons, far from mainland predators.

Extinct Dwarf Mammoths Fossils

Santa Rosa Island was once home to the pygmy mammoth that swam to the mainland approximately 150,000–250,000 years ago. Their evolution? These mammoths grew only 4-6 feet tall, much shorter than their 14-foot mainland relatives.

Scientists found many fossils here, including a nearly complete skeleton in 1994. These mammoths went extinct about 13,000 years ago and might have lived at the same time as the oldest human remains, the Arlington Man.

Special Butterflies of the Islands

The national park is also home to unique butterflies, including the Island Blue Butterfly, a unique species endemic to this region which has silvery-blue wings just one inch across.

These butterflies can only survive by feeding on the silver lotus plant, which grows nowhere else. You’ll also come across Mourning Cloaks, notable for their dark wings with bright blue spots. They’re one of the first butterflies to emerge in spring.