Channel Islands National Park - Facilities

Channel Islands National Park by National Parks Service

VISITOR CENTERS

Anacapa Island

Open

Open All Year

Location

The facilities on Anacapa overlook the northern channel.

Closures

Thanksgiving and Christmas

Special Programs

During the summer, park rangers dive into the Landing Cove on East Anacapa with a video camera. Visitors can see, through the eye of the camera, what the diver is seeing by watching video monitors on the dock. Pristine tidepools can be explored. Springtime brings colorful flowers, including the strange tree sunflower, or coreopsis, a plant found only on the Channel Islands and a few isolated areas on the mainland.

Exhibits

Visit the museum on the island, which houses the original crystal and brass Fresnel lens from the lighthouse.

Available Facilities

Museum, visitor center, lighthouse exhibits, primitive campground, and picnic area.

Lagomarsino Visitor Center

Open

Open All Year Monday - Sunday Open 8:30 - 5:00

Location

1901 Spinnaker Drive Ventura, California 93001

Closures

Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Special Programs

Provides the visitor with interpretive programs, a movie about the park, tide pool display, native plant garden, bookstore and island exhibits. The facility is fully accessible and offers a picnic area overlooking the Ventura Harbor. Every Saturday and Sunday we offer several scheduled programs including a Tidepool Talk at 11:00 a.m. At 3:00 p.m., rangers offer programs that look in depth at a variety of topics about the park. Programs are free to the public.

Exhibits

A living tidepool exhibit, three-dimensional models of all the park islands, interactive touch-screen exhibit, a tower with telescopes for viewing the islands, picnic area, a bookstore, and an outdoor native plant garden. Visitors will enjoy the 25-minute park movie, "A Treasure in the Sea", throughout the day in the auditorium. Every Saturday and Sunday park rangers present free interpretive programs on the natural and cultural resources of the park. Throughout the week, other programs and school visits may be scheduled by calling the visitor center.

Available Facilities

Museum, picnic area, and bookstore

Santa Barbara Island

Open

Open All Year from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.

Location

The facilities on Santa Barbara look out over the eastern side of the island.

Closures

Thanksgiving and Christmas

Special Programs

There is an abundance of wildlife on Santa Barbara, primarily sea birds and marine mammals. This is a good area to view the underwater life, in the warmer waters of this southernmost island in the park. Snorkeling in the Landing Cove, visitors can see bright sea stars, spiny sea urchins, and brilliant orange garibaldi. Spring rains bring out the flowering plants, such as the tree sunflower, the endemic Santa Barbara Island live forever, shrubby buckwheat, sea blite, and an annual poppy.

Exhibits

There is a visitor contact station/museum on the island, with exhibits, dioramas, and murals of the natural and cultural resources.

Available Facilities

Museum, visitor center, primitive campground, and picnic area.