Anacapa Loop

Channel Islands National Park, California

Anacapa Island, situated twelve miles from the mainland, is a five-mile long spine of three islets that provide a home for 265 species of plants and a nesting site for numerous seabirds—bound for East Anacapa, the most accessible of the Channels Islands, we set our sights on the 1.5-mile loop trail that circles the island.

We boarded the Vanguard, our ferry to East Anacapa provided through Island Packers, early in the morning and set off across the channel to the “American Galapagos”—dolphins and sea lions escorted our boat as we made our way to our destination.

An hour later and we were staring up at the staircase that spirals its way up the cliff from the Landing Cove—154 steps up and we found ourselves standing on the island plateau. Our arrival in late June coincided with the nesting of hundreds of Western gulls—every inch of the island was inhabited by adult gulls and their fluffy gray chicks. Seabirds are probably the most conspicuous wildlife on Anacapa Island—thousands of birds use Anacapa as a nesting area thanks to the lack of predators on the island. In addition to the seabirds, the rocky shores of Anacapa are the perfect resting and breeding area for California sea lions and harbor seals. Combine the raucous barking of sea lions and the squawking of hundresd of sea gulls and you have yourself one lively hike.

The nature trail leaves from the Visitor Center, where you can pick up an informative pamphlet describing the island’s features, and winds around the island in a figure-eight loop. To get the most of our visit, we joined a naturalist led hike, but you are free to hike the trail at your own leisure as well—just remember, because of the fragile ecology, hiking on the island is more regulated than in most places and you must always stay on the trail.

Leaving the Visitor Center, we hiked up a gentle hill covered in sea fig and crystalline iceplants—the shallow nests of Western gulls and their chicks lined the trail and in the distance we could see the island Lighthouse. As we hiked, our guide pointed out several plants native to the island, including Island rose mallow, gumweed, island live-forever, and morning glories. Although for much of the year, the island vegetation looks brown and lifeless, winter rains transform the landscape into a bounty of color—the strange tree sunflower, or giant coreopsis, blossoms with bright yellow bouquets. The prehistoric looking plants were dormant during our visit, but when they bloom, the island is alive with color so vivid that it can sometimes be seen from the mainland.

Our hike continued through the bizarre landscape, taking us past Pinniped Point—a haul site for sea lions and harbor seals—to the appropriately named Inspiration Point.

A cool, salty mist fills the air at Inspiration Point, a place where you can look out across the narrow strait seperating East and Middle Anacapa—often pelicans, gulls, and guillemots soar above the dramatic vista.

After enjoying lunch at Inspiration Point, we parted from our guide and returned to the Landing Cove via the dormant Coreopsis Forest, arriving just in time for the live underwater program—during the summer, rangers dive into the rich kelp forest of the Landing Cove with a video camera so vistors can glimpse the fascinating undersea world without getting wet. The rangers are even equipped with a microphone so that they can narrate the adventure and accept questions from viewers—a very unique and educational experience.

After the program, we boarded the Vanguard for our return ocean voyage—before setting off for the mainland, the captain skirted the west end of the island giving us excellent views of the Lighthouse, Arch Rock, and a water-level view of Pinniped Point.