Visitor Information

Contacts

Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center. The park's visitor center has a three-story observation tower with telescopes, a bookstore, and a museum. A 24-minute film, Treasure in the Sea, provides an engaging overview of the islands, and, in the marine life exhibit, sea stars cling to rocks, and a brilliant orange Garibaldi darts around. Also on display are full-size reproductions of a male northern elephant seal and the pygmy mammoth skeleton unearthed on Santa Rosa Island in 1994.

On weekends and holidays at 11 am and 3 pm, rangers lead various free public programs describing park resources, and, from Wednesday through Saturday in summer, the center screens live ranger broadcasts of hikes and dives on Anacapa Island. Webcam images of bald eagles and other land and sea creatures are also shown at the center and on the park's website. 1901 Spinnaker Dr., Ventura, California, 93001. 805/658–5730; www.nps.gov/chis. Daily 8:30–5.

Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center. The small office in the Santa Barbara Harbor provides maps and other information about Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary; the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is housed in the same building. Call ahead to verify hours. 113 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara, California, 93001. 805/456–8752; outdoorsb.sbmm.org. Daily 11–5.