Off the Beaten Path: Santa Rosa Island~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Flowers, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS

Endless, pristine beaches with no one on them (click/tap to enlarge).

My son chooses a favored spot,

and prepares to take a very long nap.

Santa Rosa Island,

in Channel Islands National Park in Southern California,

is like a distant, undiscovered paradise. It is only a three hour bumpy small boat ride from mainland California, but it feels worlds away.

It is the only place in the world, besides my hometown in La Jolla, where Torrey Pine Tree forests grow naturally.

This is our boat leaving Santa Rosa Island with Santa Cruz Island in the background. The islands are suprisingly large, unpopulated and completely undeveloped. The waters around them team with wildlife, including blue whales and the largest population of multiple species of dolpins in the world. Super pods are often encountered here and I have been in the midst of them several times, including yesterday, which is a thrilling experience. I will show you some dolphin and whale photos soon.

Wild flowers are still growing profusely in mid-June!

The islands are home to lots of fauna too, including Channel Islands Foxes, which live no where else in the world, are tiny, adorable, and unafraid of humans. Photos of them soon.

What the islands may lack in modern conveniences,

they make up for in spades with unspoiled splendor.

Cheers to you from Santa Rosa Island~

240 thoughts on “Off the Beaten Path: Santa Rosa Island~”

  1. Oh, Cindy! Thanks so much for posting this. I’ve been trying to talk Mike into booking a flight to Santa Barbara so we can visit Channel Islands. Santa Rosa Island looks so gorgeous. I’ve never seen pictures like yours before. I am looking forward to your next posts.

    1. If you decide to go, drop me a line and I can share some tips to optimize your experience. It is a wonderful escape for our over-crowded world დ

  2. This place looks like an oasis when the storms of life are raging.
    Marvelous images as always – who knew this existed but you and your son??
    Thank you for sharing this little bit of happiness still available on our planet!!

    1. Thank you Sheila! There are a few places where I can get a true sense of old Southern California unspoiled nature, one is here, another is Camp Pendleton, and a third is The Holler. I crave these places as over zealous development has ruined so much of the state I was born in დ

  3. I believe I have told you before that I lived in California, between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, when I was a kid. I have never heard of these islands! Thank you so much for sharing! It looks beautiful!

    1. You are so welcome and yes, you did tell me you lived in Cali. The process of converting the islands to a national park took decades, starting in the 1930’s as portions moved from private, to conservancy, to park service hands. They weren’t available for public access for much of this time. They still filter access which is a very good thing. You can read more about all this here: https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/historyculture/park-history.htm დ

    1. Hi Raymond! Wonderful to hear from you. You would not believe the pristine clarity of the water. You literally can see forever. It is truly special დ

  10. Curt Mekemson

    I note that there are primitive campgrounds, Cindy. Have you ever taken advantage of them? Beautiful area. Thanks for the photos. –Curt

    1. Thanks Curt & yes! There are campgrounds. There is running water on Santa Cruz but none on San Miguel. Stay length depends upon boat schedules and the wind. Santa Rosa and San Miguel are windy at times. If the sea is rough you will be staying longer! You can also visit by charter boat or yacht and explore all aspects of the islands at leisure დ

  12. It is wonderful to see an island that that preserved. I have read something about the Channel Islands somewhere but can’t remember if it was fiction or non-fiction. Lovely photographs!

    1. These islands are precious California unspoiled natural paradises. There seems to be dedicated effort to not change this which is exceptionally good news! დ

  15. Wonderful place, no wonder it’s compared with paradise, but do we know anything about paradise except what we read or hear?

    1. It is an ideal isn’t it. Something we always are searching for. The eternal striving of the human heart. Hope all is well with you my friend დ

  19. Unspoiled splendor, indeed! Thank you, Cindy, I am loving your Off the Beaten Path posts. The wildflowers must be because of the rain, right? Looking forward to your next post.

    1. Thanks much Jennie! Happy you are enjoying the series my friend, and yes the rains this year are still producing glorious wildflowers. Be safe and well Jennie დ

  20. Although I’ve never been there, I’ve always assumed the Channel Islands would be crowded with tourists, being relatively close to LA. Nice to hear that’s not the case. I guess three hours in a small boat in a big ocean is a deterrent.

    I look forward to seeing the super pod and foxes.

    1. Yes. The abscence of any facilities, lodging, toilets, food concessionaires etc is also daunting to people who depend on these comforts. Happy you want to see the pods and foxes Dave. They thrill me to no end! Take good care my friend დ

    1. Thank Emma & pleased you enjoyed. It is especially unusual for The Southern California Coast. Other parts of the state, The Southern California Deserts, The Sierras, and far Northern California are also wild, remote and under visited. დ

  29. Hmm…Santa Rose to the occasion and Santa Cruzes the islands. I guess Christmas comes early for some folks! Lol! Spectacular shots as always, my friend! ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚

    1. Thank you very much for alerting me to the missing share button. I just added it. I greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness Charles. Take good care დ

    1. I was addicted to this book as a child. The author, Scott O’Dell lived in my hometown in La Jolla. He was a serious conservationist and got in an argument with my mother once at a party. (I’m sure he was in the right!) Your right about it being historical fiction, and I’m sure you know it was loosely based on a real Native American woman who lived alone on the island. I loved her and her dog Rontu. I found this on Scott O’Dell which you might find interesting, “In the life of the Lost Woman of San Nicolas, he saw a way to make a statement about an issue that was important to him. “Island of the Blue Dolphins,” he wrote, “began in anger, anger at the hunters who invade the mountains where I live and who slaughter everything that creeps or walks or flies.” The book became a best-seller. It won the American Library Association’s Newbery Medal, as well as a half-dozen other awards. Scott O’Dell died in 1989 and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean off La Jolla, California.”

      1. Cindy, it’s a fantastic book! We have a copy of it but heard the audible version of it and loved it. Rontu became a beloved character and the way she survived living out there by herself is astounding. It was sad to hear that she was found and then passed a few months after coming in contact with people at the missionary.
        Wow, how cool that it was one of your favorite books and the author lived in your hometown! Thank you for sharing the statement. So true…it was disturbing how the story began with the sea otter traders and how her father died.
        I’m going to read this book with the kids and share what you told me about him. When they learn that the author lived in San Diego, it’ll stir more interest in them. Thank you Cindy!!

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