Santa Cruz Island: Part of ‘American Galapagos’

Santa Cruz Island may not be celebrated in song like Santa Catalina (remember The Four Preps’ 1958 hit tune “26 Miles”?), but there are similarities. Like Catalina, Santa Cruz Island is about 26 miles from the mainland and an island of romance.

There are also major differences between the islands. While Catalina is a developed island that has long promoted tourism, Santa Cruz Island was, until recent years, a working cattle ranch. It’s now managed by the Nature Conservancy and is part of Channel Islands National Park.

Like the other national park islands--Santa Rosa, San Miguel, Anacapa and Santa Barbara--Santa Cruz has seen few visitors. Congress, in establishing Channel Islands National Park in 1980, did not intend it as a vacation spot for the comfort-loving, but rather as a preserve for what some have called the “American Galapagos.”

Top priority was given to the protection of sea lions and seals, endemic plants such as the Santa Cruz pine, rich archeological digs and what may be the final resting place of Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who explored the California coast for the Spanish Crown in the 16th Century.

Visitors have had a low priority, though more boats and tours than ever are heading for the islands. Those who manage to get to the islands have a splendid time. The only disappointed visitors are casual tourists who, while motoring along Highway 101, see the sign “Channel Islands National Park.” They exit the freeway, only to find that the national park in Ventura Harbor is simply a visitors center. The park is out there in the Pacific, 14 to 60 miles away, a series of blue-tinged mountains floating on the horizon.

Until recently, the only island that was easy to visit was little Anacapa, 12 miles from the mainland. Nowadays, the Nature Conservancy and Santa Cruz Island Foundation, as well as the National Park Service and the park’s concessionaire, Island Packers, are teaming up to lead more tours to the outer islands--particularly Santa Cruz.

Like Anacapa, Santa Cruz Island seems tantalizingly close to the mainland, dominating the seaward horizon of Santa Barbara. California’s largest offshore island, it boasts the most varied coastline and topography, the highest peak (2,434 feet) and safest harbors.

The island’s anchorages hint at its history: Smuggler’s Cove, Prisoners Harbor (the island was once a Mexican penal colony), Coaches Prietos (“Black Pigs,” for the Mexican-introduced hogs). Chumash Indians had both permanent and summer villages on Santa Cruz until the early 1800s when they were brought to the mainland and confined in Spanish missions.

In the 1880s, a colony of French and Italian immigrants led by Justinian Caire began a Mediterranean-style ranch, raising sheep and cattle, growing olives and almonds, even making wine. In 1937, Edwin Stanton of Los Angeles bought the western nine-tenths of the island from the Caire family. Edwin’s son, Dr. Carey Stanton, ran the Santa Cruz Island Co. from 1957 until his death in 1987, when the era of family ownership of the island ended and the Nature Conservancy assumed management.

The two most popular and easily booked trips to Santa Cruz Island depart from Ventura Harbor at 8 a.m. and return to the mainland between 5 and 6 p.m. Sometimes the boats pause to observe dolphins, whales, sea lions and seals. Figure about a two-hour boat ride each way and about five hours on the island. You and three dozen others make up a boatload.

The cost for going to Prisoners Harbor, known as the Main Ranch Day Trip, is $49 per person; price for going to Pelican Bay is $42 per person. The Main Ranch’s main emphasis is on human history, while the Pelican Bay Trip stresses natural history.

Main Ranch Day Trip: From the landing at Prisoners Harbor, it’s a three-mile hike under old oaks and through eucalyptus groves along an old fennel-lined ranch road. Your party will be accompanied by a Nature Conservancy employee who will point out some of the botanical and historical highlights encountered en route.

Upon arrival at the ranch, visitors eat lunch around a pool. (Bring a swimsuit so you can take a dip.) After lunch you can take a tour of the ranch buildings, including a tiny cabin converted into an anthropology museum, the main ranch house and some dilapidated winery buildings. A recently restored stone Catholic church celebrated its 100th anniversary in May with a visit by Archbishop (now Cardinal) Roger Mahony. Next to the old church is a cemetery where both humans and ranch dogs rest in peace.

Pelican Bay Day Trip: After arrival at Pelican Bay, landing is by a small skiff onto a rocky ledge. You’ll have to climb up a somewhat precipitous cliff trail to reach the picnic spot overlooking the bay.

A Nature Conservancy naturalist leads your group on an educational hike along the north shore. Two special botanical delights are a bishop pine forest and a grove of Santa Cruz Island ironwood.

Hiking / Santa Cruz Island Pelican Bay and Prisoners Harbor Trails Where: Channel Islands National Park. Distance: 3 miles round trip around Pelican Bay; 6 miles round trip from Prisoners Harbor. Degree of Difficulty: Moderate. Terrain: Canyons and mountains. Highlights: Rare plant species on California’s largest island. For more information: Reservations for Santa Cruz Island trips can be made by calling Island Packers at (805) 642-1393.