Ventura - Premier Visitors Guide 2007-2008 - (Page 35) the Channel are teeming with marine life, including 27 species of dolphins and whales, six species of seals and sea lions and thousands of sea birds. The Channel Islands are accessible for day trips or a multi-day camping experience. Each island’s network of nature trails showcases its particular flora and fauna and long stretches of white sand remain unspoiled. Permits are required for camping and rangers are often available for hiking tours. Anacapa, just 14 miles from Ventura Harbor, is only a halfmile wide and a mile long, with 200-foot cliffs on all sides. Santa Cruz, the largest island in the chain (and the largest island off the California coast), offers an extensive trail network with a range of options for serious hikers. Santa Rosa and San Miguel islands lie farther away and are excellent choices for more remote and rugged wilderness experiences, especially if you can spend several days camping and exploring. Santa Barbara Island rewards visitors with excellent wildlife viewing and clear water for diving and snorkeling. Connect with Ventura’s Wild Side On the ocean, you can get up close and personal with whales—the gentle giants of the sea. Whale watching “season” technically runs from late December through March (the Harbor Village Whale Celebration is in February), when the graceful California gray whales journey to the warm Mexican waters to give birth and then return north with their calves in tow. But the Channel teems with life year-round and while on a boat trip from Ventura Harbor you are likely to spot humpback whales, orcas, giant squid, elephant seals and thousands of common dolphins in pods that stretch from horizon to horizon. Dress warmly in layers and ask about preventative strategies for seasickness if you tend to get queasy in choppy waters. Contact Island Packers, 1691 Spinnaker Dr., 642-1393. Back on shore, Ventura’s strategic position on the Pacific Flyway and its lushly diverse ecosystems make it a birdwatcher's paradise. Grab your binoculars and try to spot a surf scoter, a long-billed dowitcher, or a red-breasted sapsucker. There are 457 species that reside or migrate through seashores, salt marshes, riparian wilderness areas, mountains, rocky canyons and meadowlands. Pick up an Audubon Society brochure at the visitor's center, visit the website, www.venturaaudubon.org, or write for more information to P.O. Box 24198, Ventura, CA 93002. To get started, try your spotting luck at the Santa Clara River Estuary and McGrath State Beach. Call the Ventura Visitor Center for directions at 648-2075. COURTESY VVCB, CHANNEL ISLANDS, VVCB Island Packers (1691 Spinnaker Dr., www.islandpackers.com) is the Ventura area’s official concessionaire for the national park, providing daily boat excursions and transportation to Anacapa Island, frequent trips to East Santa Cruz Island year-round and trips to Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands from April through November. For recorded information call 642-7688; for reservations call 642-1393. You can also fly from Camarillo Airport to Santa Rosa Island with Channel Islands Aviation, 987-1301, www.flycia.com. The Nature Conservancy privately owns much of Santa Cruz Island. For information on limited access to the private portions of this island, visit www.nature.org and search for Santa Cruz Island. W W W. V E N T U R A - U S A . C O M 35 http://www.islandpackers.com http://www.flycia.com http://www.venturaaudubon.org http://www.nature.org http://WWW.VENTURA-USA.COM
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