Arch Point, Santa Barbara Island: With winter rains, the coreopsis emerges from summer's dormancy with light green foliage and bright yellow daisy-like flowers
Channel Islands National Park encompasses five remarkable islands and their ocean environment, preserving and protecting a wealth of natural and cultural resources. Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was.
Channel Islands National Park will reopen Water Canyon Campground and designated backcountry beach camping areas in the northwest and southwest quadrants of Santa Rosa Island beginning October 14. The southeast quadrant will remain closed to backcountry camping and no permits will be issued for the remainder of the 2026 recreation season. The burn area will remain closed to visitors.
Initial assessments indicate that 60% to 80% of Santa Rosa Island's iconic Torrey pines may perish as a result of the largest wildfire in Channel Islands National Park history.
Beginning Aug. 27, Channel Islands National Park will open the new Prisoners Harbor Campground on Santa Cruz Island, introducing overnight visitors to a new way to experience the park's largest island.
As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary, partners in one of the nation's most successful wildlife restoration efforts are celebrating another productive nesting season for America's national bird—the bald eagle.
Channel Islands National Park will reopen Santa Rosa Island for day use beginning July 1, following preliminary assessments of post-fire conditions on the island.