Santa Barbara, California

Note: This trail is temporarily closed. For more updates, please visit the Forest Service website for more updates.  ...If you've read most of my blogs, you'll probably notice I have a fascination for waterfalls! I've done this hike multiple times, but it wasn't until this day where I saw these ...

From Santa Ynez, CA take Armour Rd until it hits Happy Canyon Rd, and make a left. Follow this scenic drive through vineyards and oak shaded pastures into the Angeles National Forest. A half-mile section of asphalt is rough from winter storms, so drive slow. The road becomes Sunset Valley Rd and ...

I was looking for a last minute adventure out of LA and found this epic view.  Easy backpacking trip for one night, no permits needed, less than 3.5 hours from LA, and secluded.  Go to REI and pick up your adventure pass for your car. Plug into your GPS "Davy Brown Campground" in Los Olivos / Los...

Accessible only by Ferry, this little-known national park is a backpacker's dream. You can catch the ferry out of Ventura or Santa Barbara, only a short distance from LA. The ride to the island is around 1 hour. We chose to take Island Packers Ferry out of Ventura to Santa Cruz Island. The ferry...

There's no better feeling then camping out and having a whole site to you and your friends...wouldn't you agree?!?! ...Deep in the Sespe Wilderness in Ojai, California sits a tucked away, well-managed campsite called "Bear Trap Campground". This campsite can be reached at any point of the year a...

The hike to Chinese Harbor is a 14-mile out-and-back hike from Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island or a much more manageable 8-mile out-and-back hike from Del Norte backcountry campground. If you are spending the day on the island courtesy of Island Packers, a trek to Chinese Harbor might be di...

To get to Santa Cruz Island you will need to book a ferry with Island Packers. On their website, you can only book roundtrip tickets in and out of the same location so for this trip you will need to call and book a ferry into Prisoner's Harbor and out of Scorpion Anchorage. You can call them at (...

Del Norte Backcountry Campground is located on Santa Cruz Island, one of the islands that makes up Channel Islands National Park. It is California's largest island and is almost three times the size of Manhattan. The easiest way to get to the island is to take Island Packers, a ferry service that...

Park at the Lions Camp parking lot. Adventure Passes aren't technically "required" but it never hurts to have one. You can stop at the Forest Service in Ojai (1190 E. Ojai Ave) or stop at the Wheeler Gorge Station on your way up to buy one for $5 for a night. The trail begins at the far side of t...

Channel Islands National Park is California's least visited National Park. If you visit, you will see many unique plants and animals, including a rare native fox species, and Torrey Pines, only found here and in a small grove near San Diego. This adventure is not for the inexperienced. There is ...

You can get a wonderfully detailed description of what to expect from the Channel Islands/Santa Rosa Island and how to get there from fellow Explorer Michael Wigle's "Beach Camp on Santa Rosa Island" adventure (which I highly recommend you check out for the information and the photography, so I'm...

One could a lifetime exploring, and attempting to describe, the beauty of the Channel Islands National Park and Santa Rosa Island in particular: its wildly diverse terrain, endemic flora and fauna, and also the only of the Islands to allow backcountry beach camping. While the opportunities for di...