The secret Californian islands that escape most tourists’ radars

“Out front, to the left!” the captain announces over the radio, as we cut through the inky-blue Santa Barbara Channel back to the California mainland. Slowing down, we all jump up as a humpback whale pops like a cork out of the deep, as if to say: “Surprise! Here I am!”

We let out a collective cheer of joy, as the mighty creature pauses, rolls over and gracefully sinks back down. Minutes later, a couple of metres away, we watch as another shoots a jet of water from its blowhole into the air, while a flock of noisy seabirds flap and squawk overhead. And to think that earlier I was chuffed to have seen hundreds of pelicans perched on a harbour wall and a solo manta ray gliding through a kelp forest under a jetty.

Before visiting the Channel Islands – situated an hour off the California coast at its nearest part – I hadn’t realised just how abundant in life they, and the waters around them, would be. “There must be three whales out there,” says the captain, pointing out a small pod of dolphins nearby. It was a feeding frenzy in action. Beneath the surface, I imagine thousands of shoal fish being whipped up by predators into what they call a “bait ball”. I feel like I’m watching a dramatic scene from David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, only in real life. In this world of environmental doom and catastrophe, to witness nature in abundance doing what it’s supposed to do is pure joy.

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It was a hot day in early September, and my first exploring the Channel Islands – an eight-island archipelago divided into two groups: the southern Channel Islands, where my trip would end; and the northern Channel Islands national park – one of America’s least visited – where I currently was. This group consists of five islands and is home to plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth, and often nicknamed the Galapagos of North America. Protected by the 1,470sq mile Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, it’s an isolated paradise for those who love to hike, camp and kayak in peace.

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Despite how close the islands are to the California mainland, few residents – let alone tourists – visit here or even realise you can. Those who do will experience a remote, ancient landscape of rocky cliffs, elegant arches, sandy beaches and grassy hills, once home to the Native American Chumash people, and a reminder of how California once was.

Whale sightings in the Channel aren’t guaranteed – this experience was a bonus of my trip to Prisoner’s Harbor on Santa Cruz Island, the largest and most diverse of the northern Channel Islands, known for its craggy cliffs and grassy hills. It certainly made up for missing out on the world’s second largest sea cave on the island’s north side earlier that day due to choppy seas.

This set of circumstances, as I came to realise, was a completely normal occurrence when visiting the Channel Islands national park, where fickle weather patterns mean plans can change in an instant. Even in September, one of the best months to visit, the weather was proving unusually unpredictable. But it didn’t dampen my excitement or stop play. To visit the Channel Islands national park, you must be willing to be flexible.

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My California island adventure began in Ventura, a lesser-known beach town 70 miles north of Los Angeles, with epic sunsets, sunrises and surf breaks in spades –?and home to the new boutique Hotel San Buena, my base for two nights. From here, I was a 10-minute drive along a stretch of the famous Highway 101 to Ventura Harbor, where local company Island Packers run various there-and-back trips to the islands (you can’t island hop between each one). But first, I fuelled up on bagels and coffee at the airy Frontside Café.

In the swing of island life, I’m not fazed when, the following day, rough seas scupper my trip to Santa Rosa, the second largest island in the group, known for its pristine sandy beaches. Back to Santa Cruz I go instead, any disappointment swiftly forgotten early into a guided walk with naturalist Mike Watling. We meet at the Scorpion Point visitors centre, housed in an old building originally used by ranchers in the 1800s. Ten minutes later, at the side of a path, an island fox emerges from inside a sun-scorched coyote bush, fluffy and kitten-like, happily sniffing around in the sun.

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“They’re much smaller than regular foxes and native to the islands,” Mike says, explaining that it’s thought they were brought here 10,000 years ago by the Chumash people. “Three were born in this lemonade berry bush recently,” he says, turning to a giant shrub with reddish, oval berries. (I later learn the Chumash would eat these berries like sweets, or use them to make juice by steeping them in water.)

We wander into the campground, where folk are setting up in the shade of eucalyptus trees. As a lifelong camper and wild-camping fan, the idea of unplugging here for a couple of nights – no power, no distractions, and no way out until the boat arrives the next day – fills me with excitement for future travels.

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Our walk takes us up and along the Potato Harbor trail, with incredible views over and down to Potato Harbor and the other end of Santa Cruz. “You can visit Yosemite national park and take hours just to get in, but be on the islands pretty quickly and feel like you have them all to yourself,” he says, as I look around and see not another soul. There’s only the sound of seabirds and seals on some rocks below.

“People assume they’re all the same,” he adds, when I ask if he has a favourite island. “But each has its own personality and rhythm. They’re like kids, you know. You can’t choose. It just depends on what you want to do. San Miguel and Santa Rosa have sandy beaches, Anacapa is volcanic, and Santa Barbara is the smallest.”

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Back on dry land, I leave Ventura wanting to experience more of the Channel Islands national park, but the celebrity enclave of Santa Barbara 27 miles south beckons, where I learn more about these unique habitats. First stop: the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in the shadow of Arlington Peak. Opened in 1926, it was the first botanic garden in the United States to focus exclusively on native plants, and home to a section on those native to the islands. I climb some steps for epic views across the Channel to Santa Cruz.

Elsewhere in the city, I find a replica of a Chumash tomol (plank canoe) at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum; explore the Channel’s unique underwater habitats, from rocky reefs to kelp forests (home to unique animals like moon jellies and seahorses) at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center; discover a giant three-dimensional map of the islands and a replica of a Channel Islands pygmy mammoth at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History –?and eat delicious Channel Islands crudo at fun restaurant The Lark in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, an appropriate finale to my educational day.

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Car-free Santa Catalina in the southern Channel Islands is my last stop, an hour on the Catalina Express from Long Beach. Disembarking at Avalon Bay feels like arriving on a Greek island, albeit with an American twist. Tiers of white apartments dot a green slope above a turquoise bay lined with restaurants, tacky souvenir shops and parked-up golf carts. Catalina, as locals call it, was owned by the chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr from 1919 to 1975, who spent millions turning it into a destination resort, including building a stunning Art Deco casino that’s open for fascinating backstage tours and cocktails.

I’m loath to admit that the island looks tired, and feels captive to high tourist prices. That said, it’s a nice place to do not much for a couple of days, like pootle around its narrow winding streets on a golf cart (if you can afford it), spot resident deer and bison, sip cocktails on the casino roof come golden hour – and reflect on how special the other uninhabited, protected, islands in the group still are.

Hotel San Buena is a beautiful boutique hotel right in the heart of downtown Ventura. The Spanish Revival landmark blends a mixture of traditional and modern across its 30-plus rooms.

There’s a quirky, vintage edge to Palihouse Santa Barbara, which is a few blocks from the beach (and highlights such as the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Pier). All-day dining can be found in the hotel’s Mediterranean-style courtyard.

You’ll find various shapes and sizes to fit your travel group with Hamilton Cove Villas?on Santa Catalina Island, from ?370 per night (minimum two-night stay). Look out for island decor, ocean views and easy access to the nearby attractions.

For more information on California, go to?visitcalifornia.com

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