Arroyo Verde Park Loop

Arroyo Verde Park is a small parked tucked in the hills above Ventura, California, and has a network of trails running up and down the hills surrounding the valley in the center of the park. The entrance to the park is at the intersection of Foothill Road Day Road, east of downtown Ventura. There is parking inside the park but also just outside of the park on Foothill Road with a clearly marked...

The Ventura Harbor provides a protected entry/exit to the Pacific Ocean and is a great place to start a paddleboarding adventure.  Marina Park, at the end of Pierpont Boulevard, has a ton of parking, a free public launch, and there are boards to rent along the harbor. From the launch you can head south and west, out to the jetty's and the Pacific, or you can go East (left) and explore the homes...

Tucked away in the Pacific Ocean just 25 mile from the coast, the Channel Islands are one of Southern California’s hidden gems. With towering cliffs and isolated beaches that hug the coast, this place makes you feel worlds away from home. Channel Islands National Park is comprised of five islands and if you find yourself not knowing where to begin, a day trip to Scorpion Anchorage, located at t...

The hike to Chinese Harbor is a 14.2 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 curtesy of Island Packers, a trek to Chinese Harbor might be difficult to manage since you will only have from 11:00am to 4:00pm on the island. This hike is best ...

Leaving from either Ventura or Oxnard via Island Packers, this full-day hike is in the middle of the Santa Barbara Channel on a small island, about one hour from Los Angeles by car and one additional hour by boat. Without a beach on which to anchor, your boat will pull into Landing Cove and idle while passengers disembark. Climb 157 stairs up a cliffside to the surface of east Anacapa while the...

Accessible only by Ferry, this little known national park is a backpackers 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 leaves for the island once or twice in the morning, and picks people back up in the afternoon, heading...