10,000-acre wildfire burning on Santa Rosa Island closes Channel Islands backcountry
A 10,000-acre wildfire closes Santa Rosa Island's backcountry, but Channel Islands remains one of California's wildest parks
A 10,000-acre wildfire is burning on Santa Rosa Island, closing all backcountry zones and trails in one of California's most overlooked national parks. The fire, which started on May 10, has forced park officials to restrict access to the island's interior while keeping coastal areas near Bechers Bay open for day use. It's a reminder that Channel Islands National Park, despite sitting just an hour offshore from Los Angeles, remains wild enough to burn.
Santa Rosa Island is the second-largest island in the park, stretching 15 miles end to end with grasslands, coastal bluffs, and Torrey pine forests that exist nowhere else on earth. The island sees fewer visitors in a year than Yosemite gets on a summer weekend, and this fire won't change that. If you're planning a trip to the Channel Islands this May, here's what you need to know.
Channel Islands National Park
Five islands 12 miles offshore / Fewer visitors than a small college town
Channel Islands National Park feels like California before statehood. No cell service, no paved roads, no lodges or gift shops. You take a boat or plane to get here, and once you arrive, the only infrastructure is a ranger station and a pit toilet. The islands host 145 species found nowhere else on the planet, including the island fox, a housecat-sized canid that evolved in isolation for thousands of years. Sea lions bark from kelp forests, peregrine falcons nest on sea cliffs, and on clear days you can see the Santa Monica Mountains across the channel while standing in total silence.
Channel Islands is what happens when you protect a landscape so thoroughly that most Californians forget it exists.
Santa Rosa Island, now partially closed due to the wildfire, is the park's most rugged destination. Lobo Canyon Trail normally takes you through a slot canyon to a ribbon waterfall that runs after winter rains, while the ridgeline above offers views of the entire island and three of its neighbors. The backcountry campground at Water Canyon sits in a grove of eucalyptus trees planted by ranchers a century ago, sheltered from the coastal wind that hammers the island's exposed beaches. Park officials have not announced a timeline for reopening the closed areas, but they've emphasized that the island's developed zone near Bechers Bay remains accessible for day trips and camping at the shoreline sites.
The wildfire comes during what is typically the park's best weather window. May brings calm seas, wildflowers on the islands, and temperatures in the low 70s without the fog that rolls in by July. Anacapa Island, the closest to the mainland and unaffected by the fire, becomes a corridor for migrating gray whales, while Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz offers kayaking through sea caves carved into volcanic cliffs. The park remains open, but visitors with existing permits for Santa Rosa's backcountry should contact the park directly for updates on closures and rebooking options.
Channel Islands doesn't get the headlines that Yosemite or Joshua Tree command, but it offers something those parks can't: space. You can hike all day without seeing another person, camp on a bluff above the Pacific with only the sound of waves and wind, and watch the Milky Way rotate overhead without a single artificial light on the horizon. The Santa Rosa fire is a setback for backcountry access, but it doesn't diminish the park's appeal. The islands have burned before and will burn again. They've also survived oil spills, overgrazing, and introduced species. What makes them remarkable is not their fragility but their resilience.
If you're heading to the Channel Islands this spring, pack layers. The boat ride out can be rough, and the wind on the islands is persistent enough to flatten your tent if you don't stake it properly. Bring all your own water for Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa; there are no potable sources on the islands. And plan for flexibility. Weather can cancel boats, and now fire can close trails. But if you're willing to adapt, you'll find a park that feels more like expedition than vacation, closer to the Galápagos than Disneyland, despite sitting within sight of one of the largest cities in North America.