Channel Islands or Point Reyes
 

We are in the initial stages of planning a June trip to California with our boys, ages 12 and 18. We plan to visit San Francisco, Yosemite, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, and Carmel/Big Sur. I can't decide between adding a stop in Santa Barbara with a visit to the Channel Islands or a visit to Point Reyes. We like to hike and would like someplace a little different than our other stops. Is the seashore at Point Reyes much different than the Big Sur area? Anyone have a preference? Thanks for your time.

At both Big Sur and Point Reyes, it is mostly rocky cliffs that stand high above the ocean. So in that sense they are similar. However, Point Reyes has grassy rolling hills that extend away from the ocean, whereas Big Sur has mostly steep mountains that extend away from the ocean. I've never been to CI, so can't comment on that. Teens typically really enjoy the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The weather at Point Reyes in June can be pretty dismal because of summer fog. Rather than plan a visit this far out, consider going there as one of your days in San Francisco if you are lucky enough to have a clear, warm day. If not, you can always find something else to do.

I'm not as familiar with the Channel Islands but fog in June is also fairly predictable in SoCal. Besides, Santa Barbara is kind of a long way from the other places you will be visiting.

I think it depends on how long your trip is. Pt. Reyes would be handier to fit into your plans. Channel Islands would take more time and effort.

Thanks for your replies. Amazingly enough, Channel Islands is a little less than an hour more than doing Point Reyes. So the time factor doesn't matter to me. The foggy weather, however, does make me think Channel Islands/Santa Barbara might be more fun.

Why don't you do your own research instead of always relying upon the goodwill of others?

kskid,
This website is designed to ask questions, if you don't want to contribute your "goodwill" then you don't have to. the poster is doing his own research by asking a valid question right here on this site.

Digby, I haven't been to CI yet, but it is on my list. I would certainly have to spend the night(camp) there if I go. We found Pt. Reyes to a great spot. Check the tide tables and hit the beach at low tide. This was our first time tide-pooling and it was great. Lots of starfish and stuff. Not sure what the stuff was or I would tell you. lol. Tule elk are on the north end. I think you would need two days in PT Reyes to do it justice. We only did one day and it wasn't enough. Haven't been to Yosemite, but we loved Sequoia.

http://www.kevingong.com/Hiking/index.html
http://www.naturalbornhikers.com/index.html

I like the two websites above.
If you get the latest Fodors book(it's not out yet) My color Photo of Pt Reyes is going to be in it.

Latest Fodors book= California

I'd add Santa Barbara...is it really just an hour longer to get there...from which place? If it is indeed that one hour I would choose SB. You have quite a few nice state parks and beaches, I would like the diversity of another city besides San Francisco. Santa Barbara is a smaller city, it's really quite nice and the weather, if foggy, should clear up by about noon. As someone else mentioned, a day trip to Point Reyes from SF is possible, we do it all the time.

I second what spirobulldog says, this is the place to ask these kinds of questions....it's not "I'm going to Calif, where should I go?"

Enjoy your trip out here.

I've never been to Channel Islands but I've wanted to since I was a little girl, because that is where the children's book, "Island of the Blue Dolphins" takes place.

I've been to both Channel Is and Pt Reyes. In review of poster's 1st post, I'd answer Pt Reyes: for the ease of getting too hiking destination. Channel Is requires a charter boat ride, time on the ocean (which could be rough and canceled if poor weather including fog) in addition to time driving to SO CAl..and you will have to hike where everyone else does. Pt Reyes, located No CAL no boat ride,can modify time, where hike and if fog rolls in you can always chose a different hiking destination inland...

I have been to both Channel Islands and Pt. Reyes. Channel Islands is quite far from northern Cal, and, yes, you need a boat to get out there; NOT worth the trip from northern Cal. For hikers, I would recommend more time in the Sierras.It may take you longer than you think to drive in and out from the parks--the roads in and out are long and zig-zaggy. Route 1 through Big Sur is so zig-zaggy that you might want to take some anti-nausea medicine with you. You can day hikes a zillion places in any/all of those parks, as well as the beautiful parks in Big Sur. Big Sur has nice beaches and a stream for soaking. If you want an even beach-ier experience, I recommend Monterey with its aquarium (which my teens love)and its quite nice bike path. Cambria has a lovely beach, and Hearst Castle is an easy drive from there.

Thanks for all the recommendations! The obnoxious post from kskid was my brother joking around with me. He makes fun of me for the amount of time I spend on this site.

My trip to California is unfortunately now up in the air. The airfare has suddenly almost doubled. I don't know whether it is the result of higher gas prices or whether it might come back down. Wish I had just gone ahead and booked it!

If you are flying out of a smaller ciy into Fresno, then yeah it will be high. I imagine a large city flying into San Fran would be far less. check southwest airlines, they may not even be booking that far yet

I don't know where you are flying from but there will surely be a number of air fare sales between now and June.

Also, you don't explain how Santa Barbara fits in with your NoCal travel plans. You say it's only an hour more than Pt Reyes?

LOL. That's funny about your bro. :D

There will probably be several opportunities to find an airfare sale between now and June.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Amazingly enough, Channel Islands is a little less than an hour more than doing Point Reyes." Could your explain?

We are flying from Cincinnati to San Francisco. Airfare has been $268 nonstop for many weeks. It suddenly jumped to $428. I behaved as if it would stay at $268 since it had been there for so long--stupid me!! I will keep checking back though.

The reason I say Channel Islands will only be an hour longer is because we were planning to drive up the coast from about San Luis Obispo no matter which place we visit. If we go to Point Reyes, we have to drive north an hour longer and then drive back an hour to SFO to fly out.

Check itasoftware.com. Click on month-long search and type in your dates. United has several Tuesdays in June for $318. It's not a booking site, but you can get all the info there that you need in order to book your flight. There will be opportunities to book at sale prices as you get closer to your departure date. If you haven't booked by then, start checking closely right after the holidays. Good luck.

I've been to Pt. Reyes and love the scenery and ambience. Have not been to the Channel Islands, so cannot comment.

Thanks Betsy!!

I haven't been to CI, but plan to go sometime. In reading about the islands, it appears that each island is different. So you would need to have an island in mind(there are 4 or 5 you can visit) if you decide to go there. Another thing to keep in mind is; that if the sea is rough they do cancel the boatrides. When I do go to CI, it appears to me this best thing to do there would be kayaking, diving, and I would surely want to camp there overnight.

I've been once to one of the Channel Islands but agree that this is more properly a destination to be combined with a visit to Southern California.

Otherwise I agree with everything 1JAR has said.

Further points for you to consider, Point Reyes is one large park and the hiking is mostly in low scrub or some forest (non redwood), whereas, Big Sur has several different smaller parks and most of the hiking in Big Sur is through Redwoods. As for the beaches (can't swim, just hike), Point Reyes has a most spectacular 10-mile long beach, the Great Beach, which, when you see it from the hilltop near the lighthouse, just makes you want to scrabble down and walk that beach from end to end. Big Sur also has some wonderful beaches, the best for hiking are probably the ones at Point Lobos (not properly Big Sur, but just slightly north of it).

Easytraveler--we've been to Point Lobos and loved it. It's been a while, but I remember hiking up high on a bluff looking down at the water. Are there hikes below on the beach?

I agree--if you have to make a special trip to get down to Santa Barbara, I wouldn't put the family through it, but if you're going there anyway, then the trip out to the Channel Islands (Santa Cruz is the easiest one to go to) is great and the kayaking is not to be missed. Be sure you get the book on tape "Island of the Blue Dolphins" before you go. It's a young adult's novel with a riveting (based on true) story of a sister and brother left alone on the island in the days of the seal hunts. If you've read it, when you stand on the hill above the sea, you will have been there before, scores of years ago, and you'll get much more out of it than you came for.

Channel Island can be pretty challenging. I don't know if you can go as a daytrip, but I believe if you go overnight and camp, you have to carry all you water as well as everything else. My sister went last year; I can ask for more details if you are truly interested.

But if you are looking for great hiking near the coast in N. California, you need look no further than the Marin Headlands just north of the GG Bridge. We did a 3-day inn to inn hike there last April, and it was fantastic. Some brush, but mostly open grassy slopes (with an abundance of wildflowers) or redwoods. Lots of beautiful views up and down the coast. And the hiking was surprisingly challenging (I'm speaking as a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hiker and experienced Sierra and Alps hiker).

Digbydog: Sorry to answer you so late.

Yes, there are a lot of trails right along the beach at Point Lobos.

Here;s the official map. The dotted lines are the trails.
http://www.pointlobos.org/Trails.html

Here's a better map with the trails in bold.
http://tinyurl.com/ylnho4q

My favorite is the South Beach Trail. After you drive into the Reserve, ask the Ranger for the way to South Beach. Aong the way there are several places where you can park. Then just head out towards the ocean and "hike". You'll be clambering among rocks and looking at the wonder of the tidepools or just walking along sandy beaches. You can hike all the way to China Cove and back.

Since you are going to be in San Luis Obispo go to Pismo Beach for the day. It's about 15 miles south of SLO. It is the only place in calfornia where you can rent dune bugys and ATV's and play on the dunes. So much fun. Total blast! This was one most fun things I've ever done.

Thanks so much to everyone for their recommendations! I found airfare for $258 non-stop from Cincinnati to Seattle. So we have decided to do a Pacific Northwest trip. I will refer back to this thread when we do our trip to California. Again, many thanks for all your responses!!

Welcome to the beautiful PNW, Digbydog. Are you still coming in June? This is a bit is a bit early for hiking in the North Cascades, unless you want to hike on snow (or ski). Mt. Rainier is good for that---there are routes that are avalanche safe and really fun.

The Olympic Peninsula and the San Juan Islands are great destinations for June.

Enzian,
We pushed our trip back to July given the change in destination. You have had great suggestions on the Switzerland board. As we figure out where we want to go, I will look forward to getting your recommendations on the Pacific Northwest.