Hop aboard your sea kayak to see what the islands are all about. Carlos Gandiaga Photography/Getty Images Like the towering limestone cliffs of Vietnam's Hạ Long Bay and the glacier-carved Lofoten ...

I scanned the brittle, pock-marked walls of a dark sea cave within Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands off the west coast of California. The caves harbor pelagic cormorants and pigeon ...

The Los Angeles region has many secrets and Channel Islands National Park is one of them. The group of islands off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara are easily seen from the crowded beaches of ...

Ventura, on the California coast, is the jumping-off point for exploring one of the newest national parks, the Channel Islands. The park consists of five islands that range from one to nearly 100 ...

The kayakers negotiate the crease in the rock and follow a narrow passageway into a spacious cavern, where they pause, as if with great trepidation. But it’s mostly just awe. No more daylight. No ...

The trip: Backpacking to the primitive Del Norte Campground on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands. What to do: Hiking, swimming, wildlife-viewing, stargazing, defending camp from ...

PASSION FOR PADDLING: Longtime Carpinteria resident Chuck Graham turned his love for the outdoors into a dynamic career. He works the beaches as a lifeguard, guides tourists around on kayak, and ...