Ventura Harbor
Ventura · near Ventura · Los Angeles / SoCal
Sailing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Spring–fall (afternoons)
- Water temperature
- Mild (upper 50s–60s°F)
What is here
- Amenities
- Channel Islands NP visitor center · Charter & cruising base · Sheltered harbor & services · Island-crossing jump-off
- Best for
- Channel Islands crossings & charter cruising
- Features
- Beside the Channel Islands NP visitor center · Charter & cruising jump-off · Sheltered harbor · Gateway to Anacapa & Santa Cruz Island
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Harbor entrance & swell at the mouth · Channel wind builds strong offshore · Fog · Island crossings need planning
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Lessons
- No
Sailing detail
- Styles
- charter · cruising · day-sail
- Breeze
- moderate
- Venue
- bay
- Exposure
- 2
- Sailing
- A sheltered harbor beside the Channel Islands National Park visitor center — charter and cruising base with reliable afternoon sea breeze (10–20 kt) in the Channel
- Intl tip
- The harbor beside the Channel Islands NP visitor center — a fitting charter/cruising jump-off, with ranger info and crossing logistics on the doorstep. Reliable afternoon Channel sea breeze (10–20 kt); milder water than NorCal. Sheltered harbor; mind swell at the entrance and afternoon Channel wind/chop. Anacapa is the closest island. Plan crossings — the islands have no services. Convenient park gateway.
The guide
Ventura Harbor, home to the Channel Islands National Park visitor center and headquarters, is a natural charter and cruising ba…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Ventura Harbor — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.245, -119.263