You may also want to invest in some Dramamine (I didn’t see it for sale in the boat’s concession stand). Depending on the day, and how the winds are behaving, you could be in for a choppy ride. Ours was bad. “Sometimes it’s a mirror,” said Larry Driscoll, a volunteer with the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps, “and sometimes it’s even rougher than this.” A couple of passengers had begun to turn a shade of green and quickly made their way to back of the boat. After 30 minutes of joyfully surfing the big swells at front of our craft, I joined them. Advice for the seasick: Go outside, on as low a deck as possible, and toward the rear of ship. It won’t make the nausea go away, but it will minimize your movement and the fresh air will help.

Fortunately, rough seas aside, there was a lot to enjoy on the ride, which is very much a part of the entire experience, lasting over an hour each way. The highlight was when a pod of common dolphins began swimming next to our boat. Dozens of silvery fins, shimmering in the sun against a backdrop of deep blue water, cantered and crested as our captain slowed the boat. “Oh, they’re just playing now,” a woman next to me said as two of the creatures popped out of the water no more than 15 feet from us. Whales are also a common sight during voyages out to the islands — there are specific whale-watching tours — but unfortunately none appeared during our trip.

After something of a rough arrival — thanks to the choppy waters, we had to dock at Prisoners Harbor, near the middle of the island, rather than our planned berth on its eastern side — we made it to Santa Cruz Island. (The island was named in the early 17th century; it had been home to the Chumash tribe, before diseases from European settlers ravaged the population.) A few passengers set out on the 3.5-mile hike to the campground and a couple others went off to hike on their own. The rest of us were given a choice of taking an “easy” hike up the Del Norte trail or a more difficult one toward Pelican Bay. I opted for the latter, joining a group with two of the Island Packers guides. The moderately difficult hike, which consists of some steep, rocky sections, is doable even for beginners. You will get your hands dirty, though, as some of the more arduous parts are closer to climbing than hiking, and require three points of contact.

Leanne Kleinsmith, one of our guides and a native of Ventura County, was amazed by the effect the recent rain had had on the island. “It is so green right now,” she said. “It’s never this green.” She was right. As we hiked along the coastal bluffs, the pine, oak and ironwood trees were remarkably lush, nothing like the yellows, browns and ochres that typically characterize Southern California. The hike to Pelican Bay goes into territory owned by the Nature Conservancy, which is based in Arlington, Va. The environmental organization owns most of the Santa Cruz Island, which was once the largest privately-owned island in the country, and the National Park Service manages the rest.