Giant Sea Caves Kayak Adventure

Get your day going nice and early and let us take care of everything for you!

Meet your crew at the Santa Barbara Landing in the Santa Barbara Harbor (at 301 West Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA). You will need to park in the main harbor lot. We provide almost everything you need for the day, including food and drinks, but we highly suggest you bring plenty of warm clothing and layers. Being prepared for all temperatures will ensure that you remain comfortable.

The Santa Barbara Channel is one of the best places to view marine mammals on the planet. As we cross, we’ll have our eyes peeled in search of whales and dolphins. If we encounter any, we’ll slow down and enjoy their company for a short while before resuming our journey to Santa Cruz Island.

Depending on the conditions and group interest we will snorkel at the end of our trip from our kayaks. If conditions are great, you will be able to peer into the kelp forest and reef below. Snorkeling can be fantastic at Santa Cruz Island at times and can be challenging at others. Consult with your guide during your trip for snorkeling advice.

Santa Cruz Island is the largest island off of the West Coast of the United States. It also has some of the largest volcanic sea caves on the planet. The longest in the world is called Painted Cave and it extends almost a quarter mile deep into the island. We will spend about an hour exploring this cave. The cave is named after the multi-colored lichen growing on the inner walls and ceiling.

In addition to Painted Cave, there are roughly a dozen other large sea caves that we explore depending on swell, weather, and tides.

Snorkeling From the Kayaks: Along the paddle there are several places where your guides will recommend snorkeling, given good conditions. You will be provided a 3mm farmer john wetsuit and a mask and snorkel. This allows for snorkeling from your kayak. If you have an your own wetsuit and want to snorkel longer, you may want to bring that.

This guided kayaking trip is “one-way”. We’ll begin our paddle when the Truth drops us off near Painted Cave, and then we’ll head down current and downwind to finish at Quail Rock where Truth will be waiting to pick us up with a hot lunch ready!

After everything is loaded back on the Truth, we’ll pull the anchor and begin our journey home to Santa Barbara.

Keep your eyes peeled for sea life along the way.  You can bring adult drinks but they are only to be enjoyed on the return trip home.

Estimated arrival time in Santa Barbara Harbor is 6:00pm

Santa Cruz Island, originally known as “Limuw” by the indigenous Chumash people, is located 23 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The Chumash people inhabited several large villages on Santa Cruz for thousands of years. Their creation story describes it as the birthplace of their people, who reached the mainland via a rainbow bridge across the channel.

Santa Cruz is the largest island off the continental United States. At 22 miles long, and between 2 to 6 miles wide, it has an area of almost 100 square miles. The island’s coastline has steep cliffs, large sea caves, secluded coves, and sandy beaches. The highest point is Devils Peak, at over 2,450 feet of elevation. A central valley splits the island along the Santa Cruz Island Fault, with volcanic rock on the north side of the island and older, sedimentary rock on the south side of the island. This volcanic rock was heavily fractured during an uplift phase that formed the island, and over a hundred large sea caves have been carved into the resulting faults by wind and waves. The largest of these is Painted Cave, among the world’s biggest sea caves.

Kayaking at West Santa Cruz Island

Kayaking along the western end of Santa Cruz Island gives you the chance to explore along cliff faces, into secluded coves, inlets packed with marine life, and beautiful sea caves. We will explore Painted Cave, one of the largest sea caves in the world. Sea lions and harbor seals inhabit the many coves and caves of this stretch of the island. You’ll paddle through a Marine Protected Area where kelp forest provides habitat for an array of fishes and other marine life.

Downwind Kayaking

Rather than kayaking a loop or out and back, we will kayak downwind in one direction, with The Truth meeting us at the end of our paddle to pick us up. This gives you the opportunity to see more of Santa Cruz Island, while making your journey less strenuous.

Sea caves are common throughout the Channel Islands and are formed where faults in the volcanic rocks are exposed to the forces of waves and winds. Painted Cave on Santa Cruz Island is one of the largest sea caves in the world (specifically it is the longest in the world) and penetrates over a quarter mile into the interior of the island. The cave is named after the multi-colored lichen growing on the inner walls and ceiling. We explore the depths of this cave by kayak and check out the sea life that inhabits it.