Editor’s note: This piece was recently updated to reflect the reopening of Santa Rosa Island to visitors.
If you didn’t know so already, the Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast are pretty damn incredible. Not only are they insanely beautiful and pristine (because they’re protected marine sanctuaries), they’re also home to over 150 unique species found nowhere else in the world. Sort of like the U.S.’s very own Galapagos. What’s more? The oldest human remains in North America, dating to 13,000 B.C., were discovered there in the ’50s. Because of this, to make a long story short, the Channel Islands are heavily regulated, and are significantly important to biodiversity and marine ecosystem research as well as preserving threatened species from extinction; there’s a reason why the most popular Channel Island, Santa Cruz, receives only 90,000 visitors annually.