Potato Harbor Trail

Potato Harbor Trail travels east from Scorpion Anchorage along the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island to an overlook above a perfectly round natural harbor whose shape inspired the name. The trail climbs through the island's interior grasslands — golden in summer, green in winter after the rains — passing recovering native plant communities where decades of sheep and pig grazing have given way to NPS restoration. The island's conversion from livestock grazing to protected wildlands is one of the most dramatic ecological recovery stories in the national park system.

The overlook above Potato Harbor reveals an extraordinary scene: a nearly circular bay enclosed by steep cliffs, with the turquoise water below reflecting the sky and framing Anacapa Island in the distance. Kayakers exploring the island coastline frequently paddle into the harbor, and the cliff tops above are ideal for spotting marine wildlife passing offshore. Western gulls and Brandt's cormorants nest on the rock stacks at the harbor entrance. The trail back follows an alternate ridge route, allowing a loop if conditions permit. Santa Cruz Island also contains significant Chumash archaeological sites, including middens and village sites where the Chumash people lived for thousands of years before Spanish colonization.