Currently closed because of storm damage to its landing pier, Santa Barbara, only 1 sq mile and the smallest of the islands, is normally a jewel-box for nature lovers. Big, blooming coreopsis, cream cups and chicory are just a few of the island’s memorable plant species. You’ll also find the humongous northern elephant seal here as well as Scripps’s murrelets, a bird that nests in cliff crevices.
Get more information from the island’s small visitor center. For the latest information on when it might open, check the website.