Channel Islands Kayak Center

I’m 64, but until yesterday, I’d never been in/​on a kayak in my life. It was a sunny and warm day, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Mike, a professional surfer, owns the shop, and he’s easy-​going and likable – as is Craig, his compadre in kayak-​renting, and a baseball junkie like me! A buddy of mine who is a experienced kayaker met me at the pier, Mike and Craig picked me out a kayak, handed me a paddle and a life vest, got me off the dock and in the water, and I was good to go.
I spent around two hours paddling around in Channel Islands Harbor, and it was fantastic. I saw sea lions sunning on the piers, seals lazily hanging out in the water, and pelicans checking out the boats and laughing at the people from atop the rocks out at the breakwater
At the end of the trip, all you gotta’ do is retrace your route, return the kayak and gear, and then have a leisurely seafood meal at the restaurant right next door. Made for a great afternoon. Just after I got back, a young family also returned to the dock – mom, dad, and a couple of kids (they have single and double kayaks), and they were all laughing and having a good time. Goes to show that it’s a pretty safe ride.
Kayaking seems to be straightforward, and an absolute blast. I think I’ve found my new life sport, and I will definitely be heading back to Channel Islands Kayak Center. Sooner or later, I’ll spring for my own kayak, but for now, renting from «CIKC» makes sense, is easy, and a lot less expensive. Besides, I like the guys who run the place. Also, I’ve got much to learn, and I’ll be taking my time getting up to speed.
See you on the water!

I traveled to the Channel Islands with my friends last weekend. We rented double paddler to make the whole day incredible. Staff from Kayak Center explained about the rules for the National Park, and had great suggestions for navigating the area and exploring the caves. Its a good place to chill-​out !!!

My first time renting a stand up paddle board ended with injuring myself on the fin (no fault of CIKC). The owner not only didn’t ding me for my overage of time, but he made my whole rental a no charge. He wanted me to remember it as a good experience. I will be back. Thank you, thank you!

This place is great! So friendly! Great service, loading dock as easy and fun.
Kayaks were easy to steer, clean. You paddle in a really calm area so you can go around, look at all the beautiful homes and just relax.
You pay when you get back so can take your time, no rushing.
I wish they had a floating bar/​market that would have made it so awesome! Someone should do that and make a kilking. You’re welcome.
Definitely do this when you’re there. 5 stars!

We traveled to the Channel Islands with a group of guys last weekend. The Kayak Center had both doubles and singles available and made the whole process incredibly easy. They helped load our kayaks onto the Ferry, were clear about the rules for the National Park, and had great suggestions for navigating the area and exploring the caves. I highly recommend checking them out on a Channel Islands adventure with friends!

I bought a Hobie inflatable stand up paddle board. I am very very happy with the product. It exceeds my expectations. The Channel Islands Kayak staff. is great — knowledgeable, helpful, patient teachers.

My friends and I bought a paddle board Groupon and it was so much fun. The staff was so fun and easy going. We all had a blast and we all look forward to come back and rent from them again.

Fantastic people to talk to and learn from and truly care about people.
My service dog and I rented a kayak and had a fantastic time! We have never went kayaking before, but had no problem getting the hang of things.
I wish all the luck to the owners and if I’m ever back in the area, it is a definite repeat visit kind of place!

Update: rented yaks for my kids and grandkids.
My prior review was of the harbor, as we own our own yaks (sit on tops and sit insides). This past weekend, we treated the family to a day on the water, renting yaks at this center. What a great day and our of the harbor!
The rental shop folks are extremely friendly and helpful. For newbies, they launch the kayaks with yakers aboard off of a floating plastic dock — super easy and great for younger paddlers. The check in and check out was fast and efficient. My only suggestion would be to have the shop open at 8 or 9 on weekends, as early AM is the best time to hit the water. But this is biased by our years on and in the water… was an effort to get the kids going that early, so the 10 AM open time is probably OK for most folks.
My grandson loved seeing the «artifacts» under the adjacent dock (treasure chest, skulls, native American basket, etc.). If you have a little explorer, be sure to paddle thru this. Also enjoy watching the abundant sea lions in the harbor (but remember to keep your distance as they are protected and if hauled out on a dock they are getting needed warming by the sun, so please don;t disturb them).

Some of the shittiest, slowest server. Say bye to my money

This place is a go to for kayak rentals. Nice staff. Great area to kayak. Affordable. Safe.
The staff is awesome. They helped us launch out, walked us through some basics, answered all questions, and were genuinely happy we had a nice time. When we paid the owner, he was honestly happy that we all enjoyed ourselves. The area is so nice we hung out all day, long after the kayak store closed we returned to the restaurant next door. We ran into one of the workers again, I assume it was the owner, he was so kind and came up and talked to us more; expressing his happiness that we enjoyed our kayak rental, and offering us suggestions for food. Awesome, who does that? I most certainly do not you. Won’t find me talking to you after my shift.
The area is nice to kayak. It isn’t incredible, but it still is pleasant. There are a lot of boats to check out, nice houses to look at, some wild life, a few beaches, and a bridge. There are a good amount of restaurants and shops, I don’t know how hard it is to actually+ dock and visit these, but before and after kayaking it may be nice.
I was also pleased with the pricing. We even ran over what we had expected and the price was still extremely affordable.
And finally, it is a harbor, but it is safe. I fish the area a lot and most kayakers do well enough with the boats… but then there are those special few that are oblivious to everyone around them. I have seen several occasions were some special kayakers are chatting amongst themselves headed towards a huge sail boat, and the sail boat did some fancy maneuver around them. So if those crazy people hae remained safe, you will be fine.

Bought a Living Social deal for kayaking with some buddies.
Never been kayaking before, but the instructor/​guide made it so easy to learn after a quick tutorial prior to sailing out. Went around the harbor, showed us starfish, sunbathing seals, and other interesting landmarks/​sealife. After the tour, we were able to go off on our own for about 45 minutes. None of us were wearing watches, so we actually went over by a half an hour but no one said anything upon our return.
Super fun experience, even better that we got to do this at a discounted rate. Already thinking of coming back to try out standup paddleboarding.

Great service… we had a great time! They were busy but took the time to help my son and I.

I’ve only been kayaking once before, and it was an amazing experience. So, of course, when my birthday came up, I wanted to go kayaking again. After researching a host of local rental places, I chose this one, mainly because of proximity and the fact that there are no limitations to who can kayak. The staff were all very friendly, although unfortunately they had a big group coming in less than an hour and asked us to be back by that time. I’d like to note that we were charged for the full hour, even though we were asked to return in less. This isn’t a deal-​breaker for another visit, I get that they have their price list (and that’s why I didn’t ask about it), but there were an a$$load of kayaks on the dock when we got back, and no big crowds waiting impatiently. So that’s a wee bit of a turn-​off. As far as the kayaks, they were fine. The ones we rented in Kauai were sit-​in (deeper) and therefore allowed us to sit in a more upright position. These are sit-​on-​top, so being short I felt a bit more awkward because the footholds were made for a taller person. But the experience of kayaking in the Channel Islands Harbor is super fun, and if there are no other options I’d visit again in future.

While Channel Islands Kayak Center provides an important tourist service to the harbor, it is not doing good service to the sport of kayaking.
Today, my family and I chose Channel Islands Kayak Center to give us our introduction to kayaking on the Pacific. We have extensive flat-​water canoeing and some kayaking experience, so we were not intimidated by the surf.
When we arrived, the Channel Islands Kayak Center staff had no interest in our level of expertise (e.g., we had two adults and two kids) and they did nothing to introduce us to the sit-​on-​top craft or the rules of paddling in the harbor. As a result, my daughters had boats that were too wide for them, PFDs that were to big, and paddles that were too heavy. (No Channel Islands Kayak Center employee asked about sizing or fitting for anyone before they launched us in to the drink.)
I walked away feeling like Channel Islands Kayak Center was only interested in serving the tourist. They exhibited no level of customer service. Behind her back, the guy who checked us in bad-​mouthed the woman who reserved a kayak before us. And he said we needed to be back by noon without telling us why. The young guys who launched us didn’t ask about seat fit, PFD fit, boat fit, or paddle fit. They didn’t really say anything to us, actually; not when we launched and not when we returned. If they’d asked us, «how was your trip?» when we returned, I might feel differently, but they really didn’t give a flying crap about our experience. However, the guy at the register appeared interested in our dissatisfaction. I couldn’t burden him with it.
All in all, Channel Islands Kayak Center provides basic service to kayak-​interested people who are male (there are no PFDs fitted for women), are average sized (there are not PFDs or paddles or boats for smaller people), and aren’t kids (no kid-​friendly boats). It’s too bad they don’t do a better job.
If you are interested in a hands-​off kayaking experience, then Channel Islands Kayak Center might be the place for you. But if you want a rental program that will help you enjoy kayaking on the harbor, there are other places on the harbor that you could consider.

Unfortunately, it takes a Living Social coupon for me and my boyfriend to try kayaking.
I had kayaked once before with my sister. And I found it to be really fun and relaxing.
The coupon included fish tacos, which sweetened the deal. The guy on the phone was super friendly, even when I called to let him know we were going to be 15 minutes late for our reservation.
Our guide was really cool. She gave us a brief history of Channel Islands and pointed out some of the wildlife. She had us hold starfish and sea urchin. We had a close encounter with some sea lions. She regaled us with tales of world travel on her house boat.
It was windy that day and I got stuck on a narrow path. At one point I was floating backwards, despite my earnest efforts. This happened, of course, right outside of a restaurant. There’s probably a YouTube video of me somewhere.
The restaurant next door was where we redeemed the fish taco offer. There was a tiny issue with the cashier because he didn’t know about the LS deal. It wasn’t a huge deal. I spoke with the manager and he reimbursed me for the charges. And the food was really good.

The best place to rent kayaks at Channel Island Harbor. Good prices and the CI Harbor is one of the best places to kayak! And a great source if you are going to buy a kayak! Luv this place!

It was late in the afternoon and decided to come here on a whim. So glad we did. The gentleman in the shop was so kind. He was encouraging and was clear that we’d have no problem getting the hang of it being first timers.
We had the best time! We rented for an hour. An hour was just enough time for us to enjoy the harbor from one area to the other. We had a blast!
Whewww what a work out. :)
Would definitely come here again because they made it such a breeze for us.
Great experience!

I reserved a kayak to take the Channel Islands. The guy on the phone insisted that I arrive at 7 am in order to have ample time to load the kayak onto the 8 pm ferry. I got there at 6:50.
NO SHOW…7:10 came… then around 7:30 I starting calling and calling, with no one picking up.
Needless to say it completely wrecked my Channel Islands experience as I had planned to spend the day kayaking around the coast. I had a nonrefundable ferry ticket so I ended up going to the island, talking a walk, and coming back. I drove all the way from LA to Oxnard for nothing!
The park ranger on the island said that the kayak rental place owner is known for being sketchy, and that this was a common occurrence. I recommend finding another place or bring your own kayak if possible.

I went with a friend to take the Channel Islands Kayak Wildlife Tour on ⁷⁄₁₄ with a Groupon we purchased a few weeks back.
Let me start off by saying that the people that are working here are extremely nice, courteous, and friendly. Let me also start off by saying that half the things that were highlighted in this tour would not be classified under the «wildlife» category.
To begin with, we called in to make reservations on the last weekend before the Groupon expiration date. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. We were granted an extension date, which was really great of them to offer. When we came in, I was a little disappointed because we were waiting around for a bit. Our tour was supposed to start at 10:30, but I don’t think we actually got to the instruction segment until maybe 10:50? I don’t think we actually got into the water until maybe 11:10ish. I feel like the tour ended around 12:10, which was actually only an hour.
Now for the tour itself, the first thing we saw was a fake woolly mammoth. Not only was the mammoth not true-​to-​size, but it didn’t even move! We then followed a path that went under a pier, saw some fake skulls, fake treasure chests, fake painted neon fish that are plastered on the wall that apparently glow in black light. Then we saw a few birds (one of which he insisted we watch because it dives into the water, even though it didn’t when we were watching it), some starfish, a lobster (which I didn’t even see), and then we were granted 20 minutes of free time. I feel like my friend and I saw more wildlife in the 20 minutes we got to explore ourselves than we did on the tour. We saw schools of fish, sea cucumbers, a bunch of starfish, and different birds (we even saw one dive into the water!).
All in all, I think the tour guide was great, but the tour seemed lacking; both in historical context and in content (specifically wildlife for the wildlife tour). I would prefer to just rent a kayak and explore on my own, then Wikipedia or Google information about Oxnard/​Channel Islands later when I got home if I still cared. I would probably suggest renaming this tour because it IS deceiving when you expect to see all sorts of wildlife and half the ones you DO see are fake.