Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands still publishes pre-EXPLORE permit guidance, wants two weeks and a hard-copy application, and every shoot is shaped by the boat ride out.
Guidance, not legal advice
Drone Authority
Check the flight side
Rules answer the ground-photo side. Drone Authority handles the NPS flight ban, airspace, and legal flying nearby.
Permit
Conditional
Issuer: Channel Islands National Park Film Permit Coordinator (Chief Ranger's office)
Cost: Nonrefundable application fee per the park's posted fee schedule; fee varies, see the park permit page
Processing: Minimum of 2 weeks; the park cites its logistical complexity as the reason
The park's page still reflects the pre-EXPLORE 2022 framework, requiring permits for all commercial filming and for still photography using models or props, closed areas, or park monitoring. The EXPLORE Act's eight-or-fewer exemption now applies servicewide, so ordinary small-group shooting needs no permit. Permitted applications must arrive as a hard copy with an original signature. Verify with the park permit office (805-658-5717).
Drone / airspace
Effectively banned: launching, landing, or operating a drone within park boundaries is prohibited
NPS Policy Memorandum 14-05 directs superintendents to close parks to drone use under 36 CFR 1.5; the surrounding marine sanctuary adds its own wildlife-disturbance rules. For airspace, Part 107, and legal flying nearby, see Drone Authority.
Street / public space
Yes for personal and editorial photography throughout the park
Access itself is the constraint: the islands are reachable only by park concession boat or small plane.
Practical notes
- Island Packers boats out of Ventura are the standard access; crossings sell out in season and get cancelled for sea conditions, so build slack into any shoot plan.
- There are no services, no gear rentals, and no resupply on the islands; everything you shoot with rides in your pack.
- The island fox on Santa Cruz is famously bold around Scorpion Anchorage; protect food and bags, and you will get frame-filling shots without baiting.
Sources
Keep shooting
Knowing the rules is half the job. The craft side: