El Montañon, the highpoint of Channel Islands National Park, is on the eastern part of Santa Cruz Island and is reached by Island Packers ferry service or private boat.

Devils Peak is the highpoint of the island but is on The Nature Conservancy (TNC) land which is not part of National Park acreage. The area surrrounding Devils Peak is unpatrolled, and the National Park Service (NPS) has no jurisdiction to permit access. TNC requires a permit for access to Devils Peak.

The Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center is near the Island Packers ferry dock in Ventura, California. The departures from Ventura vary from 8 a.m. to noon depending on date so check their website (see below) or call Island Packers. The ferry returns to Ventura at 3pm or 4pm which does not leave much time to explore the highpoint. You may wish to ferry over, hike to the highpoint, camp, and return to the mainland the next day.

Scorpion Valley camp is about 2,000 feet from the dock and reservations are required via the NPS. There are no facilities or water.

The topographic chart (see below) shows 1,808 feet for the highpoint. However, hand-leveling revealed that the highest bump on the ridge is 1,812 feet.

National Park Service -