Great spot to stop in and learn about the area and National Parks…read more The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Get your National Park Passport stamped and get the sticker of the year. The man kept saying the trail was clearly marked - he just didn't say that it was labeled weird. Every map tells you what the trail is named - but the signs all say some word in another language. Grumash or something like that - but we were looking for "Inspiration Trail". So we ended ip at someone's house and were walking around their yard looking for the trail. Anyways - great spot. I am so good at hiking. I saw 2 deer and wasn't even looking for them. I also identified some footprints and clues that led me to find some other hikers that were probably up to no good. I followed them for hours but couldn't find any evidence of bad doings... but they were wearing punk shirts - so I knew. Thank you

This was such a nice fun day to spend at the visitor center. My kids & Family have been on a quest…read moreto becoming Jr Rangers to as many places as we can and today we made it here. Upon arrival we were greeted by the lovely Rangers. They had the ranger activity book on display and we each grabbed one along with a tiny pencil. Party of 11 and all excited to get this done. Most of the answers are within the center we have to read and search. Once completed we got sworn into and our Badge was given to each and every one of us. We went over to stamp our badge and our National Park passport (if you do not have one they sale them here too) Note no cash only cards are accepted. We went out to the patio and they have plenty of tables with umbrellas. We brought our coolers down and got our little picnic started.

Nice wedding venue but it's a completely blank slate so expect a lot of overhead cost to bring…read moreeverything in as rentals Music cut off time is ten pm Ceremony and cocktail hour area is very cute

I attended the Rose Day event 2026. It was a beautiful day with free rose, cocktails and mocktails…read moreall day (with the price of admission). The parking lot is very dusty, but once inside the venue there was grass and compacted dirt. We weren't allowed to bring chairs, so we brought blankets to lay out on the grass, and it was life saver. I would go back next year.

A Vista del Lago review, in haiku form: The best restroom…read morestop... Educate yourselves people! Enjoy the water

Great rest stop and refill for my water. Definite recommendation for anyone who wants to take a…read morebreak from their long road trip. I almost always come down here when I make my trip to Los Angeles.

Great visitor center with lots of knowledgeable staff onsite to answer questions…read more A really comprehensive gift shop and I picked up a book on the history of Channel Islands, a towel, a sunshirt, some postcards, and some earrings. Theres also a small outdoor garden to explore and also an overlook area at top of the building. Also, a ranger program was happening when I came here discussing the sea kelp that exist here. Bathrooms also available. Worth a stop in to learn more about the islands!

As far as visitor centers go, this one is one of the best we've been to. Located in the Ventura…read moreHarbor about a short 0.25 mile walk from Island Packers, you'll not only find a small little bookshop but a cute little display on water life with the history of the area. Great for everyone, but I'd imagine small kids would love it. A volunteer greeted us when we got there and provided us with some information about Channel Islands National Park. Very friendly and very helpful. They have a beautiful garden outside to explore. You can also go to the 3rd floor and there's a tiny overlook that, on a clear day, you can see Santa Cruz in the distance. They said there's a theatre, but we didn't have time to visit it. All in all, a wonderful visitor center that is worth a stop during your Channel Islands adventures.

this company doesn't exist anymore. i'm owed $450 from purchasing on their online store that is…read morestill up as if they are actively in business. they don't answer emails or calls either.

From the owner: Take a peek into the Vintage Malibu experience at Old Town Malibu. Come on by in person for free…read morevisitor center information, postcards and maps. You will most definitely enjoy our unique gift shop and art gallery! Treasures Treats and Tours!

We were visiting LA from Seattle, WA. We visited the Santa Monica Beach but the pier was a bit far…read morefor our elderly father to walk (walks with a cane). He needed a restroom, but the pier seemed too far for him to walk to so I asked Cooper at the visitor center and he directed us to one nearby. I went back to inquire about a good seafood restaurant for lunch within walking distance, and again Cooper was so helpful. He got on his computer and looked up a few places for us. He directed us to one that was just across the street from the visitor center called Water Grill, a bit pricy but good. He really didn't have to go over and beyond like that. I really appreciated him so much! Cooper really saved the day! Thank you for your exceptional customer service.

Great experience here today…read more The representative on duty was both knowledgeable and pleasant to talk with. She facilitated my pickup of a VEO helmet. Nice looking store that also sells nice Santa Monica branded gifts.

Great visitors center and store that's got plenty of Ventura merchandise…read more Being a local, I can't speak to the quality of the visitors center itself so I'll leave that to the tourists and visitors to give you a better review. What I can speak to is the customer service and shopping :) As a shop I love it and it's a stop worth checking out. Located just down one block from the main downtown stroll, it's super easy to find and to get to. They also have free two hour parking in front/across the street (for now). The store has great finds and Ventura merch. I popped in again today to get my St. paddy's day styled shirt (which I love). They have online ordering which is a breeze. You can definitely get your items shipped but being local I came in to pickup my order and it was packed/ready as the online note said it was so super easy in and out. Staff are always super nice and friendly, it's a great store and I hope you'll check them out.

They were so friendly and welcoming. Never thought to go into that center but they had really cute…read morevintage looking post cards. Nice pictures and trinkets reasonably priced. Also the staff was just so helpful in providing tips on places to go and check out.

Absolutely beautiful all around! Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photosread more

Really an awesome place to go hiking on any given day. They have amazing trails and you can go all…read morethe way up to the top. Make it a day for hours of nature and to enjoy the great weather that the area provides. Defnitely wear good hiking shoes, make sure to bring water, your phone and/or camera, watch for wild animals and snakes and don't go alone if you're new. Otherwise, it's a very nice and cheap way to spend your day and get a little exercise.

What a wonderful first impression of the lovely city of Santa Barbara! We stumbled in here after…read moregetting off the Amtrak train, looking for recommendations for kid-friendly eats, and we left with a wonderful list of places we try. The staff here are super friendly, just people wanting to help other people. Shoutout to Ruairi, the awesome Irish, who really helped us lay out the food land during our visit. We visited most of the food spots that he recommended and had a wonderful foodie experience - we found our new favorite pizza spot! The store is clean, quaint, and a lovely visit. Will recommend tourists to pop in for a quick visit just to make sure you have all your t's crossed off :)

Loved the new Visitor Center. Opened daily, perfect location on State Street, close to the Funk…read moreZone and the Wharf. It is new, welcoming, the staff was nice, chatty, hospitable. They sell nice merchandise, for a souvenir or if you forgot to bring a hat or some sun screen. Lots of maps, brochures, nice local magazines. You can get tips and ideas from the folks working here, can ask for any info you need. They also have big, nice, clean restrooms with beautiful tiles. We needed a place to rest and apply some sun protective lotion and this place was perfect! They also have a sofa, pretty comfy if you need to relax, look at a map, etc. Great resource, helpful, nice addition to the area!

Our child just returned from the Spring 2026 trip to Washington DC and I wanted to share some…read moreimpressions. Overall, they enjoyed the trip, learned a lot, and saw a lot of interesting historical sites. Although, there were a couple of undesirable aspects to the trip too which I wanted to highlight for parents considering this trip in the future. Arguably, the trip's pace was just too fast. It's planned in such a way that the kids started and ended the trip with a sleep deficit and had difficulty getting a proper amount of sleep each night. The trip started with an outbound red-eye flight departing LAX, on-time, close to midnight PT and landing in DC at 7:30am ET. I think most would agree that a red-eye flight in a coach seat is not going to be conducive to sleep. Upon landing the kids had a fully packed day with a lot of bus travel and touring, and they did not get to an actual bed until late in the evening on arrival day. Each day of the trip was exceptionally long and fully packed with activities. This can be good on the one hand, to get the most out of the trip, but there's a downside too. My child shared that they were generally getting up between 6-7am and most days they did not get back to their hotel rooms until 10-11pm at night. With 4 kids sharing a room / bathroom (and showering at night), it took a little time before they could get the lights off to sleep, once they finally did get back to their hotel rooms. They never managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep each night because of this. This wasn't a case of kids staying up too late goofing around. Their return flight left DC in the evening, with the kids arriving back at the parent pick-up point at 12:15 am PT, which was 3:15am ET (i.e. the middle of the night for them). Part of the tour group was booked on an even later flight and arrived after that. Thankfully, all flights arrived on time, which is rare these days, but travel would have been even harder on the kids had there been any flight delays. A lesser concern relates to the meals offered on the trip. Our child reported that they didn't eat well on the trip due to limited food options at most organized meals or issues with the food's quality. Certainly, no one was expecting gourmet food on this trip, but it does sound like a lot of processed foods were served and there was a lack of healthy food options. I don't have first-hand knowledge about this, as I am only going by what my child told me. We attended an informational meeting for the trip two weeks before departure, where one of the teacher / chaperons from AEW giving the presentation kept reiterating just how "fast paced" the trip would be. She said the kids won't do well on the trip if they don't get enough sleep or are eating poorly. In hindsight, those comments seem ironic given that the trip organizers put the kids in a position to not get enough sleep while limiting their food choices to a lot of mediocre, processed food. It was annoying to have her go on-and-on in that meeting about just how fast-paced the trip would be, since this was the first time TravelED provided any indication of the trip's rapid pacing and red-eye flights. The positives of this trip generally outweighed the negative and I appreciate the organizers giving local kids this opportunity in the first place. Most importantly, the kids were safe and secure throughout the trip. Yet, there is room for improvement on the TravelED DC Trip. I doubt the trip would've been any less enjoyable or educational if a couple of the less popular sites or activities were skipped in favor of a more balanced schedule. Additional and higher quality food options would be an improvement too. Finally, at a minimum the trip organizers could do a better job of setting expectations before the trip is already paid for and too late to cancel with refund. This would include being more upfront about the fast paced nature of the trip, providing a sample itinerary with daily start and end times, and indicating the expectation for red-eye flights.

Our kids are so lucky! My daughter and her friends had the time of their lives visiting Washington…read moreD.C. TravelEd delivered everything they said and more. My other two kids can't wait until they are old enough to go.