San Miguel Island, July 14-17 2006, Sep 1-4, 2017, July 20-24, 2020

Channel Islands National Park, CA

Where is San Miguel Island ?

San Miguel is the westernmost of the northern channel islands. It is located about 65 miles WSW of Oxnard and 45 miles SW of Santa Barbara. The Island Packers boat is the only way to get to San Miguel unless you are a park ranger or a marine mammal researcher. It is about a 4.5 hour boat ride, including the stops made at the other Channel Islands. The rangers/researchers benefit from the services of Channel Islands Aviation (CIA) from Camarillo who can land at one of the two primitive airstrips on the island. As of 2016, one could even fly to the island in the off-season with CIA.

Location of San Miguel with respect to the coastline (click on images for larger view)

As a result of its location, it experiences the full brunt of the weather conditions coming off the Pacific - fog, wind, sun, choppy waves etc. Even if it over a 100F on the mainland, it is strongly recommended that you bring a windbreak/parka and at least one item of warm clothing because you never know what the conditions on the island are. The choppy conditions are best experienced during the final 1 hour of the boat ride between Santa Rosa and San Miguel. Some sea-sickness medicine (Dramamine, Bonine) is quite beneficial if you do not have your sea legs. Boats do not go out in winter because of the conditions and the best time to visit the island is between June-September. On July 14, we were the first campers to get on the island this year. We were also motivated to go this time of the year to try and spot Blue Whales which come to the waters off the channel islands in July-August to feed.

The island itself covers 9300 acres and is about 12 miles long and 4 miles wide with a maximum elevation of 830 ft. It is undeveloped with no pier or running/potable water. The only two permanent structures on it are the Marine Mammal Research Station at Point Bennett and the Ranger Station. Solar and wind energy are tapped by these structures for energy needs. As a result, you are required to carry in your own water and carry out all your garbage.

The absence of a pier makes landing on the island an interesting adventure in itself. We transferred from the Island Packers boat to a little skiff which is then beached on the beautiful fine sand of Cuyler Harbor. Be prepared to get a little wet in the skiff when the conditions are choppy but be assured that the Island Packers staff make a difficult job look cheerfully easy.

Note that all hiking on the island is ranger-led. So we could not go and explore the island on our own which was a minor annoyance and quite incomprehensible for a national park - this is apparently because of unexploded ordnance still present on the island which could cause an accident. That said, the history of the island which was regaled to us by the park ranger was a treat - stories of ranchers denuding the island with their sheep, the navy taking over the island as a watchpost during WWII, and the regrowth of the island from a sand dune in the ocean to the rich, colorful sanctuary it is today make for interesting listening during the hikes.

                Map of San Miguel along with hiking trails                         

       Landing in Cuyler Harbor on the Island Packers skiff


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Boon Lim's San Miguel Page with Photographs