San Miguel Island

San Miguel is the westernmost of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. It lies near the coast of California, about 20 miles south of Santa Barbara County. In 1999, I travelled to the island and camped there for 2 nights. I was carried to the island on a boat run by Island Packers, who regularly transport tourists to and from the island. The crossing takes several hours, and the seas are usually very rough, resulting in a lot of sea-sick passengers, myself included. When we arrived on the island, we had to carry our camping gear up a mountain to reach the campsites, which were more than a mile away. Since we also had to carry all of the water we would require for three days, it was an exhausting portage. The island is part of the National Park System and a ranger led daily hikes to points of interest, including Point Bennet, which is the main rookery for California sea lions and elephant seals. Click on the links below, to view some photos from my trip.

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