Sign: San Miguel Island Campground

Sign: San Miguel Island Campground

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This sign, located at the campground restroom, provides information about San Miguel Island, campground regulations, watersports, hiking, and a map. It also contains safety information.

San Miguel Island Campground
Camping is available on all five islands in Channel Islands National Park. Here on San Miguel Island, camping is allowed only in this designated campground.

Welcome to San Miguel Island, one of five islands in the Channel Islands National Park. As a visitor, you can help preserve and protect San Miguel Island by taking a moment to read this bulletin board and taking action to care for the island during your visit.

Located twenty-five nautical miles off the coast of California, San Miguel Island is not only the farthest west of the Channel Islands, but also the most primitive and wild. Nowhere do you get a truer island experience than here. San Miguel is one of the greatest refuges on the coast with over 80,000 seals and sea lions and 13 different seabird species gathering to rest and breed.

The island also hosts pristine tidepools, rare plants, and the strange caliche forest.

For 12,000 years San Miguel was home to the seagoing Chumash people and their ancestors. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo set foot here as the first European to explore the California coast. For 100 years the island was a sheep ranch and in the 70 years it has been used by the military. Although San Miguel Island is still owned by the Navy, it was designated part of the Channel Islands National Park in 1980.

Of all the campgrounds in the National Parks, this one on San Miguel is unique. You are among a very small group of people that have experienced this place. Only 100 to 200 people camp here each year. The effort it took to get here and the harsh weather you must sometimes endure are rewarded by a solitude and wildness seldom experienced anymore.

Balancing the needs of visitors and wildlife is the highest mission of your National Park Service. Whether walking the trails, or paddling the shoreline, stay safe and join us in preserving a little piece of wild California.

Campground Regulations 

Everything is protected.
As in all national parks it is illegal to feed, collect, disturb, or harm park wildlife, plant life, or other natural, historical, and archeological features.

Proper food storage is required.
Store all food, trash, and scented items in a secure, animal-proof container at all times. Do not store in tents. Failure to store these items properly may result in a fine. Protect island wildlife, especially the island fox, by keeping your camp clean.

Remove your garbage.
Visitors are required to pack out what they pack in, including garbage.
No campfires or charcoal fires.
Due to extreme fire danger, no campfires or charcoal fires are permitted on the island. Use only enclosed gas campstoves for cooking.

Smoking allowed only on beaches.
Please take cigarette butts off the islands with your other trash.

Avoid contact with deer mice.
Hantavirus has been found in island deer mice. Contact your physician if you experience flu-like symptoms after contact with deer mice or infected materials. This is a life-threatening illness.

Observe quiet time in the campground after 10:00 pm.
To ensure a pleasurable camping experience for all, please respect your fellow campers and observe quiet time after 10:00 pm.

Be aware of boat departure times.
When departing the island, visitors are responsible for meeting the boat on time. Ask the ranger or concessioner for departure times.

Emergency Procedures
In an emergency, contact a ranger or concession employee. If a phone is available, contact the National Park Dispatch Center at 559-565-4221. This dispatch center handles all emergencies, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for Channel Islands National Park. On the water, use a marine radio to contact the US Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16.

Watersports

All watersports including, kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, and SCUBA, are at your own risk. There are no lifeguards on duty.

Be alert to wind, waves, and currents at all times – strong winds and rough seas are not uncommon and conditions change rapidly.

Water temperatures generally range from 50 to 60 degrees, and wetsuits should be worn if planning to stay in the water for any length of time.

For your own safety, use a buddy system for all watersports and wear a helmet when kayaking near rocky outcroppings, overheads environments and caves.

The entire shoreline of San Miguel is closed to landing except at Cuyler Harbor beach.

Do not land on offshore rocks; these are protected places for seabirds, seals, and sea lions. Remain 100 yards from marine mammals that are hauled out on the rocks and beaches.

Kayak equipment checklist – experienced sea kayakers recommend the following items: personal flotation device (PFD), helmet, broad-brimmed hat, sunscreen, adequate spray skirt, dry storage bags, food and fresh water with extra provisions, first aid, repair kit, and heavy diameter haul lines with carabiners.

No fishing within marine reserves. There are three marine protected areas in the waters surrounding San Miguel Island, including the immediate area outside of Cuyler Harbor. Within these areas, the take of living, geological, or cultural resources is prohibited. All intertidal plants and most intertidal animals around the entire island are also protected. See Fish and Wildlife regulations for more information. Possession of a valid California state fishing license and an Ocean Enhancement stamp are required to fish outside the marine protected areas. Please see the island ranger for more details.
  
Hiking

Visitors must stay on trails at all times. No off-trail travel is allowed. This ensures the protection of wildlife, fragile plants, and geologic features. It also ensures your safety as the island was a former bombing range and there are possible unexploded ordnance.

A map of San Miguel Island with key locations and marine reserves identified. Trails, ranger station, campground, and restrooms are also shown.

The text reads,

Visitors must be accompanied by a ranger beyond the ranger station. When not accompanied by a ranger, visitors may explore Cuyler Harbor beach, Nidever Canyon, the Cabrillo Monument, and the Lester Ranch Site (the trails marked in bold on the map)

Depending on the length of your stay, up to three different ranger guided hikes can be offered:

Point Bennett: An all day, 14 mile roundtrip hike to the pinniped rookery on the west end of the island. This trip includes a visit to the caliche forest which is about two miles from the campground.

Cardwell Point: A six mile roundtrip hike to the pinniped rookery on the east end of the island.

Lester Point: A scenic six mile roundtrip hike to the northern end of the island.

For all hiking bring along: 1) a lunch and trail snacks; 2) at least 1 quart of water per person; 3) binoculars – viewing distance to the animals is dependent on weather and phase of pupping/breeding for the animals; and 4) hat, sunscreen, sturdy walking shoes, and at least a wind-proof layer.

A photo shows a jumbled pile of varied pinnipeds, laying on top of one another. They include massive tan, brown, and gray elephant seals, shaped like enormous slugs, with heads like a dog’s except without visible ears. These elephant seals have stubby trunks or snouts. Mixed in among these huge seals are several, much smaller, sea lions. They are tan, with heads shaped like a dogs, but with tiny ears and long whiskers. 

A map shows San Miguel, an island with uneven shoreline and several tips or points. It is about 22 miles wide from west to east and 12 miles from north to south. At the northernmost point is a boot-shaped peninsula, ending in the tip of the boot—Harris Point. At about where the boots laces would be is Lester Point, which overlooks Simonton Cove and Otter Harbor to the west, and Castle Rock, offshore, further west. To the east of Harris Point, just past the “heel” of the boot, Cuyler Harbor cuts a c-shape out of the north shore of the island. Prince Island is just offshore. Features on the harbor shore, from west to east, include Palm trees, and offshore, Judge Rock and Gull Rock. Dotted lines represent a trail along the Cuyler Harbor beach. The trail branches inland near Gull Rock, heading south and then branching further to reach Cabrillo Monument, Lester Ranch site, a campground with restrooms, and a ranger station with restrooms. Farther along the northeast shore is Bay Point. At the eastern tip of the island is Cardwell Point. The ocean north of the coastline between Simonton Cove and Cardwell Point is colored red and titled Harris Point Marine Reserve, No Commercial or Recreational Fishing Allowed.

At the southernmost side is Crook Point. On the southwest shore, a curve in the coastline marks Tyler Bight. The western tip of that curve ends at Judith Rock. Another curve to the west of Judith Rock is called Adams Cove. The ocean south of the coastline including Adams Cove and Judith Rock is also red and titled Judith Rock Marine Reserve, with the same rules.

The western tip is called Point Bennett. Stretching out westward from the Point are several skinny islands, like sand spits. Amid these tiny islands is an icon of a half-sunken ship, titled “Cuba Wreck.”

A black line wraps around the western tip of San Miguel, marking the coastline from near Castle Rock, all the way to Judith Rock. A note says, “Boating prohibited within 300 yards of shore from Castle Rock to Judith Rock from April 30th to October 1st, and from December 15th to March 15th. No boating within 100 yards of shore year-round.

Off shore just northwest of San Miguel, is another red box over the ocean, titled Richardson Rock Marine Reserve.

Inland, near the center of the island are Green Mountain, 817 feet tall, and slightly east of that, San Miguel Hill, 831 feet tall. Between them is the Caliche Forest.

Notes on the map read: 

To avoid disturbing sensitive seals, sea lions, and seabirds, please stay away from the shoreline where you see them congregate. Refer to the National Marine Sanctuary’s “Protecting Your Channel Islands” brochure for more information on marine reserves.