A Walk Among Wildlife of San Miguel Island

San Miguel is the westernmost of the Channel Islands, the farthest from park headquarters and the one most prized by island connoisseurs. Only in the last few years has it been open to people other than scientists and military personnel. Owned by the U.S. Navy, which once used it as a bombing site and missile tracking station, San Miguel is now managed by the National Park Service.

Wildlife abounds on San Miguel. Three species of cormorants, storm petrels, Cassin’s auklets and pigeon guillemot nest on the island.

And San Miguel is home to six pinniped species: California sea lion, northern elephant seal, Steller sea lion, harbor seal, northern fur seal and Guadalupe fur seal. The island may be home to the largest elephant seal population on Earth. As many as 15,000 seals and sea lions can be seen basking on the rocks during mating season. (You are permitted to observe the pinnipeds from afar, only while accompanied by a ranger.)

You can walk unescorted from the boat landing at Cuyler Harbor to the campground and on to the Cabrillo Monument and the remains of Lester Ranch.

Beyond these destinations, hikers must walk with a park ranger. The trail to Point Bennett, where the seals and sea lions reside, passes two round peaks, San Miguel Hill and Green Mountain, and drops in and out of steep canyons to view the lunar landscape of the caliche forest.

Directions to trail head: Plan a very long (17-hour) day--or better yet, an overnight trip to San Miguel. It’s at least a five-hour boat trip from Ventura. Visitors have three options. One-day trips, which allow five hours on the island, leave June 21, July 10, Aug. 16 and Sept. 12. Cost is $62 for adults, $50 for children. Camping trips leave March 27 and 29; May 23 and 25; June 5, 7, 18 and 26, and July 3, 6, 17 and 19. Cost is $90 for adults, $80 for children. Two-day trips, which include landing on both San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands, as well as all food and sleeping accommodations aboard the boat, leave March 28, July 26, Aug. 30 and Oct. 3. Cost is $215 and $195.

The hike: Follow the footpath along the beach at Cuyler Harbor to the east. The harbor was named after the original government surveyor in the 1850s. The beach around the anchorage was formed by a bight of volcanic cliffs that extend to bold and precipitous Harris Point, the most prominent landmark on San Miguel’s coast.

At the east end of the beach, about three-quarters of a mile from anchoring waters, a small footpath winds its way up the bluffs. It’s a relatively steep trail following along the edge of a stream-cut canyon. At the top of the canyon, the trail veers east and forks. The left fork leads a short distance to Cabrillo Monument.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the Portuguese explorer, visited and wrote about San Miguel in October, 1542. While on the island, he fell and broke either an arm or a leg (historians are unsure about this). As a result of this injury, he contracted gangrene and died on the island in January, 1543. It’s believed that he was buried here (historians disagree about this, too). In honor of Cabrillo, a monument was erected in 1937.

The right fork continues to the remains of a ranch house. Of the various ranchers and ranch managers to live on the island, the best-known were the Lesters. They spent 12 years on the island, and their adventures were occasionally chronicled by the Southern California press. When the Navy evicted the Lesters from the island in 1942, Mr. Lester went to a hill overlooking Harris Point--in his view the prettiest part of the island--and shot himself. Within a month his family moved back to the mainland. Not much is left of the ranch now. The buildings burned down in the 1960s, and only brick rubble and scattered household items remain.

For a longer eight-mile round trip, the hiker can continue (escorted by a park ranger) on the trail past the ranch to the top of San Miguel Hill (831 feet), down and then up again to the top of Green Mountain (817 feet). A side trail leads to the caliche forest, composed of calcified sheaths of plants that died thousands of years ago. Calcium carbonate has reacted with ancient plants’ organic acid, creating a ghostly forest.

You’ll hike across a prairie, through native and imported grasses, and through fields of burr clover, buckwheat and wild oats. On drier slopes, only the humble alkali grass survives the island’s frequent droughts. Adding seasonal color to the grasslands are acres of vivid wildflowers--blue lupine, yellow daisies and cream cups. Nearing shore, the ocean-facing slopes greet you with splashes of bright asters, dandelions and verbena.

Along the way are huge Canalino midden sites, unearthed by the winds. At one time, the island may have been one of the most densely populated areas of Southern California. More than 500 village and midden sites have been found, hinting at a crowded welcome for Juan Cabrillo. Some of these piles of shell and bone are 10 feet thick and stretch for a quarter of a mile.

One of three giant shell mounds, partially uncovered by shifting sands, overlooks what is certainly one of the great natural wonders of the world: the largest elephant seal rookery on Earth. Also blanketing the beach are cacophonous hordes of California sea lions.

Channel Islands National Park / San Miguel Island Trail Where: Channel Islands National Park. Distance: From Cuyler Harbor to Cabrillo Monument, Lester Ranch is 3 miles round trip; other hikes (guided walks with the park ranger) are possible. Terrain: Eight miles long, four miles wide, it rises as a plateau, 400 to 500 feet above the sea. Wind-driven sands cover many of the hills, which were severely overgrazed by sheep during the island’s ranching days. Highlights: A rare caliche (fossilized plants) forest; final resting place of Juan Cabrillo; huge seal and seal lion population. Degree of difficulty: Easy. For more information: Call Channel Islands National Park at (805) 658-5730 or the park concessionaire Island Packers in Ventura Harbor at (805) 642-1393.