page_title: San Miguel Island
section_title: Hiking
hierarchical_section_title: San Miguel Island / Tourism / Hiking
caption_attribution_description: English: Caliche forest on San Miguel Island, California
context_page_description: San Miguel Island is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Channel Islands at 9,325 acres, including offshore islands and rocks. Prince Island, 700 m off the northeastern coast, measures 35 acres in area. The island, at its farthest extent, is 8 miles long and 3.7 miles wide.
  San Miguel Island is part of Channel Islands National Park, and almost all of the island has also been designated as an archaeological district on the National Register of Historic Places. This westernmost Channel Island receives northwesterly winds and severe weather from the open ocean. The cold and nutrient-rich water surrounding the island is home to a diverse array of sea life that is not found on the southern islands.
  San Miguel Island, together with numerous small islets around it, is defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block 3010, Block Group 3, Census Tract 29.10 of Santa Barbara County, California. The island is uninhabited. Highest peak is San Miguel Hill, at 831 feet.
context_section_description: With the exception of the trail leading from the beach in Cuyler Harbor to the campground and ranger station, hiking is restricted to ranger-led outings. Many visitors participate in the 14-mile (23 km) round trip hike to Point Bennett to view the thousands of elephant seals and sea lions that reside at the west end of the island during spring and summer. Another popular hike is to the Island's caliche forest. Caliche is a type of hardened calcium deposit.
caption: San Miguel's caliche forest near Cuyler's Harbor[4]
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