For active families with older children who can withstand a 15-mile round-trip hike (or one in which parents are fit enough to cart a child on their backs that far), a special treat awaits at Point Bennett on the western tip of San Miguel Island. As

(+) More

For active families with older children who can withstand a 15-mile round-trip hike (or one in which parents are fit enough to cart a child on their backs that far), a special treat awaits at Point Bennett on the western tip of San Miguel Island. As hikers reach the halfway point of the island, they often start to hear a low rumble that gets louder and louder. At Point Bennett, the source of the sound is revealed: thousands of elephant seals on the beach, flipping sand over their bodies and digging in the sand.

Other marine mammals are frequently sighted around Point Bennett, including California sea lions, harbor seals, and northern fur seals. The area's climate and diversity of plant life, plus its isolation, help to make it one of the most impressive congregations of wildlife on the planet: Tens of thousands of pinnipeds (fin-footed mammals) live and breed here.

(-) Close