San Miguel boast outstanding natural and cultural features. Some of the Channel Islands' best examples of caliche are found here. One of the most spectacular wildlife displays in the park is viewing the thousands of seals and sea lions that breed on its isolated shores. The Channel Islands' largest land mammal, the island fox, can be seen on San Miguel. The island's fragile treasures include more than 500 relatively undisturbed archeological sites, some dating back as far as 11,000 years. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, european discoverer of California, is believed to have wintered and died at Cuyler Harbor in 1543. Although his grave has never been found, a monument overlooking Cuyler Harbor was erected in 1937 to commemorate his northern voyage of exploration.

In the 1850s, Captain George Nidever brought sheep, cattle and horses to San Miguel. An adobe he built may be the earliest structure on any of the Channel Islands. Its remains are barely visible today. In 1930, Herbert and Elizabeth Lester became the island's caretakers. The family left the island in 1942 after the suicide of Herbert Lester, who had become known as the "King of San Miguel." From the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s the island was used as a bombing range. Staying on the trail is particularly important because live ordnance is still occasionally uncovered by shifting sands

San Miguel has a primitive campground, miles of hiking trails and beaches, and offers Ranger-led hikes, marine-mammal observation, beach exploration, and bird watching. Fifty-five miles off the coast from Ventura, San Miguel Island is the farthest west of the Channel Islands. Because of its location in the open ocean, it is subject to high winds and lots of fog. We do not recommend visiting in anything but the most settled weather conditions, and only with special permission.  The island is a tableland of lush grasses and wildflowers, with 27 miles of jagged, rocky coastline dotted with sandy white beaches. The westernmost of these beaches, Point Bennett, is the only place in the world where up to six different species of pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) can be found.

San Miguel is famous worldwide for its pinniped show. In the winter, as many as 20,000 individual seals and sea lions can be seen at one time on Point Bennett, where they breed and where the pups are born.