San Miguel Island

San Miguel is the westernmost and most exposed of the Channel Islands, where the cold California Current slams into the coast and feeds dense giant kelp. Point Bennett on the western tip holds the largest pinniped haul out on the planet, with California and Steller sea lions, northern fur seals, harbor seals and elephant seals piled by the thousand. Drop into the kelp off Tyler Bight and curious young sea lions corkscrew through the golden canopy at arm's length. The classic dive is Wyckoff Ledge, a rock wall falling from 12 m to a sand floor near 27 m and crusted with strawberry anemones, nudibranchs, wolf eels and lingcod. Water hovers around 11 to 13 C and the seas are unforgiving, so the island only opens on calm days.