Any Travels

At less than 150 miles east of the International Dateline, Midway Atoll is truly "midway" around the world from the Greenwich meridian. The atoll lies about 2,800 miles west of San Francisco and 2,200 miles east of Japan. It is situated near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Islands archipelago.

The island offers one of the world's most spectacular wildlife experiences. Nearly two million birds call it home for much of each year, including the world's largest population of Laysan Albatross, or "gooney birds". Endangered Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles and spinner dolphins inhabit Midway's crystal blue lagoon.

Midway became an "overlay" refuge in 1988, while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy. With the closure of Naval Air Facility Midway Island in 1993, there began a transition from bullets to birds, a change in mission from national defense to wildlife conservation.

Midway was the last link in a global telegraph system, inaugurated by a message from President Teddy Roosevelt on the Fourth of July, 1903, a prominent landing site for Pan Am Clippers enroute across the Pacific Ocean in the late 1930's and the focus of a 1942 land and sea battle that changed the tide of war in the Pacific;

The naval air facility that played a pivotal role in support of the Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War.

Now, for the first time since the Clippers landed in Midway's lagoon, this special place is open to the public. Visitors now arrive on flights from Honolulu to enjoy the wildlife, dive and fish in the lagoon and explore the many sites that reflect Midway's rich heritage.