Visited Countries Map

The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands are not a conventional visitor destination but a legal grouping of remote U.S. possessions scattered across the Pacific and Caribbean, including places such as Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Wake Island, and Navassa Island. For travelers, the practical reality is that most access is closed, restricted, permit-only, or tied to official conservation, research, military, or management work rather than tourism.

The most travel-relevant public information comes from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial are part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and protect millions of seabirds, shorebirds, ducks, monk seals, sea turtles, and Battle of Midway historic resources; FWS states that Midway is currently closed to public visitation except for activities directly supporting airfield operations and conservation management, but virtual tours are available. Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, consists of roughly 26 islets, lagoons, and 15,000 acres of shallow and submerged reefs; access is expensive and limited, with the only runway operated by The Nature Conservancy and boat travel from Honolulu taking five to seven days.

Navassa Island, in the Caribbean, is also closed to the public; FWS notes that access is extremely hazardous because the island rises abruptly from the sea with cliffs of 20 meters or more and has no visitor services. Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, and other Pacific sites have military, contamination, refuge, or monument restrictions that generally make casual visitation impossible. Photography opportunities are therefore mostly archival, virtual, scientific, or from approved vessels rather than standard scenic overlooks.

There are no ordinary opening hours, public transit links, visitor centers, restaurants, hotels, or reliable emergency services for the group as a whole. Anyone with a legitimate research, conservation, sailing, or official reason to seek access should start with FWS special-use permits, refuge managers, The Nature Conservancy where relevant, and military or aviation authorities for restricted sites. Visitor Tip: Treat U.S. Minor Outlying Islands map entries as protected remote territories, not vacation islands; assume access is closed unless a current official refuge or agency permit explicitly says otherwise.

• The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument program page did not resolve cleanly during automated research, so individual FWS refuge pages were used for current access details.
• No normal tourism bureau exists for the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands; official refuge and federal-agency sources are the authoritative visitor references.
• Access rules vary by island and can involve FWS, The Nature Conservancy, military, NOAA, or other federal controls.