Things to Do on Catalina Island

Bicycles: Cycling the Island

Hitting the Road in a Cyclist's Paradise

The city of Avalon seems miraculously tailor-made for navigation, exploration, and appreciation via a bicycle. Whether you're a casual peddler, an athletic cyclist, someone fresh off of training wheels (or still on them!), or even if you haven't ridden a

Bicycles: Mountain Biking

The Contagiously High-Energy Way to Explore Catalina's Interior

"Until mountain biking came along," observed legendary woman mountain biker Jacquie Phelan, "the bike scene was ruled by a small elite cadre of people who seemed allergic to enthusiasm." That statement captures the gung-ho enthusiasm of mountain

Boats: Island Boat Charters

Boat Charters for Diving, Sportfishing, or Sailing Off Catalina Island

Some of Catalina Island's most beguiling and fabled pleasures are not found on the island at all, but in the waters that surround it. The simple geological fact that the island is the top of an undersea mountain peak means that, very close to shore, deep

Hiking: Catalina Island Hiking

Exploring the Interior of Catalina Island on Foot

"Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow," observed the great American nature writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau. Indeed, a vigorous hike through nature has the amazing ability to stimulate our minds and our spiri

Camping: Island Campgrounds

Spending One or More Nights in the Great Outdoors on Catalina

Since the vast majority of Catalina Island's 76 square miles (48,640 acres) remains undeveloped and protected, one of the best ways imaginable to experience the island is to camp there. The Santa Catalina Island Company maintains good-quality campgrounds

Camping: Boat-in Camping

Enjoy a Primitive Island-Style Camping Experience

Two of Catalina's most popular and plentiful nature-oriented activities, boating and camping, strike the happiest of harmonies in the 11 primitive boat-in beach campgrounds. No experience offers a greater opportunity to savor the simple pleasures of livin

Ocean Recreation: Scuba Diving

Dive Into Some of Southern California's Finest Undersea Sites

Experienced scuba divers consider diving sites in the waters around Catalina Island to be among the best in North America, and with good reason. Though close to the coastal ports of greater Los Angeles, here the ocean is generally calmer, clearer, cleaner

Ocean Recreation: Snorkeling

Snorkeling Lets You Instantly Become an Undersea Explorer

If you have even moderate swimming ability, snorkeling has the magical power to turn you almost instantaneously into an undersea explorer. Put on a watertight face mask, insert into your mouth one end of the long breathing tube called a snorkel and put yo

Golf: Catalina Island Golf Course

Play 9 Holes or 18 on What May be the West's Oldest Golf Course

Many golfers only dream of playing a course where the likes of Tiger Woods–not to mention Corey Pavin, Craig Stadler, John Cook, Toni Seals, and Amy Alcott–have competed in tournament play. Yet the beautiful and historic Catalina Island Golf Course gives

Golf: Miniature Golf Course

Play 18 Holes at Catalina Island's Renowned Golf Gardens

Play 18 holes at Catalina Island's renowned Golf Gardens. Miniature golf, a recreational phenomenon that has delighted Americans for almost a century, may be one of the best, most wholesome, most delightful activities ever created for people of all ages,

Tours: Golf Cart Rentals

Putt-Putt Around the City of Avalon in Your Own Golf Car

Ask anyone who has visited Catalina Island even once, and especially those who've been visiting regularly since childhood, to name particular reasons for the island's special appeal, and almost without fail golf carts–or "golf cars," as some folk like to

Explore: Geocaching

Join in the Fun of a High-Tech Treasure Hunt Thanks to One of Earth's Newest Pastimes

The words "treasure" and "island" are forever linked in the popular imagination-and not just because Robert Louis Stevenson joined them together in the title of his best-known book, published in 1883, a rollicking tale of pirates and buried gold.

Ocean Recreation: Ocean Kayaking

An Up-Close and Personal Way to Experience Catalina's Shoreline

Among Santa Catalina Island's greatest natural blessings are its rugged, sinuous shoreline and the crystal-clear waters that encircle the island. Possibly no way exists to experience both with greater immediacy than to explore the island's perimeter in a

Parasail: Catalina Island Parasailing

The Most Thrilling Way to Enjoy a Bird's-Eye View of the Island

If you spend any time at all on Santa Catalina Island, soaking up all the natural and manmade beauty of Avalon and the surrounding land and sea, and you can't help but begin to wonder to yourself: How amazing must all this look to the birds I see flying o

Explore: Catalina's Historic Theatre

A Journey Back in Time to the Grand Old Days of Movies

Avalon has preserved a bygone way of life, when seaside getaways typically moved at a more gracious pace in settings that fostered an air of serenity, ease, and gentle pleasure. One way in which you can always be assured of getting old-fashioned enjoyment

Tours: Helicopter Tours

A Magical Private Helicopter Ride above the Island and Its Waters

"The helicopter approaches closer than any other vehicle to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of the flying horse and the magic carpet," mused Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), the Russian-born American aviation pioneer who created the first practical heli

Tours: Walking Avalon Tours

Savoring the Pleasures of Avalon on Foot

Some local quipsters are fond of remarking that the main activity in the city of Avalon is walking. While that statement is patently inaccurate–just consider all the opportunities for recreational activities–there is a germ of truth in it, consider the si

Tours: Land & Offroad Tours

Four-Wheel-Drive Adventures Through the Island's Interior

Time was, a motorized tour of Catalina Island meant climbing onto a tourist bus in the center of Avalon and heading off with several dozen other visitors on a very informative and enjoyable–but quite tame–guided drive around the island.

Relax: Spas, Massage and Fitness

Enjoy a World-Class Spa Vacation During Your Avalon Stay

Spa vacations are among the hottest trends in the world of travel today. The premise is simple: You head to a beautiful, remote destination, then avail yourself of its carefully planned program of spa and massage treatments, fitness classes, and healthy c

Tours: Ocean & Undersea Tours

Exploring the Island's Undersea Life from the Comfort of a Boat

More than a century has passed since Santa Catalina Island's first glass-bottomed boat debuted, the clever invention of an Avalon fisherman who thought that tourists might pay for a ride if he inset a pane of sturdy glass into the bottom of his rowboat.

Boats: Small Boat Rentals

The Pleasures of Renting a Small Boat in Avalon

Some folk are likely to feel exhausted at the mere mention of a vacation spent enjoying the crystal-clear waters that surround Santa Catalina Island. After all, the island is renowned for such recreational activities as scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking,

Explore: The Catalina Island Museum

Take a Refreshing Taste of History and Culture at the Catalina Island Museum

For many people, the words vacation or getaway seem constitutionally incapable of coexisting with the word museum. Who on earth, after all, could possibly want to spend a sunny, or at the very least leisurely, day indoors looking at a bunch of musty old e

Explore: Catalina's Airport in the Sky

An Air Terminal Worth Visiting for Its Own Sake

In these days of anxiety-laden air travel, few folks consider a trip to any airport fun anymore. Santa Catalina Island's "Airport in the Sky," however, will reward you with beautiful scenery, great food, enjoyable souvenir shopping, and a fascinating and

Explore: Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden

An Oasis of Catalina Island Plant Life and Spectacular Views

If you feel the urge to escape from the bustle and merriment of downtown Avalon, but have limited time to do so, a welcome break awaits you just a mile and a half from the water's edge. Tucked into the narrow canyon, the 37.85-acre garden invites contempl