Catalina Island

Santa Catalina Island lies about 22 miles off the Southern California coast, a quick ferry ride from Los Angeles yet a world apart. The charming resort town of Avalon anchors the island, while nearly 90% of Catalina is protected wildland managed by the Catalina Island Conservancy.

Famed for its clear, kelp-forest waters, Catalina is a premier diving and snorkeling destination, with hiking, the Trans-Catalina Trail, glass-bottom boats, and free-roaming bison descended from a 1920s film shoot.

Catalina offers scuba diving and snorkeling in the protected Casino Point dive park, kayaking, hiking the 38-mile Trans-Catalina Trail, glass-bottom and semi-submarine tours, and exploring Avalon's shops and beaches.

Spring through fall offers the warmest water and best diving visibility; summer is busiest. Winter is quiet and mild, good for hiking and whale watching offshore.

The Tongva people inhabited Catalina for thousands of years. Chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought much of the island in 1919 and developed Avalon; the iconic Catalina Casino opened in 1929. The Conservancy was created in 1972 to protect the wildlands.

Catalina is one of California's Channel Islands, an uplifted block of ancient metamorphic and igneous rock — including distinctive Catalina blueschist — rising steeply from the sea with rugged ridges and coves.

The island's clear waters hold kelp forests, garibaldi (the state marine fish), bat rays, and the occasional leopard shark, while the interior shelters the endemic Catalina Island fox and a famous herd of introduced bison.

Catalina's island ecosystems include coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and grassland with numerous endemic plants and animals, surrounded by some of California's healthiest kelp-forest marine habitat.

Avalon's Art Deco Casino, the resort heritage of the Wrigley era, and the island's diving culture give Catalina a distinctive, almost Mediterranean character close to Los Angeles.

Reached by ferry (about an hour) from Long Beach, San Pedro, Dana Point, or Newport Beach, or by helicopter. Avalon is largely walkable; visitors use golf carts and bikes, as private cars are restricted.

The Catalina Island Conservancy protects the wildland interior and the endemic island fox, which recovered from near-extinction. Stay on trails, respect wildlife, and do not feed the bison or foxes.

Dive and snorkel within your training and watch for boat traffic; the interior is rugged with limited services, so carry water on hikes. Bison are wild and dangerous — keep your distance.

The other Channel Islands and the Los Angeles and Orange County coasts are nearby; Two Harbors at the island's isthmus offers a quieter alternative to Avalon.

Book ferries and Avalon lodging ahead in summer, dive or snorkel at Casino Point, and consider the Trans-Catalina Trail for backcountry camping. Bring water for hikes and keep your distance from the bison.