Hiking and Camping
A location where you can recharge your mind, with remote canyons, windy ridges, secret coves and beaches. Maintained by the Catalina Island Conservancy, this is a permit-only wilderness, ideal for a day of off-the-grid walking. While you may not be for traveling the whole 37-mile/60-kilometer-long Trans-Catalina Trail, you can do simply a couple of miles. Get route maps and suggestions from the team at Catalina Island Conservancy, in Avalon; they’ll also issue you a complimentary hiking authorization (called for), or you could get one online. Walkers normally ride the regional shuttle to the flight terminal to avoid the huge hump up the main access point.
To truly escape it all, consider an over night at one of the island’s 5 camping sites or 17 watercraft or kayak-in camping sites (again– you’ll need an authorization, available in Avalon, at Two Harbors, or Hermit Gulch). Closest to Avalon is Hermit Gulch, an excellent choice if you’re a camping rookie or you have children. Two Harbors, on a bluff neglecting the sea, supplies tent cabin along with camping sites. Little Harbor uses beachfront camping on the island’s wild and attractive oceanfront side– just note it can be windy right here. Want a lot more experience? Take the hard walking– or paddle a kayak– to remote Parson’s Landing, shaded by pines as well as eucalyptus.
If that doesn’t obtain your adrenaline running enough, take Catalina’s Zip Line Eco Tour, an almost 4,000-foot/ 1,219-meter descent down the canyon to Descanso Beach.