CATALINA ISLAND

CATALINA ISLAND OVERVIEW

Catalina Island is a beautiful oasis that is 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles in the Pacific Ocean. The whole concept of a resort island in the Pacific off the shores of the hustle and bustle of the freeways, ports and beaches that make up LA may seem surreal to some. Catalina Island is only about 23 miles long and 8 miles wide and includes a variety of activities for all types of visitors, from the families to the solo backpacker to the nature enthusiast.

Getting to Catalina Island is relatively easy as there are a variety of modes of transportation options from the mainland. The most popular transportation method is boat with the Catalina Express offering the most departures from the mainland. The departure points for the Catalina Express are Long Beach, San Pedro and Orange County. The travel time is a about an hour to hour and ten minutes. The boats are comfortable and smooth and hardly noticeable even for those more sensitive to motion. There are multiple lounges on the Catalina Express that include both indoor and outdoor seating. Some of the boats are equipped with forward style airline seats and a few offer live satellite television service. Those departing Catalina Island from Orange Country will find the Catalina Flyer to be the most convenient boating service. For those looking for a faster transit time, and or, are not keen on boat service, Island Express offers helicopter service departing from Long Beach to Catalina Island. The helicopter flight is about about 15 minutes long and arrives at the Catalina Heliport called the Pebbly Beach Heliport near Lovers Cove that is about 3/4 of a mile from the Avalon town center. In addition Catalina Island is home to to an air strip offering access to private aircraft.

The main arrival point at Catalina Island is Avalon. Avalon is a small village type set up that consists of a harbor, music hall, theatre, quaint restaurants and shops and the orgin point for many hiking trails that take visitors all over the island. The main beaches of Catalina Island also begin at Avalon and extend out from the village along the shores. It is in Avalon that the majority of accommodations for Catalina are arranged with over 22 hotels, bed and breakfasts and charming inns that offer visitors a variety of options in Avalon. Avalon offers an abundance of small drives and lanes that convert into hiking trails as they finger out all over the island. All the streets originate from Crescent drive and climb west towards the interior. There are a variety of shopping options throughout Avalon including apparel, glassware's, antiques and chocolates. The main area visitors will notice upon arriving in Avalon is the harbor. At the harbor's edge is a circular building known as the Catalina Casino. The Catalina Casino stands nearly 12 stories tall and dates back to the 1920s. During this time the casino was envisioned and built by chewing gum magnet William Wrigley. Wrigley had invested millions of dollars into Catalina Island in hopes of turning it into a world famous tourist destination full of attractions. Today the casino is home to the biggest round dance hall in the world and is home to a museum and movie theater and is surrounded on three sides by the ocean.

On the other side and to the north of the Catalina Casino is the Descanso Beach. Accessible by a walking path paralleling Crescent Drive, Descanso Beach is a hide way within a cove that will leave visitors feeling they are on a hide way in the caribbean. The secluded beach, open to the public opens out onto a cove where the ocean is clear and the rocks, kelp forests and fish are clear. When standing at the edge and looking down into water visitors will be able to spot the Orange Garibaldi fish swimming along its shores. During the summer and peak times bars open up along Descanso Beach offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy a cocktail while enjoying the scenery surf and sun. In addition tented cabanas are opened up allowing some beach goers the opportunity for privacy and relaxation. Descanso Beach also offers a snorkeling center where visitors can change and go under the sea for an up close look at the sea life.

Catalina Island offers a variety of activities that embrace nature and the ocean. There are several sea going expeditions that include snorkeling, glass bottom boat rides and submerged submarine trips. All sea trips orgin ate from the Green Pleasure pier in the center of Avalon Bay and travel out to one of the many coves. From here visitors are exposed to beautiful kelp forests, hundreds of variety of fish and other wildlife. Do to the clear and clean sea water along the shores of Catalina Island, the experience is an intense and awesome one giving visitors a full exposure to a variety of sea life. Those aboard the submersible sub will find an additional treat as they come into contact face to face with thousands of the fish. Some of the fish visitors can expect to see are the Wild Kelp, Yellow Tale Tuna and Orange Garibaldi. The Kelp forests themselves grow to be hundreds of feet long and often wrap themselves around the vessel as it takes visitors from cove to cove. Catalina permits fishing from the pier closest to the main boat landing.

Exploring Catalina Island is exciting and can easily make for day trips on there own. The island is home to dozens of forms of wildlife. One of the biggest attractions ont he Catalina wilderness are the hundreds of free roaming buffalos. These buffalo were imported to the island during the 1920s for use in shooting westerns. Today the population of buffalo is estimated at over 150. To help keep the buffalo populations down, many of them are routinely shipped from Catalina Island to ranches in North Dakota. There are many wild land tours available on Catalina where visitors can ride in the back of all terrain veichles as they transverse through the outback of the island and give up and close personal views of the buffalo.

There are several bus and safari tours that take visitors from the Avalon town center high up into the mountains of Catalina to give first had exposure to the wildlife that inhabit the island, (including the buffalo previously mentioned, red fox, schroom and bald eagle to name a few). The off road tours pass by several of the reservoirs that keep the island watered and make a stop at Catalina's Airport in the Sky-its municipal airport situated at the peak of a smaller mountain. On clear days it is said visitors can see from this point all the way into Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and the channel islands off of Ventura. These tours take visitors through expansive rugged canyons and mountains and along single lane dusty roads. One of the bus tours offered by Discovery Tours takes visitors up a winding steep mountainside. If you are seated on the right hand side of the bus, by looking out there is a drop of hundreds of feet with the clear blue ocean below. The tours are rich in historical detail on the various There are also an abundance of camping grounds, fishing, snorkeling and other activities throughout Catalina Island.