Trans-Catalina Trail from Avalon to Two Harbors Located on Catalina Island, this is a moderately challenging backpacking expedition. With a length of about 19 miles and an elevation gain of 4,700 feet, the trip took …
December 21, 2022
Santa Catalina Island stories & travel reviews
Santa Catalina Island stories & travel reviews
Trans-Catalina Trail from Avalon to Two Harbors
Two Harbors to ... you know
At first, David was dejected, and I wasn’t much help. “If we were going to go for fun, I probably would have opted to stay on the fun side of the island,” I said.
April 20, 2016
Man overboard on Catalina’s backside
We usually ran open-party for the summer, but one day we took a charter of factory workers from Santa Monica on an overnight trip. Hard-working guys enjoying a cold one and catching rockfish at the …
August 19, 2015
Catalina to mainland in 5 hours, 23 minutes
I remember sitting in the La Paloma Theatre watching the 2012 major release surf film Chasing Mavericks. The biopic of Jay Moriarity’s rise to world-class surfing depicted his mentor, Frosty Hesson, training the young Moriarity …
September 3, 2014
Catalina's Lonely Peaks
One of seven islands in the Channel Island archipelago, Catalina lies 22 miles due west off Los Angeles. It doesn’t surprise me that the Victorian botanist-poet Blanche Trask took up residence there; it hadn’t been …
June 12, 2012
A World Away on Catalina Island
I’m always surprised at the number of Southern California residents who have never been to Catalina Island. My family spent quite a few summers on the island, and it’s the perfect opportunity to get away …
July 28, 2011
Fishlike
Todd Robinson of the La Jolla Swim Club set the men’s Catalina-to-California-mainland swim record on August 25, with a time of 8 hours, 5 minutes, and 44 seconds. Beginning from Catalina Twin Harbors at around …
August 26, 2009
Hike up and over the east end of Santa Catalina Island, enjoying 270-degree ocean views.
On certain crystal-clear days (most common between late October and March), the looping hike over East Mountain on Santa Catalina Island affords an ever-changing panorama of the blue ocean, San Clemente Island to the south, …
October 19, 2006
The remote Parsons Landing hike-in campground offers splendid isolation on the northwest shore of Santa Catalina Island.
Parsons Landing on Santa Catalina Island is not only the site of a small beach and a spacious camping area; it is also the home of one of the best examples of native Southern California …
August 18, 2005
Best of 2003: Best Way To Get To Catalina Without Getting Seasick
Island Express Helicopters 1175 Queens Highway South, Long Beach www.islandexpress.com 562-436-2012 If your stomach is prone to queasiness, the only good way to reach Catalina Island is on a quick 15-minute helicopter ride. Located just …
December 25, 2003
Hike the west end of Santa Catalina Island, and survey the ocean from its high point.
The hike to the highest point on the west end of Santa Catalina Island -- 1804-foot Silver Peak --introduces you to its wild windward side. Spectacular views are the norm most of the way. Assuming …
January 16, 2003
View Catalina Island and 150 degrees of ocean horizon from the top of the Palos Verdes peninsula.
Created by uplift of the sea floor roughly two million years ago, the Palos Verdes peninsula lay surrounded by the ocean for hundreds of thousands of years. Today a vast sheet of alluvium fills the …
January 24, 2002
Hike to Lone Tree Point above Avalon on Santa Catalina Island for a great view.
The languid pace of life on Santa Catalina Island reflects its aloofness from the increasingly frantic business of living on the Southern California mainland. A weekend visit there is truly relaxing, whether you choose to …
October 5, 2000