Santa Catalina Island (commonly just called Catalina Island) is 22 miles off the coast of Long Beach and a roughly one-hour ferry ride on the Catalina Express Ferry. Catalina is not the largest of the Channel Islands, but it’s the only developed one, with two towns, the larger Avalon and the sparsely populated Two Harbors. If you’re visiting the island for the first time, you’re most likely going to Avalon, where 93 percent of the island’s 3,500 residents live.
As someone who grew up on the East Coast, upon landing, I immediately thought, “Oh, this is the Martha’s Vineyard of the West.” There are indeed similarities — the island is buzzing with tourists and once you disembark from the ferry, the harbor is blanketed with t-shirt and ice cream shops. But there are also big differences, for example, in the terrain, home styles, and the flora and fauna. And just a few blocks from the harbor, a mountain ridge rises up behind you, with the tallest peak reaching almost 2,100 feet.
Note: Before hiking, you’ll need to get a free hiking permit from the Catalina Island Conservancy. You’ll request the permit for the day, trail, and estimated time that you’re hiking. This helps the Conservancy to regulate the number of hikers using the trails and protect the island's delicate ecosystem. It’s also helpful if you need a rescue for the Conservancy to know who is on what trail on a given date and time.
Hike One: Stage Road and Chimes Tower Road Loop
From downtown, pick up Stage Road and head uphill about 1.4 miles until you see a small dirt trail branching off to the right: the tiny Wishbone Loop. As you climb, you’ll get views of the harbor, the mountains across the ocean in LA, and the Catalina Island Eco Tours zipliners.
Hike Two: Garden to Sky and Hermit Gulch Loop
For this loop route, you walk through the Botanical Gardens to a ridge on the so-called “Garden to Sky” Trail. You’ll start the hike at the Botanical Gardens, which you can walk to from downtown, but that adds on about 1.5 more miles. I recommend getting the Circuit app so you can hail and pay for taxis. We got the taxi at the Catalina Island Museum, one of the designated taxi stops on the circuit. We then chose to get off right at the Botanical Gardens. Note: It’s good to have small denominations for cash as the drivers work for tips.
For the garden, you’ll pay for admission ($10 at the time of our visit). Make sure to look around at the gardens — there are some rare trees endemic to the Catalina and the Channel Islands worth checking out! Then head 0.2 miles to the Wrigley Memorial, named for William Wrigley, Jr., who is responsible for the modern development of most of the island. Continue hiking uphill 1.2 miles on the trail behind the memorial. When you reach a trail intersection, you’ve finished the Garden to Sky Trail. You can turn around here for an out-and-back hike, but for the loop route, you’ll head right on Divide Trail. After 0.8 miles, you’ll reach a sheltered overlook. Here you can head left for a quick detour to a restroom. You can also extend the hike 2 miles by picking up Lone Tree Road from the restroom. If you’re ready to finish the hike, head downhill on the Hermit Gulch Trail and stay here for 1.7 miles. From the end of the trail, you can walk back to the Botanical Gardens to get a taxi back to the start. Here is the Strava track for this hike: https://www.strava.com/activities/13646502672.
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