We were lucky enough to spend 4th of July weekend on Catalina Island, a wonderful and quick getaway off the coast of Long Beach. It had been almost 2 years since we had been there, so we were excited to visit for the 4th, which is one of the best weekends on the island.
The trip is just over an hour via the Catalina Express, leaving from downtown Long Beach. There are other ports that will get you there in both San Pedro and Newport Beach. Once you arrive in Avalon, the main town on the island, you can grab a taxi to your location or take a short walk to the center of town. Otherwise, transportation is largely by golf cart.
The island has an interesting history, but one of the more fascinating points is that the Wrigley family, of Wrigley’s chewing gum, largely ran the island in the early 20th century. This meant the Chicago Cubs also came to the island for spring training during that time period! The Wrigley mansion still stands, but now runs as a bed and breakfast, the Inn at Mount Ada. The view of the island is quite spectacular from that vantage point.
The Casino is another landmark building on the island, commissioned by the Wrigley family in the 1920s. Its ballroom still hosts events and you can check out a movie in its historic theater. Also worth checking out is the tile on the exterior of the building, created by the Catalina Island Tile Company.
While there are many adventurous things to do on the island, such as zip lining, kayaking, snorkeling, SCUBA and inland tours, we chose to relax on the beach. There are three sandy beaches to hang out on, but by far the best is the Descanso Beach Club. You can rent a cabana, book a lounge chair, or just hang out on the sand. There’s a bar with both drinks and food and the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen on a beach. We loved our day there. If you do go, I recommend water shoes because the beaches are fairly rocky.
In driving around the island we saw a few, or maybe the same deer, out having a snack. They are fairly used to humans, and this one posed by the side of the road to let us take her picture. She didn’t seem at all afraid of us.
The deer were introduced to the island in the 1930s, and their population has put a strain on the island’s resources. There has been some controversy in the last couple of years over population control, with island residents fighting some of the methods the island’s conservation company wants to take. Also not native to the island is the herd of Bison, brought by a movie company to the island in the 1920s. You can see these magnificent animals by heading to Two Harbors, a more remote section of the island that offers camping. We once hikes the Trans-Catalina trail from Two Harbors to Avalon, camping along the way. It was one of our favorite trips to the island, and we encountered many of the resident bison, as a safe distance of course.
Our last day there was the 4th, and Avalon sponsors a golf cart parade, complete with the USC marching band, as well as a dingy parade, topping the night off with a spectacular fireworks show.
One of my favorite 4th of July traditions is watching the movie Jaws, which also has a link to Catalina Island. Much of the underwater filming occurred there. The Catalina Island Museum had a great exhibit on the movie a few years back, and I’m hoping some of it ends up at the Academy museum in Los Angeles when their Jaws Exhibit opens later this year. Being that it’s the 50th anniversary of the movie, there is plenty of merch including this wine my husband found, which wasn’t half bad.
We ended our celebration with a cake that my daughter and niece decorated especially for the occasion.
It was a great, relaxing trip. Next stop is Boston in a little over two weeks, so more to come soon!
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