Tourist Attractions in Catalina

Millions of tourists visit Catalina every year and undoubtedly get captivated by its charisma. The Island is rich in floral, faunal and forest resources and has lots of historical places to visit. Most of the Catalina Island hotels provide stunning ocean views and one can enjoy the scenic beauty of Catalina by traveling in buses, cars, ferries or cruises or just enjoy the sunset and the Avalon Bay view from the room itself.

Following are some of popular tourist attractions in Catalina:

Camping
To enjoy the island's matchless environment and terrain beauty, camping is the most appropriate choice. There are many campgrounds in Catalina namely Two Harbors, Black Jack, Parson's Landing, Hermit Gulch and Little Harbor. Moreover, Catalina's Boat-in camping allows you to enjoy true privacy along the pacific coast.

Golf Course and Golf Gardens
These are truly a treat for golf-lovers. The golf course is long, tapered and hilly and offers a modestly difficult nine-hole play. Golf Gardens is popular as one of the most difficult and attractive 18-hole miniature golf courses and brags about its tricky elevations and up-hills.

Shipwrecks
Well-known shipwrecks forming a source of interest for tourists include Diosa Del Mar, a schooner built in 1898 which sank off the coast of Catalina Island in 1990 and a yacht called Valiant which sank in 1930 and had jewelry worth thousands of dollars on board which has never been recovered. Another well-known shipwreck is that of a Chinese smuggling ship and is the oldest known shipwreck on Catalina.

The Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden
This memorial was built in the honor of William Wrigley, popularly known as the owner of largest chewing-gum manufacturing company. The Wrigley memorial is positioned at the center of the 37 acre Botanical garden. The Botanical garden emphasizes on rare endemic plants which cannot be found anywhere in the world except for California Islands.

Catalina Island Museum
Explore the rich cultural heritage and historical memories of Catalina by visiting this museum. Over 150,000 thrilling exhibits in this museum reveal more than 7000 years of Catalina Island history. You can attend special workshops, lectures and walking tours held by the museum to further enrich your knowledge.

Jeep Eco Tours
Enjoy the island's amazing interior in an open-air vehicle which lets you explore the immense ecological treasure possessed by the Island. The tour also gets you acquainted with the incredible wildlife wherein you will seek out Bald Eagles, the Santa Catalina Island fox, the Beechey ground squirrel, the American Bison as well as rare plants and historical sites.

Catalina Adventure Tours
These tours come in two types namely land and sea tours. The land tours explore the seldom seen Catalina including beautiful city of Avalon and the botanical gardens. The sea tours let you enjoy underwater sights of Avalon Bay through a submarine, feed the fish through a specially designed glass bottom boat, watch the sea lions and harbor seals in action and experience a totally different sea world in the night semi-submarine expedition.

There are many things that can be done on the island like learning to scuba dive, renting a kayak, parasailing, touring the casinos, snorkeling, attending the JazzTrax festival for jazz-lovers and much much more… the list is huge! So make a trip to this wonderful island to get an experience of a lifetime.