Catalina For The Weekend: Guide To Catalina Island

PHOTOS: Catalina Island For The Weekend - Eco Tours, Tiki Bars, And Beach Life

Text courtesy of Los Angeles Magazine's Weekender Guide to Catalina. For more of the best of Los Angeles, check out lamag.com.

By Matthew Segal

The island may be part of L.A. County, and it looks a lot like the Santa Monica Mountains. But to master Santa Catalina, you need to surrender to it as only an outsider can: by embracing your sight-seeing, thrill-seeking, drink-swilling, photo-snapping inner tourist. It's not hard. When gum pooh-bah William Wrigley Jr. bought the island in 1919, he vowed to protect his newfound paradise. A nature conservancy received much of the land after his death in 1932, and to this day development is mostly limited to Avalon, the 2.2-square-mile town that clings barnacle-like to the bay. With summer crowds tapering off, Catalina is just the place for a quick getaway; several recent improvements in the area will leave you wondering why you've put off visiting all these years.

Caption text courtesy of Los Angeles Magazine.

Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens and Catalina Island Conservancy

Catalina Island Weekend Guide

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