Trans-Catalina Trail
Catalina Island · near Avalon / Two Harbors · Los Angeles / SoCal
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- point-to-point
- Distance
- 38.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 8,500 ft
- Time needed
- multi-day · long-haul
- Best season
- October–May (avoid hot, dry summer)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Free Trans-Catalina Trail permit from the Catalina Island Conservancy. Camping reservations (required, paid) through Catalina Island Company for the trail campgrounds: Hermit Gulch, Black Jack, Little Harbor, Two Harbors, Parson's Landing. Ferry reservation from the mainland also needed.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Island thru-hike · Wild roaming bison · Ocean views the whole way · Big daily climbs
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 3–5
- Resupply
- Water and some food available at Two Harbors and Little Harbor. Avalon at the start has full services. Plan water carries between.
- Intl tip
- Book the Parson's Landing campsites early — they're the most coveted (right on the beach) and include a locker with firewood and water you reserve in advance. The ferry from Long Beach or San Pedro must be booked too, and the last boat back from Two Harbors fills on weekends. Give bison a very wide berth; they look docile and are not.
The guide
The Trans-Catalina Trail is California's most unlikely backpacking trip — a 38.5-mile island thru-hike, 22 miles off the Los An…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Trans-Catalina Trail — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.42, -118.42