Overview
Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, is home to the Trans Catalina Trail, a roughly 40 mile hike trip across the island, with incredible views, and genuinely interesting wildlife (including island foxes and bison). Because of the infrastructure on the island, the TCT has always been a favorite of mine for inviting those who are interested in backpacking, but may not necessarily consider themselves a backpacker.
Since 2018, I've run a yearly December backpacking trip to Catalina, with breaks only in 2020 and 2024. In 2023, I decided that I've done this trip "enough" times, but not doing it in 2024 made me really want to bring it back.
So in January 9-11, 2026, I'm bringing my little tradition back!
The Hike
The trail runs from the town of Avalon to the northernmost tip of the island. The planned itinerary is 26.5 miles over those three days. This makes sure that even those who aren't confident about their ability to hike while carrying gear won't be too overwhelmed, but also makes sure we see the best parts of the island.
Another aspect that makes this hike great for beginners is the campsites - hikers are required to book campsites in advance. This makes logistics tricky, but is something I'm experienced in handling, and will take care of for the group.
There is also the tiny detail that Catalina is an island, meaning we'll be taking a ferry to get there. Once again, I'll be taking care of the details!
Interactive Trail Map
Day 1
We will depart from the Catalina Express berth in San Pedro on the 8:45 AM ferry, taking my vehicle and probably an extra Lyft/Uber.
Unfortunately, the only direct line from San Pedro to Two Harbors leaves at 2:55 PM, meaning what is normally a 1 hour and 15 minutes ferry ride will be closer to 2 hours and 15 minutes, due to requiring a stopover in Avalon.
This does also mean we can pack out lunch in Two Harbors before departing (or have food prepared beforehand).
In Two Harbors, we will also be picking up locker keys as Parson's Landing is one of the few backpacking campsites without any running water. Instead, a boat will stash water in a locker for us. I currently have 4 gallons booked, I may ask for a bit more.
From Two Harbors there are two roads leading to Parson's Landing. At the moment, I'd like to aim to do the longer and steeper journey this day, to even out the elevation gain each day.
This portion will take us along the Pacific-facing side of the island along the Silver Peak Trail
Like most of the island, this will likely be exposed and on the hotter side, so we should plan on packing out a decent amount of water for this section, despite the mileage being on the lower side.
Near Parson's Landing, there is an optional excursion to Starlight Beach, which is the northernmost point easily accessible to the general public. If I remember correctly, you can just barely see the point where Apple took the Catalina wallpaper photos from.
That being said, this adds about 3.5 miles one way, with a decent amount of elevation, so we likely won't be pushing for this, unless we feel super gung ho.
Once at Parson's Landing, we have sites PL03 and PL04 booked. We will have firewood provided to us by the same people who bring us our water and can enjoy a fire on the beach as we drift off to sleep.
Day 2
This will be our longer day, but we also won't be in a rush to get anywhere and can take it easy. We will take the other route down to Two Harbors, which is a twisty/windy road walk that cars generally avoid if possible. Once in Two Harbors, we can again stock up on food and then take the ridge walk over to Little Harbor/Shark Harbor. This ridge walk is honestly one of my highlights, but can be a slog if the weather has been wet lately, due to a ton of mud on the northern-side. The southern portion down to Little Harbor is generally more protected.
Our next campsite is Shark Harbor. On most maps you will only see Little Harbor and when booking, you will likely only see Little Harbor campsites available. Shark Harbor is right next to Little Harbor, but in a much more secluded and private part of the beach.
We have sites SharkA and SharkB booked and should also have firewood delivered to us.
Day 3
On our final day, we technically do have to make it to Airport in the Sky by 2PM, but unless we're really lagging behind, we won't have to wake up super early to make it.
This part will take us through some of the more rugged parts of the island and will likely be our best bet for seeing bison and other wildlife.
Once we reach Airport in the Sky, we can relax, grab some surprisingly decent food (including bison burgers, if you're inclined... no it's not the bison on the island) and wait until our shuttle picks us up at 2PM and drives us to Avalon.
This will be a pretty rough drive, but will bring us back to Avalon where we will wait for the 3:55 PM ferry to take us to Long Beach. We should get back around 5 PM.
✈️ Travel and Boarding
While LAX is the larger airport, Long Beach Airport is what I would strongly recommend you fly into. LGB is significantly closer to where we will start and end our journey and is much less chaotic than LAX.
Because we will be leaving early morning Friday, I'd ask that you get into LA by Thursday afternoon, if possible. If you need to come in later, that's okay, but it definitely helps out with getting everyone settled and ready for an early Friday start.
My favorite way to handle "where does everyone stay?" in the past is to book a large AirBnB for those of us coming out of town, and if people are interested in this, I can make it happen.
As mentioned above, we'll be finishing around 5 PM on Sunday. I have also booked an AirBnB for this portion as well, so that we can all shower and do laundry, before heading out either late Sunday or whenever convenient on Monday.
🎒 Gear
The gear requirements for this trip are fairly low, as we will be traveling as a group and have access to towns in case of emergency.
I can help lend out some gear, but in the past the REI Gear Rental has worked out very well. I would book in advance and pick up before you arrive in Los Angeles, bringing it with you on the plane. While this does mean you'll likely need to check a bag (for things like stakes and tent poles), it's best to be at least somewhat comfortable with your gear selection before you arrive, rather than scrambling the day before we head out.
Required
- • Shelter
- • Pack: Does not need to be large, 40L-55L should be sufficient.
- • Sleeping Bag
- • Sleeping Pad
- • Clothing: As the weather is mild, I would consider the
following items for clothing.
- - Tops/Bottoms: Catalina is very exposed in terms of sunlight, so you can either go shorts and tons of sunscreen OR long sleeve but very lightweight items. I would also make sure to avoid cotton and pick either synthetics or wool (although wool will likely be too hot for this). Basically, think workout/running clothing.
- - Jackets: If we have rain in the forecast, I will suggest bringing a light rainjacket or poncho, as rain in Catalina can either be very underwhelming or extremely intense for short periods of time. Otherwise, we'll likely be okay. I would suggest a warm top for the evenings, as it'll be somewhat cold at night. A hoodie is fine, a fleece is better, and a lightweight insulated top would be best.
- - Shoes: The terrain isn't too tough, so I would suggest trail runners or running shoes. I guess sneakers would work in a pinch, but you might not have the most fun.
- - Underwear/Socks: I would generally recommend packing one extra backup set of each. I would also suggest something breathable, synthetic, and light, as we'll be moving around a lot.
Recommended
- • Toilet Paper/Hand Sanitizer: This really should be required, but like, technically we will have access to both proper bathrooms and fairly nice vault toilets.
- • Electronics: I'd probably bring a headlamp and a small battery bank (5,000 mAh-10,000 mAh) for charging, as well as your charging cables.
- • Spoons/Utensils: Food is a fairly relaxed part of this hike (which I love for beginners!) as we will have multiple opportunities to pick up food, meaning you can focus more on snacks you want. If you do have dietary restrictions, let's chat about how we can supply you beforehand, but I think if you're not incredibly picky about what you're eating, you should be fine.
🍽️ Food & Water
As mentioned above, we will have plenty of opportunities to pick up food, meaning we don't need to prepare and carry nearly as much food as you would need to on a backpacking trip.
On Day 1, we can make sure we have a breakfast ready the day before. Once in Two Harbors, we can pack out a lunch and dinner for the day, and then breakfast for the next day from either the restaurant or general store. The restaurant has weird hours in the winter and the general store can be a bit limited, so if you'd rather bring backpacking food, we can pick up butane canisters at the general store instead.
On Day 2, we'll be back in Two Harbors by lunchtime, and need to pack out a dinner and breakfast. Similar caveats to what is above - it's not the fanciest options, but we've had fun with the frozen food and microwave in the general store in the past.
On Day 3, we'll reach Airport in the Sky by noon and can have food at the restaurant there. We'll be back in Avalon in the early afternoon, which has plenty of proper restaurants.
Each evening, we'll be storing our food in fox boxes. These are actually bear boxes, but as there are no bears on the island and the foxes are relentless about stealing food, they are, in practice, fox boxes.
⚠️ Safety Notes
Catalina is a pretty chill trip. There will be a ton of sun, so be careful about sunburns. The weather should be mild, but I will keep people updated if that's not going to be the case. For wildlife, there are only two notable species to watch out for, IMO.
One is rattlesnakes. In the 5 years I have done this, I have never had any sightings of these on Catalina, but technically they do exist on Catalina. For this, generally just keep an eye out and don't walk into tall grass unless you have to. Speaking of which...
The other is bison. The story of why the heck there are bison on Catalina is fascinating, but just know there's a few hundred and while they are generally tame, they are technically wild animals. Keep your distance from them, don't piss them off, and you may need to walk off trail into sketchy areas to get around them. Every year someone gets gored by one (though thankfully I believe it's been a while since it was a serious injury/fatality), and it's almost always someone who decided it'd be fun to try and get super close to one.
❓ Additional Information
What will the weather be like?
Typically Catalina in the winter hits lows of 50 and highs of mid 70s. It's fairly temperate overall, but I have had few deviations from this range. The weather is typically dry as well. I have only had one trip affected by rain, and we were still able to make things work. I will do my best to have backup plans, but if you're really only in this for Catalina, I'd recommend booking a refundable/changeable flight!
Am I going to be okay?
I really have worked out the current itinerary over multiple iterations and am fairly confident this should be doable for most people. There will be two tough climbs, one on day 1 and one on day 2, but we will have all day to get through them and I've worked together with the group to make sure everyone has fun.
How much will this cost?
I generally don't charge people anything for this trip. I only expect people to get themselves to LA/Long Beach, that's really the only "cost"/investment I ask from people.
That being said, if you'd like to chip in, I'll send exact costs upon request. Roughly, the ferry costs $84 per person round trip, the shuttle is roughly $14 per person, campsites are $24/per person per night. If we end up doing group accommodations, I'll try to cap it to less than or equal to a hotel room in LA.
Again, completely optional! You really only need to pay for your plane ticket.
Can I invite others?
Let me get a handle on how many people are going to show up first! Feel free to let me know if you have others in mind, however.
How do I sign up?
If you're interested, drop me your details here!