Catalina Island is a vacation destination off the coast of Southern California. Starting in 2017, my family made this an annual late summer trip. It’s become a great summer tradition for us. We stayed away in 2020 due to COVID-19, so the photos that you see here are from our 2017, 2018, and 2019 trips. A day trip to Catalina is very possible (it’s a one-hour ferry ride from San Pedro) but if you go, I recommend that you stay at least a few nights. Avalon is the main town and it has plenty of hotels, restuarants, and shops. If you’re staying for more than a couple of days, make sure to check out Two Harbors, which is a 45 minute boat ride from Avalon.

The round Art Deco building that you see in many of these photos is called The Casino. FYI – it’s not an actual gambling casino. Casino is Italian for “Gathering Place”. It opened in 1929 and is open for tours.