Catalina Island essentials: what to know before you go

The practical things worth knowing before you get on the boat, from where to leave your bags to what to do if something goes wrong.

Getting around

• Cars: visitors can’t bring them, and there’s no car ferry. Even residents wait years for a permit. You won’t miss one.
• Walking: everything in Avalon is within walking distance, though the hills are steep.
• The COAST shuttle: the city’s on-demand electric shuttle picks you up anywhere in Avalon, 7am to 9pm, from $2 a rider. Book it in the Ride Circuit app or by phone at 562-534-2820.
• Taxis: Avalon’s on-call taxi service ends on October 19, 2026. There’s no Uber or Lyft.
• Golf carts: rented by the hour (usually two hours at most), for use inside Avalon only; drivers must be 25 or older at the main rental shops. Rentals →
• The interior: by tour, on foot with a free hiking permit, by bike with a Conservancy bike pass, or on the Conservancy’s Wildlands Express shuttle (reservations required).
• Speed limits: 25 mph on island roads and 20 in Avalon Canyon, partly to protect the foxes.

Luggage

You carry your own bags on and off the ferry, so pack light. Avalon Blue Line Baggage at the ferry terminal stores bags and delivers them to hotels, rentals and campgrounds, and there are lockers at the terminal for a day trip. Some hotels run their own luggage service.

Money

• Cards are taken almost everywhere in Avalon. US Bank on Crescent Avenue has an ATM, and there are about nine ATMs around town, including at the ferry terminal and on the Green Pleasure Pier.
• Two Harbors is cashless: cards and mobile payments only, with a cash-to-card kiosk outside the general store.

Phones and Wi-Fi

Cell service works in most of Avalon but slows down when the town is busy, and it is patchy in the interior and remote coves. Paid public Wi-Fi is available around town, and the Avalon Library has free internet.

Health and emergencies

• Call 911 in an emergency.
• Catalina Island Health, on Falls Canyon Road in Avalon, has a 24-hour emergency room and a weekday clinic. Serious cases are flown to the mainland.
• Pharmacy: Leo’s Drugstore on Crescent Avenue. The pharmacy counter keeps weekday hours and is closed on weekends, so bring what you need.
• Divers: the USC hyperbaric chamber near Two Harbors treats decompression illness around the clock.
• Sheriff: the Avalon station is open around the clock; non-emergency line 310-510-0174.
• Snakebite: treat any rattlesnake bite as an emergency. Poison Control is 800-222-1222.

Groceries and errands

• Vons on Sumner Avenue is the island’s full grocery store. Prices run higher than the mainland.
• The post office is in the Shops at Atwater, between Metropole and Sumner Avenues.
• Avalon has two laundromats, and Two Harbors has a coin laundry by the pier.
• Two Harbors has a general store for supplies. Markets →

Water

Fresh water is precious here. Avalon’s comes from a reservoir, wells and a desalination plant at Pebbly Beach, which on average supplies about 40% of it. Restrictions come and go with rainfall, so short showers are appreciated. There are refill stations around town for water bottles.

Dogs

Dogs aren’t allowed on Avalon’s public beaches, the main stretch of Crescent Avenue, the Green Pleasure Pier or the Cabrillo Mole, and dogs passing through those areas must be leashed and muzzled. On Conservancy land they must be leashed and vaccinated, and no dogs are allowed on any Catalina beach. Ferry pet rules differ by operator. Pets on the ferry →

Permits and rules

• Hiking: a free permit is required outside Avalon. Get it online or at the Conservancy’s Trailhead visitor center on Crescent Avenue, the Airport in the Sky, or Two Harbors Visitor Services.
• Mountain biking: riding the interior needs the Conservancy’s Freewheeler bike pass, which comes with a Conservancy membership.
• Camping: every campground is reserved through the Catalina Island Company.
• Fishing: a California fishing license is required from age 16, except when fishing from a public pier.
• Marine reserves: nothing may be taken at Lover’s Cove, Casino Point or Blue Cavern near Two Harbors. Look, don’t take.
• Drones: flying over Conservancy land needs its written permission, and filming in Avalon needs a city film permit.
• Fire: fires and smoking only at designated sites, and never on red-flag days.

Staying safe in the wild

• Bison: keep at least 100 feet away, more if you can. They run up to 35 mph and can jump over six feet.
• Rattlesnakes: most active from April to October, and sometimes lie on warm roads at night.
• Heat and water: summer days inland can top 90°F and most streams are dry by May. Carry about a gallon of water for a full day’s hike.
• Foxes: never feed them. They’re a protected species found only here.