"Getting away from it all"

Catalina Island is a popular tourist spot, located about 22 miles south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. Its official name is Santa Catalina Island but is referred to most as Catalina Island or just Catalina. The island is 22 miles long and 8 miles across with its highest peak being Mount Orizaba with an elevation of 2,097 feet above sea level. Catalina is part of the eight Channel Islands archipelago. The eight islands that make up the archipelago are divided into two groups—the Northern Channel Islands and the Southern Channel Islands of which Catalina is one of the four Southern Channel Islands. Catalina is also the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement – the city of Avalon and the unincorporated town of Two Harbors. As of the 2000 census, the total population was 3,696 persons of which 85 percent live in Avalon. Avalon is only one square mile and everything is within walking distance, which walking is the preferred mode of transportation. Drive a golf court to enjoy the hills above the town which is what many of the locals do.