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Catalina Island
101 Things to Do on Catalina Island

By Betsy Malloy, About.com

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  1. Take a day hike
  2. Play golf
  3. Learn to scuba dive
  4. Ride in a semi-submersible boat
  5. Run a marathon
  6. Rent a kayak
  7. Go parasailing
  8. Rent a paddleboard
  9. Play at the beach, swim, build a sand castle
  10. Compare the views from the Inn at Mt. Ada and the Zane Grey Pueblo
  11. Tour the Casino
  12. Go on a Jeep Eco-Tour
  13. Visit the Memorial Gardens
  14. Check out the Catalina Island Museum
  15. Go fishing
  16. Rent a boat
  17. Watch divers at Casino Point
  18. See a bison (American buffalo). They live in the interior. You can get there on a tour or a hike
  19. Visit the Airport in the Sky
  20. Watch the people. Any bench along the waterfront is a good spot for it
  21. Get a massage by the sea or in the moonlight at the Descanso Beach Club. Call 310-510-7242 for reservations
  22. Rent a golf cart. Several places around town have them
  23. Enter a fishing tournament
  24. Watch old-fashioned salt water taffy being made.
  25. Wear a Hawaiian shirt, flip flops and a silly straw hat - and be proud of it
  26. Rent a Waverunner
  27. Go to the movies even if you don't like the film. See why.
  28. Have an Olaf. Or a Big Olaf. You'll find Olaf at 220 Crescent
  29. Buy a Catalina tile for a souvenir
  30. Go on a Segway tour
  31. Tour the island in a helicopter
  32. See an eagle. You can look for them on the Ocean Rafting tour or Eco-Jeep tour.
  33. Go shopping
  34. Go snorkeling at Lover's Point
  36. Take a ghost tour
  37. Go ocean rafting
  38. Rent a bike
  39. Try to figure out why there's a 3rd Street but no 1st, 2nd or any other numbered street
  40. Have a picnic
  41. See the interior on a tour with Discovery Tours or Catalina Adventure Tours
  42. Visit Two Harbors
  43. Go to the jazz festival. It happens in October
  44. See a house made from boats (200 Descanso Ave.)
  45. Visit the pet cemetery (on Wrigley Terrace)
  46. Play tennis
  47. Ride a shoreboat around the harbor
  48. Buy a cute poster from the Catalina Humane Society: good souvenir and good for the animals
  49. Visit Seal Rocks
  50. See a fish fly (summer only)
  51. Listen to the bells from the Chimes Tower, every 15 minutes between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
  52. Take a volunteer vacation and help improve the natural environment
  53. Tour the Tuna Club (once a year)
  54. Have lunch in a millionaire's mansion at the Inn on Mt. Ada
  55. Take a trolley ride. Ride both lines for just a few dollars and you'll see most of town
  56. Go bird watching
  57. Visit the Catalina Island Art Gallery
  58. Play volleyball (court near the ferry dock)
  59. Go for a run. It's flat in town, or test your stamina going uphill
  60. Listen to swing, jazz or blues music in the Casino ballroom
  61. Visit the Nature Center
  62. Sleep in a tent cabin at Two Harbors
  63. Ride a wave
  64. Ask your honey to marry you. The best spot? The little park just below The Inn on Mt. Ada
  65. See Catalina tile. It's all over town
  66. Take photographs anywhere
  67. Have a family reunion
  68. Celebrate New Year's Eve. Reserve ahead
  69. Go camping
  70. Take a walking tour of Avalon
  71. Stay in a novelist's house at the Zane Grey Pueblo
  72. Barbecue at Descanso Beach Club. You bring the meat, they provide the rest (summer weekends only)
  73. Join a naturalist for a walk
  74. Rent a pedal boat
  75. Visit the Interpretive Center
  76. Play basketball (court near the ferry dock)
  77. Send your kids to summer camp
  78. See a horse show (on the inland motor tour)
  79. Go mountain biking
  80. Ride in a glass-bottomed boat
  81. Ride the glass-bottomed boat again at night
  82. Join the Catalina Conservancy to keep Catalina beautiful
  83. Take a Buffalo Safari from Two Harbors
  84. Lay on the beach. Read a book. Don't forget the sunscreen
  85. Watch any of the 130-plus movies and television shows that have been filmed on Catalina and try to find the places they used
  86. Get married
  87. Bring your art supplies. Paint or draw
  88. Go to the Flying Fish Festival (May)
  89. Check out the plants at the Botanical Garden
  90. Hike the Trans-Catalina Trail
  91. Look for orange garibaldi fish swimming in shallow water
  92. Rent a vacation rental house, invite your friends and have a party
  93. Pick up a copy of Hollywood Isle: Catalina Island Picture Book by Greg Reitman. It's a great souvenir
  94. Visit the Aviary. It's one of Catalina's quirky contradictions - no birds here
  95. Celebrate Independence Day by watching a golf cart parade
  96. Don't be like President Warren G. Harding. He died a week before he was supposed to visit
  97. Check out the oldest house at the corner of Marilla and Vieudelou
  98. Learn all the lyrics to the song 26 Miles and sing it on the way there
  99. Stop and smell the eucalyptus and the wild fennel
  100. Relax
  101. Make plans to come back
The original list came to us courtesy of Catalina Island Visitor's Magazine, but we've made a lot of changes since then.
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