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So I have this pretty fun tradition (aside from Three Rivers in the holidays), of going camping at Two Harbors on Catalina Island every Labor Day Weekend. The tradition originally began as a Jugglers' Festival, oddly enough, of which I was only a part due to my friend and her husband who are amateur jugglers, and because they are friends with some fairly accomplished ones. There was a juggling volleyball game on one of the early trips, where the ball was replaced by clubs and everyone had to catch them and keep juggling, pass them, and toss them back over. Needless to say, I was just a spectator...
But since then, it has dwindled down to just my friend, her husband and I, and a varying group of friends. And this last time they didn't even bring anything to juggle. What you do is have one person book the campground (waaaaay in advance, if you can, as in now, for next year), and everyone send him a check, (it's $12 per adult and $6 per child a night), and then each person books a boat ride on the Catalina Express (about $50) for whichever time works best and you all meet up on the island. Get a Bloody Mary on the boat trip and stand out on the deck; one hour later you'll arrive at Two Harbors, a little town with a beautiful beach, a restaurant, a bar, a little grocery store, and campgrounds up the hill.
Couple more pictures after the jump...
A truck will be waiting to take all your luggage up to the campsite (you can check in two bags on the boat, or one bag and one tent, and take one carry-on with you), so just get your swimsuit and wallet out and hit the beach! It will be pretty hot but the water is a nearly Arctic temperature and almost as clear as the Caribbean, with no waves. It's truly beautiful, and perfect for floating around in (unless you're a bloodless wuss like me, and you have to keep swimming frantically in order not to go numb). Then you can get out, walk to the bar and get a Piña Colada or a margarita, or get a cheeseburger at the walk-up restaurant, all still in your swimsuit.
Or you can take a hike across the isthmus that gives the town its name and reach the other side of the island, which is mostly deserted at that point, but there is a small boat dock you can sit on and watch the pelicans from. I have been there about four times now and have yet to take a trip in to Avalon, but I'm sure you can do that too. There's also a Safari Bus Tour where you can see the no doubt mutant-inbred buffalo that never make an appearance on the Two Harbors side (just don't get out and make eye contact). I did however discover a huge stag stomping around in the brush behind my tent last year, and that was a little scary. But he wandered off after I shined a flashlight at him and yelled, "Hey, guys...? Guys?!!"
You can rent snorkels and flippers, or even ride out on a boat with divers to snorkel in the deep waters (it's about $39), where you'll see lots of ghostly kelp and bright orange Garibaldi fish that kinda look like Nemo without the stripes. (Or of course you could actually go scuba diving, but I just snorkel, barely even submerged in the 7 mm wetsuit I opted for to keep warm.)
Then you can shower in the actual indoor, quarter-operated showers (this ain't roughin' it), although you may have to wait in line, and head back up to change at your tent. In theory, you should have gone up with your bags on arrival and set your tent up, but to each his own. Then you can change in the tent and come back down to go dancing at the bar, where a dj will be blasting everything from Paul Simon's "Call Me Al" to Lou Bega's "Mambo #5" to Young MC's "Bust A Move". I am not kidding.
Just don't, please, break into a circle of girls dancing together and sneer, "What is that, a wart?" when one of them shows you her wedding ring, in an attempt to escape. It's not a nightclub, it's just a fun little bar on an island. ...Don't tell them you have a "big tent" either.
Then you can go crash and do it all over again for two more days. Just wear lots of sunscreen and take breaks in the shade. ...And hopefully, when you get back, all sweaty and semi-showered, with straw-like hair, the power won't be out at your apartment.
All photos by Simone Snaith for LAist
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I read last weekend that a guy in Two Harbors actually got gored by a buff coming within 20 feet of the creature before it charged him. Yikes!
I did the Labor Day camping thing on Cat several years ago, opting to pitch our tent in the large campground above Avalon. Had a blast.
The only drag was that I brought my bike and in order to go anywhere outside of the city limits the island's conservancy group rips you for a relatively expensive annual pass -- and you still can't take your bike on any of the trails.
Shame they don't offer some sort of day or weekend bike pass.
avalon is the greatest place ever, but two harbors is too quiet for me
I love Catalina. I camped there 3 times this Summer. Once in Parsons Landing twice in Two Harbors.
Poster #1 - if you camp at Two Harbors you automatically get a hiking pass. Also, you can rent bikes at two Harbors for only about $40 for the day....