Top Catalina Island Nature and Wildlife

Experience Catalina Island’s rugged outback on a 2-hour tour in an eco-friendly 4-wheel drive vehicle. Access the remote island interior as your expert driver-guide takes you off-road into Cape Canyon and along Sheep Chute Road. Keep an eye out for the resident herd of American bison, and learn about other local wildlife from your knowledgeable guide.

Explore the pristine interior of Catalina Island on a 2.5-hour tour in a rugged open-air vehicle. From your seat in the high truck bed, get great views of the coast, canyons, isolated coves and beaches, and valleys where wild bison roam freely as your guide provides commentary about the native plants, animals, and landscape of Catalina Island. Keep your camera handy for sightings of wild boar, bison, Channel Island fox, and bald eagles during this backcountry tour.

Travel up above the town of Avalon to an elevation of 1,500 feet (457 meters) on this tour of the southeast end of Catalina Island. Aboard an open-air biofuel H1 Hummer, you'll get bird's-eye views of the island and Pacific Ocean on this exploration through 5 miles (8 km) of rugged terrain. Admire the coast and canyons, and journey along a eucalyptus-lined road to return to Avalon.

See what lives in the Pacific waters surrounding Catalina Island on a 45-minute underwater cruise. As you sit comfortably in a climate-controlled cabin on board a large boat, you'll glide five feet (1.5 meters) below the surface to look for marine life in their natural habitat out of your own porthole. Along the way, listen to live commentary from a guide.

We've been taking curious Catalina visitors on journeys of discovery into Lover's Cove Marine Preserve for nearly a century. While the vessels have evolved over the years, the unique experience of being drawn in to an undersea wonderland remains the same. Meet your captain at Float B on the Green Pleasure Pier that extends into Avalon Harbor, directly offshore from Catalina Avenue. Once aboard the MoonStone, you will be able to see the bottom of the sea! You’ll see a variety of colorful fish and other sea life as you cruise through what many consider to be one of the healthiest marine environments in the world.