History
Our mission is to be a responsible steward of our lands through a balance of conservation, education and recreation. Founded in 1972 as a non-profit organization, the Catalina Island Conservancy is one of the oldest private land trusts in Southern California. It protects 88 percent of Catalina Island, including more than 62 miles of unspoiled beaches and secluded coves--the longest publicly accessible stretch of undeveloped coastline left in Southern California. Catalina Island is home to more than 60 plant, animal and insect species found nowhere else in the world. It is visited by more than one million people annually. More than sixty thousand school children each year visit camps on Conservancy lands.
Specialties
The Trans-Catalina Trail stretches 38.5 miles from the Trailhead in Avalon on the East End, out to Parson's Landing on the West End, then looping back to Two Harbors. Finishing and ending at the Island's two major hubs, the TCT winds up hills and down valleys offering spectacular views across the 42,000-acre Nature Preserve of the Catalina Island Conservancy known as Catalina's