Golf Cart Rental on Catalina Island, California

A daytripper, camper, or simple weekend vacation seeker can have a relaxed getaway on Santa Catalina Island. The seaside town of Avalon is imminently walkable, and Catalina Island as a whole is more geared towards feet than wheels.

Golf Cart Catalina Island

It’s mostly protected by the Catalina Island Conservancy: This nonprofit was created by the heirs to the Wrigley fortune, and as a result, over 80% of the popular island destination in Southern California is conserved as either campgrounds or nature in the wild.

Part of this conservation effort involves a strict limit on the number of cars allowed on Catalina Island; in fact, there’s a waiting list! Golf carts rule the day for those of us less inclined to take big hikes up the hills (there’s a rumor that exercise is a good thing but as far as I’m concerned, jury’s still out).

Well, I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 26 – not an interesting story – and I was nervous about driving a golf cart. Do I have to play golf to use it?

Does mini-golf count? Turns out I was being silly. It was a breeze to drive to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden, though I’m not sure I broke the sound barrier or anything.

Sure, there were a couple of mishaps along the way – some construction meant detours in Avalon, and there was one time where I thought my  Flip Digital Video Camera was recording when it wasn’t – but that’s just part of an unstructured, fun, and mellow couple of days on Santa Catalina Island.

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A daytripper, camper, or simple weekend vacation seeker can have a relaxed getaway on Santa Catalina Island. The seaside town of Avalon is imminently walkable, and Catalina Island as a whole is more geared towards feet than wheels.