The enticing island of Santa Catalina , twenty miles offshore, has been in private ownership since 1811, when the resident Gabrieleño Indians were forced to resettle on the mainland. It remains a wilderness, devoted to the conservation of unique species such as the Catalina shrew (so rare that it's only been sighted twice), and tourism has been held largely at bay. Hotels are unobtrusive among the whimsical architecture, and cars are largely forbidden; the two thousand islanders walk, ride bikes or drive electric golf carts. Ferry trips to Catalina run several times daily from San Pedro and Long Beach ($30-42; operators are Catalina Cruises, tel 562/436-5006, and Catalina Express, tel 1-800/481-3470, ). From Newport Beach, the Catalina Passenger Service (tel 949/673-5245) runs a $30 daily round-trip.

The island's one town, AVALON , can be fully explored on foot in an hour, and you can rent bikes at a stand on Bay Shore Drive. Pick up a map at the Chamber of Commerce (tel 310/510-1520, ), at the foot of the ferry pier, and begin at the sumptuous Art Deco Avalon Casino , 1 Casino Way, built in the 1920s by William Wrigley Jr (of the Chicago chewing-gum dynasty and one-time owner of the island), which runs regular movie showings and irregular silent film displays. The collections at the adjoining museum (daily 10.30am-4pm, Jan-March closed Thurs; $1.50) include Native American artifacts from Catalina's past. On the slopes above, the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel , 199 Chimes Tower Rd (tel 310/510-0966; $75-160), is the former home of the Western author, who visited Catalina to film The Vanishing American and liked the place so much he never left. The hotel's seventeen rooms are each themed around a Zane Grey story, and there's a pool in the shape of an arrowhead.

Hotel accommodation in Avalon is much in demand, and pricey - upwards of $95: the least expensive is usually the Atwater (tel 1-800/626-1496; $50-75) and the most, the sumptuous, six-room Inn on Mount Ada (tel 310/510-2030; $200-250), whose sweeping ocean views once belonged to Wrigley himself. The only budget options are one mountainside and three seaside campgrounds (tel 310/510-8368, ; $12 per person, kids $6).

Santa Catalina Island

• Santa Catalina Island

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