Descanso Beach

Overview

Located on Catalina Island in the town of Avalon, Descanso Beach is a long white-sand private beach with public access.  Descanso Beach is situated on the shores of Descanso Bay and offers Instagram-worthy views of the coast, especially during sunset.  This private beach is home to an opulent beach club, namely Descanso Beach Club.  It is the only beachfront club on Catalina Island and one of the last private beaches in California open to the public, and is one of the few beaches in California that is permitted to serve alcohol.  It is important to note that you have to pay a fee of $2 per person to access Descanso Beach.  Descanso Beach has many amenities including lifeguards, a restaurant and bar, a club, a banquet, cabanas and chaise lounges rental facilities, beach towels, a water sports rental kiosk, and an ocean-view dining area.  

Recently, Descanso Beach Club has unveiled three luxury cabanas for those seeking the ultimate waterfront day-cation.  Each cabana offers luxurious amenities such as a flat-screen television, Wi-Fi, chaise lounges, and a personal concierge.  Dogs are not allowed on the beach, but Descanso Beach is open from 11 am to 6 pm.Getting to Descanso Beach is easy – visitors can access Catalina Island via helicopter or a ferry.  Catalina Express offers daily ferry rides from San Pedro, Los Angeles, Long Beach Queen Mary, Long Beach Downtown, and Dana Point to the Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island.  Once you arrive on the island, the Green Pleasure Pier in downtown Avalon is half a mile away from Descanso Beach.  Visitors can either take a golf cart or walk for around 15 minutes north to access the beach.

Descanso Beach is a family-friendly beach that offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, sea glass collecting, scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, and relaxation.  Descanso Beach is a perfect location for swimming and snorkeling.The beach offers amazing snorkeling opportunities, especially near the northern edge of the beach - snorkelers can see a variety of colorful fish, including garibaldi and calico bass.  A kiosk named Descanso Beach Ocean Sports is present right on the beach and offers beach gear for rental and provides lessons as well as guided tours.  In addition, Descanso Beach Club also offers many adventurous experiences, including Catalina Aerial Adventure, Catalina Climbing Wall, Catalina Falconry Experience, and Zip Line Eco Tour.  For reservations, visit online.  Every Saturday, a live band and DJ perform at Descanso Beach Club. Descanso Beach is perfect for visitors seeking a private beach experience as this is the only beach on Catalina Island where you can have a drink in your hand and your feet in the sand.

Attractions

There are many attractions near Descanso Beach.  Catalina Museum For Art & History is a 60-year-old museum that features a gallery displaying the artifacts and photographs from more than eight thousand years of human settlement on Catalina Island, the island’s connection to the Chicago Cubs, and its role in World War II.  In addition to the permanent collection of Catalina Island history, the museum presents a variety of music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary, and international film.  Catalina Chimes Tower is a Spanish-styled tower built to house the chimes located above Avalon Bay.It was constructed by William Wrigley Jr. in 1925.  The tower has around 200 chimes that play a beautiful melody every 15 minutes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. If you are looking for another attraction near Descanso Beach, The Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden has a memorial that honors the memory of William Wrigley Jr., the largest manufacturer of chewing gum in the world.  It also has a 38-acre botanic garden with a wide variety of native flora.  Many of these plants in the garden are extremely rare, and some are on the endangered species list.  In addition, this garden is the primary gateway to access Santa Catalina Island's most popular hike, the Garden to Sky Trail, which offers Instagram-worthy views of the coast.

Restaurants

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Descanso Beach.  Descanso Beach Club is an oceanfront upscale restaurant that has an outdoor dining area and serves amazing salads, nachos, salsa, tacos, sandwiches, burgers, wraps, and shrimp.  Avalon Grille is another oceanfront upscale restaurant that serves incredible salads, flatbread, burgers, tacos, shrimp, pork, and poultry dishes.  Catalina Cantina serves delicious soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, burritos, fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, chile relleno, and steak.  The Lobster Trap is a seafood restaurant that serves soups, salads, sashimi, shrimp, rib-eye steak, teriyaki, sandwiches, burgers, tacos, burritos, pasta, seafood, and poultry dishes.  If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Descanso Beach, Katie’s Kitchen serves amazing soups, salads, oriental rolls, sandwiches, burritos, tacos, tortas, teriyaki, and steak.

Hotels

If you are looking for a hotel near Descanso Beach, there are many great nearby options.  If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 4-Star Catalina Canyon Inn has many amenities including an outdoor pool, a fitness center, a spa, a Mediterranean restaurant, and complimentary shuttle service.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star The Avalon Hotelwhich has many amenities including a golf course, a rooftop deck, a patio garden with a koi pond, complimentary breakfast and afternoon refreshments, and complimentary shuttle service.  Another moderately priced option is the 3-Star Aurora Hotelwhich has many amenities including a spa, a rooftop deck, complimentary continental breakfast, and weekly wine-and-cheese socials.  If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Descanso Beach, the bayfront 2-Star The Edgewater has a guest-use kitchen, and beach chairs and towels rental facility