5 Best Sights in Orange County and Catalina Island, California

Built in 1929, this iconic circular white structure is an architectural masterpiece. The entrance offers Spanish-inspired Catalina tile and painted murals in marine blue, sand, and sea foam green colors. This casino was named after the Italian word for "gathering place," not gambling. The circular ballroom with a soaring 50-foot dome ceiling once famously hosted 1940s big bands and is still used for jazz festivals and gala events. The Santa Catalina Island Company leads two different types of guided walking tours of the Casino. On the lower level is the historic Avalon Theatre with more than 1,000 seats; first-run movies show here on the weekend. Look up to see one of the most beautiful art deco murals by John Gabriel Beckman. 

The crystal clear waters of the Casino Point Dive Park are home to protected marine life. This is where moray eels, bat rays, spiny lobsters, harbor seals, and brilliant orange garibaldi (California's state marine fish) cruise around kelp forests and along the sandy bottom. It's a terrific site for scuba diving, with some shallow areas suitable for snorkeling. Equipment can be rented on-site next to the world-famous Catalina Casino. Water temperature ranges in the low 70s during the summer, with September to mid-October being the warmest. Glass-bottom-boat tours and a submarine tour take guests to the shallow waters of Lover's Cove, across the harbor, another spot filled with marine life.

Inside this local art and history interactive museum, visitors can learn about the island's native Chumash people, Catalina Island's owner and creative developer William Wrigley Jr., his baseball team, his Hollywood celebrity friends and and love for big band music. The exterior of the Catalina Island Museum is a beautiful Spanish Mission style with art deco enhancements. Upstairs the rooftop and gardens are a pretty event space with native plants and colorful glass art. There is a gift shop worth exploring for Catalina-themed souvenirs and reproductions of the island's signature colorful Catalina pottery tiles. The first Friday of the month they sponsor a "Culture between Cocktails" event from 5 to 7 pm.

Head to the Green Pleasure Pier for a good vantage point of Avalon Harbor. On the pier you can find a visitor information office, fish-and-chip snack stands, a bait shop, a tour boat ticket stand and gathering spot, plus rental boat and water sport rentals.

Two miles south of the bay is Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden, home to many plants native only to Southern California and the Channel Islands. Today there are five different sections where you can see Catalina ironwood, wild tomato, and rare Catalina mahogany. The Wrigley family commissioned the garden as well as the monument, which has a grand staircase and a Spanish-style mausoleum inlaid with colorful Catalina tile. Wrigley Jr. was once buried here but his remains were moved to Glendale, California, during World War II. You'll find great views at the top.