Tall Tale Bikepacking on Catalina Island

We recently received an email update from a Sklar customer who took his Tall Tale on a bikepacking trip to Catalina Island with a few pals. The photos enclosed within Dan's email made us smile ear-to-ear. We have wanted to check out Catalina Island for a while now, so we asked Dan if he'd share a few words about his adventure. Take a look...

To mark my 40th birthday, I grabbed two close friends and spent 3 days exploring the backcountry of Catalina Island. I have lived in Southern California for almost 20 years, and while I’ve explored much of our region, I had never been out to Catalina, so a milestone birthday was a great excuse to get some good friends together to go check it out!

Our riding stable, artfully illustrated by my friend, consisted of 3 different steel rigs, including my Sklar Tall Tale. I have my XL frame set up with trail tires and 140mm fork for a balanced ride. To accommodate supplies for this trip I ran Sklar’s Lightweight Rear Rack with two Bags by Bird panniers (shipped out late notice; thank you, Jay!)  along with a Rogue Panda frame bag (a duplicate of the wedge bag Miles used in his Tall Tale review), and a large Swift Industries handlebar bag up front.

Overall, this setup performed great!  Sometimes I think the best gear almost disappears – just working and enabling us to lean into the moment and enjoy the adventure. My setup did just that.

Here’s how our excursion played out…  

Day 1: Avalon to Little Harbor. 17 miles, 2400ft elevation.

Day 1 consisted of a long hot climb out of golf cart-filled Avalon and onto dusty Airport Road which runs along the east side backbone of the island. The road is aptly named, and our reward for the slog out of Avalon was a delicious juicy burger and cold gatorade at Catalina’s Airport in the Sky.

After refueling and topping off our water supplies, we headed out across the island via El Rancho Escondido Road. A long descent from the airport felt well-earned, and we were rewarded by beautiful views of the western coast of the island and fields of grazing bison. We spent the night in Little Harbor and enjoyed swimming in the warm ocean looking for Girabaldi, Catalina’s famous orange fish. 

Day 2: Little Harbor to Parsons Landing. 16.5 miles, 1561 elevation.

The plan for day 2 was to make our way back over to the east side of the island and up to the most remote campsite on the island, Parson’s Landing. Our route would take us through Two Harbors, where we would be able to restock some provisions in the small village there. After a slow morning at the campsite swapping stories and multiple cups of coffee, we began a slow fireroad climb up out of Little Harbor via Isthmus Road.

At the summit of the climb, we were once again rewarded with beautiful ocean views back on the east side of the island. A quick loose gravel descent then dropped us into Two Harbors. Two Harbors sits on an isthmus that separates the southern (main) part of the island with the northern tip, and with a short walk in between you can see both the east and west sides of the island. After lunch and resupply at the Two Harbors General Store, we headed north and zig-zagged along coastal cliffs up to the northeastern side of the island to our campsite at Parson’s Landing. This was my favorite stretch of riding as the grade was gradual and the views were epic. I had heard good things about Parson’s Landing, and it did not disappoint – we swam in the ocean and stayed up late enjoying conversation, stargazing,  and a warm fire in our own rocky cove. 

Day 3: Parsons Landing to Avalon. 31.6 miles, 3753 elevation.

With a late afternoon ferry booked, our goal for day 3 was simple: make it back to Avalon in time to catch our boat. After consulting my dive map (the only map my local big box outdoor store sold), we settled on a route that would take us back to Little Harbor through Two Harbors and then back up to Airport Road via Middle Ranch Road. It is possible to take a ferry back to the mainland from Two Harbors, but we wanted the challenge of riding the full island, as well as to see a few areas which we had not yet gotten to explore. Highlights of the final day were a slow early ride back to two harbors enjoying the beautiful views along the coast, packed sandwiches at Eagle’s Nest Lodge (an old historical lodge that provided welcome shade), and conquering the final climb up to Airport Road for a descent into Avalon.

Some final thoughts on Catalina overall: 

• Two nights felt perfect to explore the island. 3 days gives you ample time to cover most of the ‘bikeable’ parts of the island.

• Avalon gets crazy with cruise ship stops. We spent very little time there.

• Bison sightings were awesome... and scary.

• You’ve got to pick up a Catalina Conservancy membership to bike in the backcountry… make sure to take care of that when you get to Avalon.

• Catalina did feel a bit more domesticated than we imagined. While it was fun and adventurous, it never felt wild. As far as bikepacking can go, it’s a fairly easy trip with plenty of water and food options, as well as bathrooms, etc. 

That was our trip – a not-too-challenging adventure that gave 3 friends the chance to connect, celebrate a birthday, and enjoy some riding and camping. Although it wasn’t especially wild, the experience was still meaningful. We were able to appreciate the beauty of Catalina and reflect on our place among the many Southern Californians who have visited and enjoyed the island’s rugged landscapes and clear waters over the past century.

Thanks for sharing this trip with us, Dan!