RV Parks In Avalon, California

No. Catalina Island does not allow RVs, and the Catalina Express and Catalina Flyer ferries are passenger-only, so there is no vehicle ferry that carries motorhomes or trailers across. Even most residents drive golf carts rather than cars in Avalon. The practical workaround for RVers is to park your rig at a mainland RV park near the ferry terminal, like Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach, and ride the ferry over as a foot passenger to tent-camp or stay in lodging on the island. Plan your whole trip around leaving the rig on the mainland.

The best-positioned option is Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach, a full-hookup park with 30/50 amp electric, water, and sewer that sits within walking distance of the Long Beach Catalina Express terminal. You plug in, walk to the dock, and ferry over. If you booked Two Harbors instead of Avalon, the Catalina Express to Two Harbors leaves from San Pedro, so you would want a park near that port. Either way, reserve your RV site and your ferry seats together so your mainland base, crossing, and island campsite all line up on the same dates.

Avalon's only in-town campground is Hermit Gulch Campground, up Avalon Canyon near the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden, about 1.5 miles from the ferry landing. It offers tent sites and tent cabins with potable water, flush toilets, and hot showers, but no RV hookups. The island's other main campground is Two Harbors Campground, a tent site on a bluff over Isthmus Cove reached by ferry from San Pedro. Both are public, run through the Catalina Island Company, and both require advance reservations. There are also boat-in primitive sites for paddlers and boaters along the coast.

No. Hermit Gulch Campground and Two Harbors Campground are tent-only, since RVs cannot reach the island in the first place. You get water, flush or chemical toilets, hot showers, picnic tables, and fire pits, but no electric, water, or sewer hookups at a site. If you want full hookups, those are on the mainland: Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach has full-hookup 30/50 amp sites with a dump at each pad. So the model is full-hookup rig on the mainland, tent or tent cabin on the island. Pack a good sleeping setup for the island nights.

As far ahead as you can. Island campground reservations open online for the entire upcoming year on set dates: January 1 at midnight Pacific for Hermit Gulch Campground and January 5 in the morning for Two Harbors Campground. Summer weekends can sell out within days of those windows opening, so treat early January as your booking deadline if you want peak-season dates. Reserve your mainland RV site at Golden Shore RV Resort and your Catalina Express ferry seats at the same time. Shoulder-season spring and fall dates are easier and can sometimes be booked a few weeks out.

You take the Catalina Express (or the seasonal Catalina Flyer) as a foot passenger from Long Beach, San Pedro, or Dana Point, about a one-hour crossing to Avalon. There is a luggage allowance, so pack light and camp-style rather than hauling everything from your RV. Once you land, Hermit Gulch is about 1.5 miles up Avalon Canyon; at Two Harbors you drop gear at the Visitor Services office and hike roughly half a mile to the campground, or pay a few dollars a bag to have it shuttled. Leave the bulk of your kit locked in the rig back at the RV park.

Yes, it is about as convenient as it gets for a Catalina trip by RV. Golden Shore RV Resort is in downtown Long Beach right next to the Catalina Express terminal, close enough that guests walk to the ferry. It has full hookups with 30/50 amp service, water, and sewer, plus a heated pool, laundry, a camp store, and a waterfront bike path. You can leave the rig fully set up and secure while you spend a night or two on the island, then come back to your own bed. Book ahead, since its location keeps it busy.

No. Pets are not allowed at Hermit Gulch Campground or Two Harbors Campground on Catalina Island, so you cannot bring a dog to those island campsites. If you are traveling with a pet, plan to leave them with a sitter or boarding on the mainland, or structure the trip so someone stays with the rig at the mainland RV park during your island nights. Golden Shore RV Resort and most mainland parks are pet-friendly, so your animal can stay comfortable there while you day-trip or overnight on the island. Confirm any pet rules when you book your mainland site.

Plenty for a day or a long weekend. Avalon centers on the historic Catalina Casino, a 1929 round ballroom and theater on the waterfront, and the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden up the canyon near Hermit Gulch. The water is the draw: snorkeling and diving at Lover's Cove and the dive park, glass-bottom boat tours, kayaking from Descanso Beach, and a zip line eco tour. Hikers tackle the Trans-Catalina Trail across the island's wild interior. Back on the mainland at your Long Beach base, the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary fill any extra days.

Late spring and early fall are the sweet spots. Summer, roughly mid-May to mid-September, is the full island season when Hermit Gulch runs daily and the weather is warm and dry, but it is also when campsites and ferry seats sell out and prices peak. September and October stay warm and calm with thinner crowds. Spring greens the hills and is quieter before Memorial Day. Winter is mild but the wettest and windiest, with island campgrounds open weekends only and choppier crossings. Pick spring or fall if you want good weather without the summer scramble.

Absolutely, and it is a smart budget move. Because your RV stays on the mainland anyway, you can base at Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach, catch an early Catalina Express to Avalon, spend the day snorkeling, touring the Casino, or hiking, and ferry back to sleep in your own rig that night. That skips the per-person island campsite fee and the gear haul entirely while still letting you experience the island. It also sidesteps the pet ban, since your dog stays with you at the mainland RV park. Just book your round-trip ferry in advance for summer dates.

You are paying for a mainland RV site, an island campsite, and the ferry. Full-hookup mainland resorts like Golden Shore RV Resort run at the higher end for the area given the downtown Long Beach location, often $70 to $110-plus a night. Island tent sites are charged per person, roughly $25 to $28 per adult per night at Hermit Gulch Campground, with tent cabins higher, and a round-trip Catalina Express fare per person on top. To trim costs, travel the shoulder seasons, reserve the January booking windows to lock rates, or day-trip the island from your RV base to avoid the second lodging charge.

Yes, on the mainland side where your RV actually is. Golden Shore RV Resort provides sewer at each full-hookup pad, so you can empty tanks right at your site before or after the ferry days. There is no RV dump station on Catalina Island itself, because there are no RVs on the island. If you are staging elsewhere around Long Beach or San Pedro, several parks and public facilities offer disposal. For a full rundown of local options, see our companion guide to RV dump stations in the Avalon and Long Beach area.

No. Catalina Island does not allow RVs, and the Catalina Express and Catalina Flyer ferries are passenger-only, so there is no vehicle ferry that carries motorhomes or trailers across. Even most residents drive golf carts rather than cars in Avalon. The practical workaround for RVers is to park your rig at a mainland RV park near the ferry terminal, like Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach, and ride the ferry over as a foot passenger to tent-camp or stay in lodging on the island. Plan your whole trip around leaving the rig on the mainland.

The best-positioned option is Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach, a full-hookup park with 30/50 amp electric, water, and sewer that sits within walking distance of the Long Beach Catalina Express terminal. You plug in, walk to the dock, and ferry over. If you booked Two Harbors instead of Avalon, the Catalina Express to Two Harbors leaves from San Pedro, so you would want a park near that port. Either way, reserve your RV site and your ferry seats together so your mainland base, crossing, and island campsite all line up on the same dates.

Avalon's only in-town campground is Hermit Gulch Campground, up Avalon Canyon near the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden, about 1.5 miles from the ferry landing. It offers tent sites and tent cabins with potable water, flush toilets, and hot showers, but no RV hookups. The island's other main campground is Two Harbors Campground, a tent site on a bluff over Isthmus Cove reached by ferry from San Pedro. Both are public, run through the Catalina Island Company, and both require advance reservations. There are also boat-in primitive sites for paddlers and boaters along the coast.

No. Hermit Gulch Campground and Two Harbors Campground are tent-only, since RVs cannot reach the island in the first place. You get water, flush or chemical toilets, hot showers, picnic tables, and fire pits, but no electric, water, or sewer hookups at a site. If you want full hookups, those are on the mainland: Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach has full-hookup 30/50 amp sites with a dump at each pad. So the model is full-hookup rig on the mainland, tent or tent cabin on the island. Pack a good sleeping setup for the island nights.

As far ahead as you can. Island campground reservations open online for the entire upcoming year on set dates: January 1 at midnight Pacific for Hermit Gulch Campground and January 5 in the morning for Two Harbors Campground. Summer weekends can sell out within days of those windows opening, so treat early January as your booking deadline if you want peak-season dates. Reserve your mainland RV site at Golden Shore RV Resort and your Catalina Express ferry seats at the same time. Shoulder-season spring and fall dates are easier and can sometimes be booked a few weeks out.

You take the Catalina Express (or the seasonal Catalina Flyer) as a foot passenger from Long Beach, San Pedro, or Dana Point, about a one-hour crossing to Avalon. There is a luggage allowance, so pack light and camp-style rather than hauling everything from your RV. Once you land, Hermit Gulch is about 1.5 miles up Avalon Canyon; at Two Harbors you drop gear at the Visitor Services office and hike roughly half a mile to the campground, or pay a few dollars a bag to have it shuttled. Leave the bulk of your kit locked in the rig back at the RV park.

Yes, it is about as convenient as it gets for a Catalina trip by RV. Golden Shore RV Resort is in downtown Long Beach right next to the Catalina Express terminal, close enough that guests walk to the ferry. It has full hookups with 30/50 amp service, water, and sewer, plus a heated pool, laundry, a camp store, and a waterfront bike path. You can leave the rig fully set up and secure while you spend a night or two on the island, then come back to your own bed. Book ahead, since its location keeps it busy.

No. Pets are not allowed at Hermit Gulch Campground or Two Harbors Campground on Catalina Island, so you cannot bring a dog to those island campsites. If you are traveling with a pet, plan to leave them with a sitter or boarding on the mainland, or structure the trip so someone stays with the rig at the mainland RV park during your island nights. Golden Shore RV Resort and most mainland parks are pet-friendly, so your animal can stay comfortable there while you day-trip or overnight on the island. Confirm any pet rules when you book your mainland site.

Plenty for a day or a long weekend. Avalon centers on the historic Catalina Casino, a 1929 round ballroom and theater on the waterfront, and the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden up the canyon near Hermit Gulch. The water is the draw: snorkeling and diving at Lover's Cove and the dive park, glass-bottom boat tours, kayaking from Descanso Beach, and a zip line eco tour. Hikers tackle the Trans-Catalina Trail across the island's wild interior. Back on the mainland at your Long Beach base, the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary fill any extra days.

Late spring and early fall are the sweet spots. Summer, roughly mid-May to mid-September, is the full island season when Hermit Gulch runs daily and the weather is warm and dry, but it is also when campsites and ferry seats sell out and prices peak. September and October stay warm and calm with thinner crowds. Spring greens the hills and is quieter before Memorial Day. Winter is mild but the wettest and windiest, with island campgrounds open weekends only and choppier crossings. Pick spring or fall if you want good weather without the summer scramble.

Absolutely, and it is a smart budget move. Because your RV stays on the mainland anyway, you can base at Golden Shore RV Resort in Long Beach, catch an early Catalina Express to Avalon, spend the day snorkeling, touring the Casino, or hiking, and ferry back to sleep in your own rig that night. That skips the per-person island campsite fee and the gear haul entirely while still letting you experience the island. It also sidesteps the pet ban, since your dog stays with you at the mainland RV park. Just book your round-trip ferry in advance for summer dates.

You are paying for a mainland RV site, an island campsite, and the ferry. Full-hookup mainland resorts like Golden Shore RV Resort run at the higher end for the area given the downtown Long Beach location, often $70 to $110-plus a night. Island tent sites are charged per person, roughly $25 to $28 per adult per night at Hermit Gulch Campground, with tent cabins higher, and a round-trip Catalina Express fare per person on top. To trim costs, travel the shoulder seasons, reserve the January booking windows to lock rates, or day-trip the island from your RV base to avoid the second lodging charge.

Yes, on the mainland side where your RV actually is. Golden Shore RV Resort provides sewer at each full-hookup pad, so you can empty tanks right at your site before or after the ferry days. There is no RV dump station on Catalina Island itself, because there are no RVs on the island. If you are staging elsewhere around Long Beach or San Pedro, several parks and public facilities offer disposal. For a full rundown of local options, see our companion guide to RV dump stations in the Avalon and Long Beach area.