Lover's Cove State Marine Conservation Area
Nature preserve
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Don Ramey Logan · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Avalon
Avalon has 9.0 miles of mapped trails, 3.1 for every square mile of land
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8% of Avalon’s land is conserved, about 156 acres. 48 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #161 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
156 acres · of 2.9 sq mi of land
Trails
9.0 mi
3.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Avalon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Avalon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Avalon is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #161 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Avalon’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails3.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 81%
Water is more than half of Avalon’s area (5 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Casino Point State Marine Conservation Area
Nature preserve
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
156 conserved acres
8% of Avalon’s land. Water is left out: Avalon has 2.9 square miles of land and 4.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Avalon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits149 ac
Town or city7 ac
Private Conservation · 149 acLocal Park · 4 acLocal Recreation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Catalina Island Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 112 | Restricted |
| Santa Catalina Island Nature Center at Avalon Canyon Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 37 | Open |
| Joe Machado Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Avalon City Beach Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Mole Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Avalon Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| People's Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Avalon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Avalon
Descanso Beach
DirectionsMiddle Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Avalon
Knabe Park
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Avalon
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Avalon
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Avalon
Group Area
DirectionsHermit Gulch CampgroundFee · Catalina Island Conservancy
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Hermit Gulch Trail (TCT)0.8 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
5Tennis
4Golf
4Pickleball
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Baseball
1Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Avalon: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 66 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 71 | 75 | 79 | 81 | 80 | 75 | 70 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 2.9 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.3 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Avalon →
Questions about parks and trails in Avalon
How much of Avalon is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Avalon’s trails?
Lover's Cove State Marine Conservation Area and Casino Point State Marine Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Avalon?
82 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Avalon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Avalon have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #161 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Avalon neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →