Hiking Goat Whiskers Trail

Hiking Goat Whiskers Trail on Catalina Island

You won't sight a single goat on the 7-mile Goat Whiskers Trail loop west of Two Harbors on Catalina. You will see abundant native flora and fauna, though, on this coast-to-mountain hike. And that’s precisely because the goats are gone. Thousands once roamed the island, descendants of a handful brought by early Spanish missionaries. But in the 1990s the Catalina Island Conservancy, determined to protect the native ecosystem, used sharpshooters in helicopters to gun down the nonnative ruminants. None remain today.

Starting at the Isthmus Cove beachfront in Two Harbors, head west up a short path to West End Road, a dirt motorway that hugs the winding coast northward. You get a fantastic view of the boat harbor and palm-studded village, idyllic grass hills rising beyond. For the next 2.5 miles, the road skirts two narrow inlets in a zigzag fashion—4th of July Cove and then Cherry Cove (where native Catalina Cherry trees abound)—before reaching a promontory known as Lion Head. Goat Whiskers Trail diverges inland here up a steep, sun-beaten ridge. As you climb roughly 700 feet over the next mile, San Pedro Channel (between Catalina and the mainland) takes on a sweeping grandeur and the island's furrowed coast splays open like a deck of cards, revealing a large portion of Catalina's west end.

The trail then runs into Water Tank Road, where you turn left and climb even higher up to a knoll. Scrub oak grows here in dense groves. Keep left at a fork, and shortly after Water Tank merges onto Trans-Catalina Trail, you'll descend back to Two Harbors.

STAY: Banning House Lodge, perched on a grassy hill above Two Harbors, is a historic Craftsman-style home and hunting lodge turned into a charming B&B with 12 rooms. Enjoy a hearty continental breakfast on the patio, a wine-and-cheese social every evening, and sweeping views of the harbors rendered in ever-shifting shades and color.

Prefer to rough it? Reserve a site at Two Harbors Campground ($25 a night), about a half-mile east of town on a coastal slope above a wide, sandy beach. The views of Isthmus Cove and San Pedro Channel are a knockout. Choose from more than 40 tent sites, or book one of 13 tent cabins, which include beds with mattresses. Dogs are not allowed in the campground.

Wherever you stay, you might enjoy lunching or lounging at Harbor Sands, a new South Pacific–style beach club on Isthmus Cove, complete with palapas and swaying palms.

To get to Two Harbors, take the Catalina Express ferry from Berth 95 at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro ($73.50 round-trip). Parking at the port is $19/day.

All hikers on Catalina Island must obtain a free hiking permit from the Catalina Island Conservancy, available online and in person at Two Harbors Visitors Information Services at the foot of the pier. The trail is dog friendly!

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

    National Park City Walk

    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

    View
  3. Bucks Up!

    Come on in, the water is beautiful. Whether you like swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddling, or heading out on a bigger boat, Bucks Lake is a high mountain haven that’s easy to access, blissfully uncrowded, and surrounded by sandy beaches, picnic areas, pines, and aspens.

    View
  4. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

    View
  2. Two kayakers on Upper Klamath Basin on tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures

    Zen & the Art of Kayaking

    It’s the most meditative and relaxing experience you’ll ever have on a kayak. Yes, you read that right, a Zen experience on a kayak. It all happens in beautiful Klamath County when you head out on a guided tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures.

    View
  3. A Rose in the Pines

    A crackling fire, a bottle of wine, a bubbling Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall … now the big question: Marvin Gaye tunes or not? In the morning (ahem) it's breakfast in bed and a leis

    View
  4. Alex Villicana, Villicana Winery and Re:Find Distillery

    Locals' Feature: Alex Villicana

    Tech booms, AI revolutions, okay that’s all fine, but you wanna know what else is really cool? Being a pioneer in a world-famous industry that—in Paso Robles—remains solidly down to earth. When Alex Villicana established Villicana Winery in 1993, he clearly had grape expectations...

    View