Catalina Islands’ Botanic Garden & Wrigley Memorial
The Botanic Garden and Wrigley Memorial are easily accessible by “The Garibaldi” bus. I believe it’s the highest point on the island that “The Garibaldi” bus will take you and it truly is worth the visit.
Admission isn’t free but reasonably priced as it covers one’s visit to both the Botanic Garden and the Wrigley Memorial. If you’re a student, you can get a nice discount; all you need to do is show your student ID card. If you want an even better discount, visit the grounds on your birthday and you’ll get in for free.
There are so many different plants and flowers in the Botanical Gardens and they were all placed in an organized manner. One thing I noticed and liked right away about the garden is how a clear, wide pathway exists so that one can choose to enjoy nature at a distance or simply have enough personal space when there are just too many visitors around. The other thing about this pathway is that it leads you to the Wrigley Memorial if you just keep walking north. (I took the less obvious route to the Wrigley Memorial, thinking that it was a hiking trail… lol If you’re interested in this route, simply get “lost” with the trees towards the left side of the gardens, where there is I believe a bridge entrance. It’s kind of nice if you want some shade/alone time.)
The cactus collection was nice and to be honest, a bit creepy. I say creepy because a lot of what-if case scenarios crossed my mind. Some of these cacti were very spiky/hairy and I had to be extra cautious when touring them or taking selfies with them. Despite this, they were probably my most favorite plants at the Botanic Garden.
As you tour the plants in the Botanical Gardens, you will eventually reach the Wrigley Memorial. The Wrigley Memorial is quite iconic and if you have a thing or two for architecture, you’ll probably like the Wrigley Memorial. Getting to the top of the Wrigley Memorial requires climbing a decent amount of stairs. Nothing too complex. Plus, you get rewarded with a pretty good view of the gardens once you’ve reached the top of the Wrigley Memorial.
According to some handout I retrieved from the admissions employee, the entrance to a hiking trail is suppose to be near the Wrigley Memorial. I had considered the idea of going on this hiking trail but decided not to since I was already quite tired by the time I got to the Wrigley Memorial. This may be too much info, but I was already sweating like a pig, “thanks” to the sun. I will be honest and say that I couldn’t figure out where the entrance to this hiking trail was. When I was on top of the Wrigley Memorial, I couldn’t see this “entrance” either. Perhaps, I wasn’t looking for it hard enough… Anyway, I just wanted to mention it in case anyone was interested in doing a hiking trail. I know there is a fee to the entrance of the trail, though. How much it is, that I am unaware of.