Your Ultimate Guide to the Catalina Aerial Adventure

July 22, 2022

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My family recently took a short cruise together, and my sister and I convinced everyone last minute that we should do something adventurous! We booked an excursion to Catalina Aerial Adventure.

Arrival & Preparation

The aerial courses are at Descanso, a short walk from the Avalon port and located at the Descanso Beach Club BaseCamp. After a few waiver signatures, we were off to climb in the trees!

First, the instructors help you get equipped with helmets and a harness. Next, you head off to a practice course to ensure you understand the safety mechanics and how to move along the main courses. The safety brief was straightforward, and the instructors were incredibly friendly and helpful!

The Experience

The Catalina Aerial Adventure is a series of obstacle courses suspended in the trees. You will have to climb, crawl, and swing through the various obstacles to complete the courses! Don’t worry; you are strapped in for safety.

Five courses are available – two beginner, two intermediate, and one advanced. We were lucky enough to be the day’s final group and had plenty of time to complete all five courses!

The courses will test your upper body strength, especially if you do all five. You will be exhausted by the end. I recommend bringing a pair of gloves as it will make your adventure much more comfortable! Our hands were very sore by the end of our adventure. Sore hands make the obstacles 10x harder.

You can expect obstacles such as swinging logs, rope bridges, tunnels, and short ziplines.

Intermediate:

All skill levels can likely tackle the beginner and intermediate courses. While the intermediate courses are a step up in difficulty from beginner courses, they mainly test your will to keep going on new obstacle variations. The intermediate courses are the first courses you see when arriving, and they look daunting at first, but once you are up there, it’s not so bad. There are many instances during the intermediate courses where there are easier obstacles; these are the perfect moments for a rest!

Advanced:

The advanced course has a few obstacles that will make you question why you climbed up that ladder and started the course. Four of the six in our group took on the advanced course, and we all agree that the spinning log swings test your will to continue. One thing that makes the advanced course difficult is the length of the obstacles. Many of them have break points where you must manually move your safety carabiners one at a time in the middle of an obstacle.

Luckily the advanced course doesn’t feel advanced 100% of the way; there is a nice mixture of difficulty when it comes to the obstacles. You won’t be cursing yourself the entire time; it is challenging but still a lot of fun!

TIP: If you are struggling to get through a particular obstacle, shout out to the instructors, they will guide you on the best way to get through an obstacle.

When it was all said and done, the entire group had a blast! It’s an activity I’d suggest for any family looking for a bit of adventure. I would go back and do it again.

Book Your Experience

You can book your aerial adventure through visitcatalinaisland.com – There are age, height, and weight requirements for your safety. Make sure to check them out before you go!