Lifestyle

On Catalina, you can now ride a horse on rolling hills to scenic cliffs

Published

12 months ago

March 3, 2025

On Catalina, you can now ride a horse on rolling hills to scenic cliffs

Catalina Island, which has plenty of horses in its history but stopped offering rides to visitors in 2008, is bringing trail rides back.

The fledgling, Avalon-based Catalina Horseback Adventures offered its first guided rides Feb. 22. Most rides take 45-90 minutes and include hills, valleys, clifftops with ocean views and occasional encounters with deer and island foxes.

This move draws on island tradition that goes back to the 1930s, when Catalina’s owners, the Wrigley family, set up a ranch known as El Rancho Escondido, which grew into an Arabian horse-breeding operation. The working ranch continues, 12 miles outside Avalon, and is often open for Saturday tours.

Catalina Horseback Adventures offers rides on the island.

(Ryan Longnecker / Catalina Horseback Adventures)

But the new guided rides are a separate business, owned by Jeff Skelton, with the Catalina Island Co. as landlord. So far the operation includes 12 horses, “but we have more coming in a few days,” Skelton said Friday. The stables also have one mini horse (not available for riding), dubbed Peanut in a community naming contest.

All rides are led by guides and open to riders from beginner to advanced, ages 9 and up. The weight limit for riders is 240 pounds.

Introductory prices for a 45-minute group ride are in the range of $125-$175, Skelton said, and may be adjusted as the operation settles in. Prices will be higher for private rides, which can include as few as two guests and as many as 10. (Catalina residents get discounts.)

Public horseback rides were a feature of island tourism for about 60 years until 2008, when the Catalina Island Co. (which owns most of the island’s developable land) shut down the stables near Catalina Island Golf Course. At the time, the company cited safety concerns over possible flooding after fires that had stripped vegetation from hills above.

The new stables are in the same location, but with a different layout, Skelton said. Riding trails cross the golf course, which means golfers occasionally pause to let riding groups “play through.” Once they reach more rugged territory, the riders sometimes encounter deer or island foxes, but not the bison that are known for roaming other parts of the island.

Skelton said the idea of bringing back public trail rides came up in recent years while he was on rides with a group called Los Caballeros, which has organized private rides on the island since the 1940s.

“I kept saying somebody should do it,” Skelton said, and as it turns out, “it’s me.”

Lifestyle

‘Wait Wait’ for February 28. 2026: Live in Bloomington with Lilly King!

Published

36 minutes ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

‘Wait Wait’ for February 28. 2026: Live in Bloomington with Lilly King!

An underwater view shows US’ Lilly King competing in a heat of the women’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 31, 2024. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT/AFP via Getty Images)

François-Xavier Marit/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

François-Xavier Marit/Getty Images

This week’s show was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Lilly King and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Josh Gondelman, and Faith Salie. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.

Who’s Bill This Time

State of the Union is Hot; The Tribal Council Convenes Again; A Glow Up In the Doll Aisle

Panel Questions

The Toot Tracker

Bluff The Listener

Our panelists tell three stories about a travel hack in the news, only one of which is true.

Not My Job: Olympic Swimmer Lilly King answers our questions about Lil’ Kings

Olympic Swimmer Lilly King plays our game called, “Lilly King meet these Lil’ Kings” Three questions about short kings.

Panel Questions

Cleaning Out The Cabinet; Bedtime Stacking

Limericks

Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Getting Cozy With Cross Country Skiing; Pickleball’s New Competition; Bees Get Freaky

Lightning Fill In The Blank

All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else

Predictions

Our panelists predict, after American Girls, what’ll be the next toy to get an update.

Lifestyle

Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Her Longtime Stylist Claims

Published

2 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Her Longtime Stylist Claims

Law Roach
Zendaya and Tom’s Wedding Already Happened …
Y’all Missed It!!!

Published
March 1, 2026
6:34 PM PST

Zendaya and Tom Holland are married … so claims her longtime stylist, Law Roach.

Here’s the deal … the celebrity stylist — who started styling Zendaya way back in 2011 — spoke to Access Hollywood on the Actors Awards red carpet where he sang out “The wedding has already happened, you missed it.”

Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.

The AH reporter asks in shock if that’s true … and, Law responds by saying it’s “very true” before walking off.

This isn’t the first time Tom and Zendaya’s relationship status has made headlines on a red carpet … remember at the Golden Globes in 2025, Zendaya had a ring on that finger — and, the next day, we found out the two were engaged.

Zendaya-&-Tom-Holland----Timeline-Thumbnail

TMZ.com

Zendaya and Tom met on the set of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” in 2016, started dating a couple years later and went public with their relationship in 2021.

We’ve reached out to Tom and Zendaya’s teams … so far, no word back.

Lifestyle

Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once : Up First from NPR

Published

13 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once : Up First from NPR

Online prediction market platforms allow people to place bets on wide-ranging subjects such as sports, finance, politics and currents events.

Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images

The rise of prediction markets means you can now bet on just about anything, right from your phone. Apps like Kalshi and Polymarket have grown exponentially in President Trump’s second term, as his administration has rolled back regulations designed to keep the industry in check. Billions of dollars have flooded in, and users are placing bets on everything from whether it will rain in Seattle today to whether the US will take over control of Greenland. Who’s winning big on these apps? And who is losing? NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn joins The Sunday Story to explain how these markets came to be and where they are going.

This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo. It was edited by Liana Simstrom and Brett Neely. Fact-checking by Barclay Walsh and Susie Cummings. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez.

We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org.

Listen to Up First on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.