Catalina Island Company, Catalina Island’s resort operator, invites travelers and locals alike to take a journey through Catalina’s picturesque destination with a new excursion, Explore El Rancho Escondido. This new tour offers the exclusive opportunity to experience one of the island’s most stunning landmarks, the recently renovated “hidden ranch” known as El Rancho Escondido.

Philip and Helen Wrigley set out in the early 1930s to develop a breeding program for Santa Catalina Island’s wild horses and an attraction to draw visitors there. By the 1950s, they were breeding champion Arabian horses to be shown off at shows and competitions across the United States. Guests can now see a selection of one-of-a-kind saddles, trophies, memorabilia and history in the Saddle & Trophy Room.

Throughout the journey, keep your eyes peeled for rare native plants, trees and free-roaming American Bison, descendants of those first brought to the island for a movie shoot in the 1920s. As you travel down Stagecoach Road, take in the beautiful scenery and stunning ocean vistas, where you can sometimes see a number of California’s other Channel Islands.

For the first time, guests get a sneak peek of the Wrigley family’s historic Arabian Horse Ranch, built by Philip & Helen Wrigley in 1930. Today the ranch still serves as home for the family’s horses, as well as to sustainably grow chardonnay, pinot noir and zinfandel grapes for Rusack Vineyards, from which the family sources its award-winning handcrafted wines.

Explore the classic, nearly century-old, Spanish-style courtyard and stables, and enjoy a horse exhibition from the ranch hands. Visit the ranch’s newly built Bishop’s Chapel to see stunning views of the ranch’s vineyards and Catalina’s windward side and West End.

Guests also learn about the cross that once sat atop the entry doors to the downtown Los Angeles Cathedral of St. Paul’s, then transferred to Santa Cruz Island for 30 years, before being refurbished and gifted to the new Bishop’s Chapel in 2021.