Goat Whiskers Trail, Catalina

Goat Whiskers Trail begins about 2 miles west of Two Harbors, on the west side of Cherry Valley, above Lions Head. I've read elsewhere that it's at mile 3.8 on the West End Road, but I don't know. I do know that you can't miss the trailhead from the road. It is marked, and there is a large parking area across from it.

Goat Whiskers is an actual hiking trail, not a road. That is refreshing for the island. The trail is uphill the entire way. The last half is steeper than the first half. However, it's not too bad for a Catalina trail, and the views are great. 

Looking down the trail

Two Harbors is decidedly brown during the summer. Goat Whiskers Trail offers some refreshing greenery.

That's green for summertime :)

Looking down the trail towards the Channel

At 1.2 miles, there is an obvious, well-signed junction with Water Tank Road.

Where Goat Whiskers meets Water Tank

Looking down Water Tank Road

We continued up (left).

Looking up Water Tank Road

Water Tank Road is wide and relatively smooth, being a road and all. The views down towards the channel are great.

Looking down towards Howland's Landing and the channel

We thought we'd be able to see the open ocean at the top of the road. Looking straight ahead, however, there were just more mountains. Off to the left side we could see Cat Harbor.

Cat Harbor, from Water Tank Road summit

We stopped at the high point of Water Tank Road. I think that is also the junction with the Trans-Catalina Trail. Getting dropped off at Goat Whiskers trailhead, going up Water Tank Road, and taking the TCT back down into Two Harbors would be a great hike.