Nearly a decade later, Spanish explorer Hernan Cortés thought he had discovered Montalvo’s fabled isle when he saw Baja California across the Gulf of California. Five centuries later, what Cortés imagined he’d discovered truly exists in this gilded land called California. Its women are beautiful, the land is so productive labor seems hardly necessary, and California’s cities and scenic sights drape the state as did pearls across Queen Califia’s breasts. But, what of the island of California?

Certainly, California’s isolation is island-like. It is bordered by mountains, deserts and oceans that have allowed it to develop its own plant and animal life and even, some would say, a wholly distinctive culture. But there are more than metaphorical islands here. California has hundreds of isles along its coast, in its bays, upon its lakes and surrounded by its rivers. Though California is not the island nation Montalvo envisioned, it is a nation of islands deserving of his words.

Coronado

The southernmost of California’s islands isn’t really an island at all. It just seems like one. Isolated on the seaward side of San Diego Bay, Coronado Island is the northern tip of a peninsula that is connected to the mainland by a spit of white sand beaches called the Silver Strand. Despite Coronado’s proximity to the North Island Naval Air Station, the town’s gracious homes, shops and hotels – built in the late 1800s to serve summer vacationers — are still more influenced by the passage of tourists than by the arrival of warships. The grandest of Coronado’s Victorian edifices is the Hotel Del Coronado, a glistening white palace under whose red conical roof celebrities, royalty and presidents have vacationed since 1888.

Balboa

Like Coronado, Balboa Island (along the Orange County coast between San Diego and Los Angeles) got its start as a summer escape for city dwellers. Movie makers from Los Angeles and orange growers from Riverside bought lots and constructed summer rental homes. Those humble cottages have now evolved from temporary to tremendous. Many retain their original humility, though others shout ostentatiously or soar in modern forms. The result is a society of residences as familial as the society that inhabit them.

Balboa islanders live as if they are always on holiday. They reunite along tony Marine Avenue at sidewalk restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques, sharing stories in the fashion of returning vacationers. They stroll the Avenue in January, licking dripping ice cream from Balboa Bars a local delicacy made from vanilla slabs dipped in chocolate and coated with toppings. Why even getting to the island has a sense of holiday adventure. Take a ferry from the Peninsula or drive across a bridge from Jamboree Road. After a while you think, “There’s something wrong with them. Don’t they know summer ended four months ago?â€? But for the residents of Balboa Island, it hasn’t and never will.Â

Tom Sawyer

One of California’s smallest islands is also its most visited. It’s estimated that one hundred million people have visited Tom Sawyer Island since it was created at Disneyland a year after the Anaheim park opened in 1955. Tom Sawyer Island is reputed to be the only attraction in the “Magic Kingdomâ€? that Walt Disney entirely designed by himself. Disney spokesman John McClintock says the story of Tom Sawyer, written by Mark Twain about a carefree boy who lived near the Mississippi River “Was very important to Walt Disney who grew up in Tom Sawyer country and wanted to have a Tom Sawyer attraction at Disneyland, even though he never made a Tom Sawyer movie.â€?Â

The result is every child’s fantasy play island with a tree house, frontier fort and caves to explore, rocks to climb, rope bridges to cross and lot’s of outdoor adventure to spur the imagination. “People think of theme parks in terms of controlled experiences,� says McClintock, “where you get on a ride and the show is presented to you, but Tom Sawyer Island is a completely unstructured experience right in the middle of the Park.�

Disney recently freshened up the attraction, building upon Walt Disney’s vision while retaining its original spontaneity. On Tom Sawyer Island it’s still your mind that animates imagined raids as you defend the island’s many redoubts. McClintock says, “Anyone who has read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has fond memories of the carefree boy and his fantastic adventures. Taking a raft over to Tom Sawyer Island brings all that to life.�

Fanette

Another island upon which a fantasy structure was created is Fanette Island in the middle of Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay. Upon this tiny rock outcropping in 1928 Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight constructed a stone tea house to complement her Scandinavian-inspired retreat, Vikingsholm, ashore.

Now part of Emerald Bay State Park, Vikingsholm and the Fanette Island Tea House continue to inspire fantasies and dreams, as lovers pledge undying love to one another within the stone shell of the tea house.

Catalina

Saying “romance� once wasn’t enough for the Four Preps when they sang, “Twenty-six miles across the sea. Santa Catalina is awaitin’ for me. Santa Catalina, the island of romance, romance, romance, romance.� Even saying “romance� four times probably understated the Catalina experience. Everything about Catalina exudes romance from picture-perfect Avalon perched on hillsides overlooking a protected bay that’s cluttered with moored yachts, to luxuriously appointed inns and resorts, to picnics in secluded coves.

While the Four Preps got the mood right in their 1958 song, they had the distance wrong. It’s actually 21.8 miles (or one to two hours by ferry) from San Pedro south of Los Angeles to Catalina (15 minutes by helicopter). Once you arrive, you’re transported to a seaside village where cars have nearly been banished (to bring one onto the island, you have to remove two), where glass-bottomed tour boats take island visitors to view the iridescently orange garibaldi (California’s official marine fish) that decorate the cobalt waters of Avalon Bay or speed out to travel with dolphins, whales and flying fish, and where the landmark casino at one end of crescent Avalon Bay, isn’t a casino and never was, but is a carefully maintained entertainment complex with theater, art gallery, museum and a grand ballroom large enough for 6,200 dancers to have danced upon it at the height of the big band era.

Channel

None of the comforts of Catalina Island are found on Channel Islands National Park, but then wilderness, not civilization, is what the Channel Islands are all about. Made up of five in a chain of eight Southern California islands west of Ventura, Channel Islands National Park has over 2,000 species of plants and animals, but only four native mammals. One hundred and forty-five of the species found on the island are found nowhere else on Earth. Marine life ranges is size from microscopic plankton to the largest animal on the planet, the endangered blue whale.

The Park contains 249,354 acres (100, 909 hectares), half of which are under the ocean, and include the islands of San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara. Even though the islands seem tantalizingly close to the densely populated, southern California coast, their isolation has left them relatively undeveloped, making them an exciting place for visitors to explore.

Alcatraz

With views of San Francisco as grand as those on Alcatraz, you’d think the U.S. government wouldn’t have had to force people to live there, but most everyone who lived on Alcatraz (with the exception of Indians) was sent there by the U.S. government, whether for governmental service or because they were terribly bad.

Alcatraz, in the middle of San Francisco Bay, is one of Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s most popular destinations, offering a close-up look at its historic and infamous federal prison long off-limits to the public. This is where Midwest gangsters Al Capone, Alvin Karpis and George “Machine Gunâ€? Kelly were incarcerated and where Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz, spent part of his confinement.

Audio headsets provide personalized narration in numerous languages. The voices of historians, former prisoners and prison guards bring the stories of this notorious place to life, as you hear about the main prison block, the Indian occupation of 1969 – 1971, early military fortifications (the first U.S. fort on the coast), and the West Coast’s first (and oldest operating) lighthouse. The Island is reached by Blue and Gold ferry from Pier 41 at on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

Angel

San Francisco Bay’s most notorious island may be Alcatraz, but its largest and most history-filled is Angel Island. This angelic hilly place, forested with native oaks, non-native eucalyptus and carpeted with wildflowers and grasses, is a popular destination for cycling, ocean kayaking and hiking. Angel Island offers spectacular views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from picnic spots along its trails and beaches, the best of which is Perles Beach a short walk from Battery Ledyard on the island’s secluded south shore.Â

Known as the “Ellis Island of the Westâ€? the Angel Island Immigration Station processed admission of more than 175,000 Chinese and other Pacific Rim immigrants to the United States between 1910 and 1940 and a quarantine station at Ayala Cove was a stopping point for fumigation of ships from foreign ports.Â

Angel island also was an important U.S. Army coastal defense installation during every U.S. war from the 1860s to the 1960s, including the American Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and Cold War. Among its most notable installations are Camp Reynolds (the largest remaining original Civil War era wooden Army garrison), Fort McDowell (embarkation point for troops departing to battle in World Wars I and II) and several batteries that once held coastal defense cannon and Nike missiles. All are described on one-hour tram tours that circle the island.

The Delta

The California Delta is the point in California’s Central Valley where the Sacramento, Cosumnes, Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers merge before filling San Francisco Bay. The meandering rivers create 1,000 miles of waterways, covering five counties and creating 55 islands.Â

“Laid Back,â€? is how Patti Gulick, manager of the California Delta Chamber and Visitor Bureau describes life there. “Flip-flops, shorts and t-shirtsâ€? are preferred attire in this water-focused place where boats are as common as cars. “You can rent anything from a jet ski to a 65-foot houseboat anytime of the year… summer or winter… with some of the largest houseboats having fireplaces on them,â€? says Ms. Gulick. Â

For most of the year, the Delta is lightly visited. People camp on houseboats or on land, but from the end of May through August, it’s madness as houseboats and speed boats disembark suntanned passengers at riverside restaurants and bars like the River Boat II in Isleton. There, chilled, colorful “Walkin’ The Planks� made from rum, blue Curaçao, lemon-lime soda and orange juice are served to thirsty “river rats� on hot summer days. But, bring along an appetite as this food-rich agricultural region (asparagus, tomatoes, pears, wine) is known for large portions. The Hotel Del Rio in Isleton challenges the notion of moderation with prime rib dinners that are big enough for two meals. The “Regular� cut weighs 18 to 20 ounces and the “Ranchhand� measures 30 ounces. Of course, if you’re a light eater, you can always order a “Petite� cut at a mere 14 to 16 ounces!

Paoha and Negit

Of course, how much boaters consume in the Delta pales in comparison to the appetites of the many Wilson’s and Red-necked Phalaropes that visit Negit and Paoha Islands in the middle of Mono Lake on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. These shore birds (related to sandpipers) double their body weight from 1 oz to 2 oz in the six weeks they visit Mono Lake, gorging themselves on brine flies and brine shrimp.Â

Paoha and Negit are the remnants of ancient volcanoes and their isolation combined with the trillions of brine fish living in the lake provide an ideal stopping place for millions of migratory and nesting birds. The birds are best seen by kayaks which can be rented in Mammoth Lakes or on naturalist-guided canoe trips offered from Navy Beach on weekends.

Slaughter and Ski

A different species of water bird lands at Slaughter and Ski Islands in Shasta Lake, north of Redding. They’re the variety that rides water skis, wakeboards and water towables (oversized inner tubes towed by speed boats) on the lake.Â

Both Ski and Slaughter Islands were created by rising waters from the Sacramento and McCloud Rivers after Shasta Dam was completed. Ski got its name from the water skiers who stop there to picnic or rest, while Slaughter was the location of a slaughterhouse before Shasta Dam was built.Â

Again, houseboats are a popular way to explore and camp upon Shasta Lake. Shasta Lake has some of the most luxurious houseboats in California, including the Renaissance, a yacht with four private staterooms with baths, a six-person hot tub and satellite dish that automatically tracks the satellite as you cruise!

With that kind of luxury at hand, who’d want to disembark to visit an island? Of course, these are California islands, so any one of them might be populated with nature’s bounty, gold and beautiful women. At least, according to Spanish legend.

An Online Guide to California’s Islands

Alcatraz Island – www.nps.gov/alcatraz
Angel Island – www.angelisland.com
Balboa Island – www.balboa-island.com
Catalina Island Chambe & Visitors Bureau – www.catalina.com
Channel Islands National Park – www.nps.gov/chis/homepage.htm
Coronado Visitors Bureau – www.coronadovisitors.com
The Delta – www.californiadelta.org
Emerald Bay State Park – http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=506
Mono County – www.monocounty.org
Mono Lake Committee – www.monolake.org
Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau – www.visitnewportbeach.com
Shasta Lake/Redding – www.visitredding.org