Need to Know: Catalina zip line, Oakland Museum of California, Steinbeck travels

A bird’s-eye zip of Catalina Island

The first zip line in Los Angeles County has opened on Catalina Island, where participants get a bird’s-eye view of pristine Descanso Canyon as they fly above chaparral and through a eucalyptus tree canopy. The Zip Line Eco Tour consists of five separate lines — one longer than 1,000 feet — that crisscross and drop into the rugged ravine before they end, 440 feet below, near the beach. But the ride promises more than thrills suspended from a steel cable at times 300 feet above the canyon floor with speeds topping 40 mph. Signs on each platform explain the local fauna, flora and history; guides trained by the Catalina Island Conservancy supply interpretation. The two-hour Zip Line Eco Tour costs $89. It departs several times a day from the Descanso Beach Club in Avalon. Reservations at (800) 626-1496 and https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com.

— Benoit Lebourgeois

All things California

The Oakland Museum of California, closed since August, will celebrate its rebirth with a 31-hour celebration May 1. Activities include an aerial dance piece, a yoga class, soap bubble magic, the Oakland School of the Arts Jazz Band and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. Visitors to the reinvented museum can customize how they explore the state’s past, learn about the natural, artistic and social forces that continue to shape it and understand their role in California’s history and future. Nearly 2,000 new acquisitions are on display, including a 1913 lithograph movie poster for “The Sheriff’s Baby,” the first silent film to be shot entirely outdoors in California, a gold and jeweled box celebrating the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 and an 1860 Saltillo wool serape. The 31-hour celebration is free. General admission is $12; $9 for college students and seniors (60 and older); and $6 for those ages 9-17. Children 8 and younger and members are admitted free. Info: Oakland Museum of California, (510) 238-2200, https://www.museumca.org.

— Terry Gardner

Travels with Steinbeck

The 30th annual Steinbeck Festival, set for Aug. 5-8 in Salinas, will focus on the role of travel in the author’s writing. More than one-third of Steinbeck’s works are set in Mexico or feature characters of Mexican descent. Steinbeck also spent time in Europe and was a correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune in Britain and the Mediterranean during World War II. The four-day festival includes lectures, tours, film and live performances. Speakers include Petr Kopetky, a Fulbright scholar from the Czech Republic who will discuss Steinbeck “Behind the Iron Curtain.” To buy tickets, call (831) 775-4721 or go to the National Steinbeck Center’s website at https://www.steinbeck.org.

— Chris Erskine

A comfy spot for Fido

My canine companion, Spirit, likes having her own bed along on our adventures. Unfortunately for her, most travel-size dog beds are too thin to provide much cushioning. That’s why Spirit is crazy about the new Highlands Dog Bed from Ruff Wear. The water-resistant, 35-by-26-inch nylon shell is filled with a nice fat layer of high-loft polyester insulation that compresses down nicely to stuff into the included 12-by-5-inch carry sack. Four stakeout loops can be used to secure the bed to the ground or for hanging it out to dry. Weighs only 14 ounces. Ruff Wear Highlands Dog Bed (803062) is $74.95. (800) 426-4840, at https://www.rei.com.

— Judi Dash