Catalina Island
Avalon / Two Harbors · near Avalon (ferry from Long Beach/San Pedro) · Los Angeles / SoCal
Kayaking & SUP
At a glance
- Best season
- April–October · Summer weekends crowded at Avalon · Two Harbors quieter · Spring and fall ideal
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit for day paddling. Catalina Island Conservancy (protects 88% of the island) — stay on designated trails when landing. Overnight camping: reserve with Catalina Island Conservancy. Arrive by Catalina Express ferry from Long Beach, San Pedro, Dana Point, or Newport Beach.
What is here
- Wildlife
- Garibaldi (California state fish, vivid orange) · Island fox · California sea lions · Harbor seals · Bald eagles (reintroduced, nesting) · Manta rays · Leopard sharks · Moray eels
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Kayaking & SUP detail
- Water types
- protected-bay · kelp-forest · sea-cave
- Exposure
- moderate
- Sup friendly
- Yes
- Wetsuit
- 2mm–3mm spring suit or shorty · Water 62–72°F in summer · Warmest kayaking water in California
- Tidal note
- Catalina's sheltered coves are relatively tide-tolerant. The west side (Two Harbors / Isthmus) is calmer than the east side. Descanso Beach and Lovers Cove at Avalon are well-protected from prevailing swell. Avoid the open Windward side without guided support.
- Intl tip
- The Catalina Express runs from Long Beach, San Pedro, and Dana Point (75 minutes each way). Arrive early morning at Two Harbors rather than Avalon — Two Harbors has no day-tripper crowds, excellent dive and kayak conditions, and a general store and restaurant for supplies. The Buffalo milk cocktail at the Two Harbors Galley is the island's signature drink, named for the buffalo herd that has lived on Catalina since a 1924 film production left them behind.
The guide
Twenty-two miles offshore from Los Angeles is an island with bald eagles, the California state fish in neon orange abundance, c…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Catalina Island — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.3873, -118.4162