Catalina Island (Avalon & Two Harbors)
26 miles off the SoCal coast · near Avalon · Los Angeles / SoCal
Sailing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Late spring–fall (summer busiest; best weather)
- Water temperature
- Mild–warm (60s°F in summer) — clear, warm-ish water
What is here
- Amenities
- Avalon & Two Harbors mooring fields · Iconic island vacation destination · Clear water, diving & snorkeling · Restaurants, moorings & services (Avalon)
- Best for
- The classic SoCal island cruise
- Features
- '26 miles across the sea' · Avalon & Two Harbors moorings · Clear, warm-ish island water · SoCal's iconic cruising destination
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Open-channel crossing (San Pedro Channel — plan wind/traffic) · Shipping lanes across the channel · Limited anchoring (mostly moorings; reserve in summer) · Sundowner/Santa Ana wind events
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Lessons
- No
Sailing detail
- Styles
- cruising · charter
- Breeze
- moderate
- Venue
- ocean
- Exposure
- 5
- Sailing
- Southern California's iconic island cruise — '26 miles across the sea' to Avalon and Two Harbors, with mooring fields, dive coves, and a legendary vacation-island scene
- Intl tip
- SoCal's iconic island cruise — '26 miles across the sea' to Avalon (resort town, restaurants, dive parks) and Two Harbors (rustic cove). Clear, warm-ish water (60s in summer) — great diving/snorkeling. A real open-water crossing: busy shipping lanes, plan the passage. Mostly MOORINGS: Avalon is first-come, first-served (hail Harbor Patrol at the harbor entrance), Two Harbors is reservable (Thursdays for the weekend, VHF Ch 9; ~$60–95/night for a 30–60-ft boat). Limited anchoring. Watch for Santa Ana/sundowner winds. The beloved classic SoCal destination.
The guide
Catalina Island — immortalized as '26 miles across the sea' — is Southern California's iconic sailing destination, a mountainou…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Catalina Island (Avalon & Two Harbors) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.35, -118.33