Most boaters cross to Catalina, pick up a mooring in Avalon or Two Harbors, and never go anywhere else. That’s a shame, because the island’s real treasure is strung out along its coastline: Catalina has more than 62 miles of unspoiled beaches and secluded coves — described by the island’s own visitor authority as the longest publicly accessible stretch of undeveloped coastline left in Southern California.
The trick is knowing which cove does what. One has the island’s best sand. Another has the best snorkeling. A third is the calmest place on the island to sleep. And a few of the prettiest come with a catch every first-timer should know before they dinghy ashore: the moorings are open to visiting boaters, but the beach club, camp, or yacht club on the sand behind them may be private.
Here’s the boater’s field guide, organized the way you’d actually cruise it — Avalon first, then up the protected leeside coast to Two Harbors, then around to the wild backside.
Read this first: the three rules of Catalina coves
1. A mooring is not a beach pass. Across the west end, the onshore facilities in many coves are leased to yacht clubs, Scout and youth camps, and a marine institute. The Catalina Island Company’s own mooring guide names them cove by cove — Balboa Yacht Club at Hen Rock, Newport Harbor Yacht Club at Moonstone, the Fourth of July Yacht Club, a Boy Scout camp at Cherry Cove, Catalina Island Camp and the Los Angeles Yacht Club at Howland’s Landing. Moor, swim, and enjoy the water — but treat fenced or signed shore facilities as private unless you’re a guest.
2. The best snorkeling spots are protected — look, don’t take. Lover’s Cove and Casino Point, both flanking Avalon Harbor, are State Marine Conservation Areas. At Casino Point, take of any living marine resource is prohibited; at Lover’s Cove it’s likewise prohibited, with a narrow exception for hook-and-line fishing from the Cabrillo Mole only. That’s exactly why the fish are so tame — enjoy them with a mask, not a spear.
3. Leeside vs. windward is the whole weather game. The coves between Avalon and Two Harbors sit on the island’s protected side and work in most settled conditions. The backside — Catalina Harbor, Little Harbor, Shark Harbor — faces open ocean. It’s spectacular in calm weather and the wrong address when the swell is up. Check the marine forecast before you commit, the same rule as the crossing guide.
Around Avalon: the easy beach day
The town beaches — South, Middle & Step Beach
Avalon’s three public beaches run along Crescent Avenue on either side of the Green Pleasure Pier — South and Middle flank the pier, Step Beach sits up by the Via Casino arch. They’re small, sandy, and steps from town: in summer each has a lifeguard on duty and a swim line, which makes them the simplest family swim on the island if you’re moored in the harbor. Know the house rules: no alcohol, animals, or smoking on Avalon’s public beaches.
Descanso Beach — the beach-club day
Just past the Casino building, Descanso Beach is one of California’s last private beaches with public access — Love Catalina lists beach access at $2 per day (confirm the current fee before you go). This is the resort version of a Catalina beach day: chaise and cabana rentals, a restaurant and bar with service to the sand, showers and dressing rooms, and a rental operation for kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, snorkel gear, and wetsuits. From an Avalon mooring it’s a shore-boat ride and a short walk — no boat handling required.
Lover’s Cove — the snorkel stop, not a beach
Don’t come to Lover’s Cove for sand — the island’s visitor authority is blunt that it’s mostly rocks, not a sandy beach. Come for what’s under the surface. This small conservation area on Avalon’s calmer southeastern side holds reefs and towering kelp forests, and the state wildlife department’s species list reads like a Catalina greatest-hits: kelp bass, California sheephead, garibaldi, señorita, moray eels, and horn sharks in water that runs from the shoreline down past 180 feet. Boaters visit it from town — you don’t moor in the preserve; you come ashore in Avalon and walk the short distance past the ferry landing.
Casino Point Dive Park — the underwater park
On the other side of the harbor, below the Casino building, Casino Point’s waters became one of the first underwater parks in the country back in the 1960s, and the state still calls it some of the best shore diving in California. It’s a no-take conservation area with kelp forests over rocky reef in depths to about 73 feet — snorkelers work the shallow edges while divers drop the stairs into the park proper. Same deal as Lover’s Cove: reach it from town, on foot, with your mask in hand.
The leeside run: Avalon to Two Harbors
This is the coastline to explore when you have a free day on a mooring — a string of coves along the island’s protected side, each with its own personality. Mooring counts below are from the Catalina Island Company’s official mooring-sites guide; how reservations and pickups work is covered in our mooring guide.
White’s Landing — the best sand on the island
If your crew’s priority is an actual beach, aim here. The Island Company calls White’s Landing “one of the nicest and most expansive sandy beaches on the island.” Together with neighboring Moonstone Cove, just past Long Point, the two coves hold a combined 58 moorings with anchorage for about 50 more boats. The split personality matters: White’s is your sand-and-swim stop, while Moonstone’s shore facilities are leased by Newport Harbor Yacht Club — enjoy Moonstone from the water and the mooring field, and leave the club’s beach to its members.
Hen Rock — the snorkeler’s cove
Just south of Long Point, Hen Rock’s 25 moorings (plus anchorage for about 40 boats) sit over several reefs, and the Island Company flatly calls it one of the best snorkeling and dive sites on Catalina Island, with abundant sea life. This is the leeside cove to pick when the point of the day is time in the water rather than time on the sand. Shore facilities here are leased by Balboa Yacht Club, so the beach program is swim-off-the-boat — which, over these reefs, is no hardship.
Buttonshell Cove — the small one
Seven miles east of Isthmus Cove, Buttonshell is the intimate option: just 7 moorings and anchorage for about 10 boats. Camp Fox, a YMCA summer camp facility leased to the Catalina Island Marine Institute, is onshore — private, but it gives the cove a quiet, settled feel. A good pick when the big mooring fields feel like a scene.
Fourth of July Cove — the quiet jewel
West of Isthmus Cove, this 42-mooring cove is the one the Island Company itself describes as a “little jewel.” The Banning brothers, who established Two Harbors in the 1900s, held their Fourth of July celebrations here — the yacht club that leases the shore facilities keeps the name. For boaters it’s the move when Isthmus feels busy: close to the village, a fraction of the bustle.
Cherry Cove — the protected pick
Cherry Cove’s 99 moorings sit under Lion’s Head, the point on the cove’s west side that shields it from the prevailing afternoon winds — when the afternoon breeze fills in, this is where the leeside fleet sleeps best. There’s a Boy Scout camp onshore (private), and the canyon behind the cove holds groves of two endemic trees, the Catalina cherry and the ironwood — a reminder that you’re moored off a genuinely wild island, not a resort with a harbor attached.
Emerald Bay — the postcard
The biggest cove on this list: 102 moorings, anchorage for five to ten boats, and a long strip of natural sandy beach that the Island Company explicitly notes boaters can access. Swim, snorkel the edges, and walk the sand — just leave the Corsair Yacht Club and Boy Scout Camp facilities at the back of the beach to their members and campers. If you only explore one cove beyond your home harbor, make it this one.
Howland’s Landing — know before you go
Forty moorings in the cove with the largest watershed on Catalina’s west end. It belongs on this guide mainly as a navigation note: Catalina Island Camp and the Los Angeles Yacht Club hold the shore, so it’s a scenic mooring and a swim stop rather than a beach-landing destination.
Isthmus Cove & Harbor Sands — the social center
The main event: 242 moorings, second only to Avalon Harbor in boating activity on the island, with shore boats running year-round. The beach on either side of Isthmus Pier is the west end’s playground — kayaking, paddleboarding, and the Harbor Sands beach club with its palapas and lounge chairs. If your cove day should end with people, music, and a drink ashore, this is the one.
The backside: Catalina Harbor & Little Harbor
Catalina Harbor (Cat Harbor) — the calmest sleep on the island
Around the west end from Isthmus Cove — the two harbors nearly touch at the isthmus — Catalina Harbor is the island’s most protected harbor, counted among the U.S. Coast Guard-designated year-round safe harbors in Southern California. Its 96 moorings and anchorage room for more than 200 boats make it the fleet’s refuge when the leeside gets rolly, and the classic answer to a Santa Ana forecast. Ashore it’s simple: a public dinghy dock, picnic facilities, free pump-out for harbor boaters via Harbor Patrol on VHF 9, and a short, flat walk of about half a mile to the Two Harbors village.
Little Harbor & Shark Harbor — the expedition beaches
On the island’s remote windward side, Little Harbor is a sandy beachfront campground — the only campground on Catalina’s backside — with picnic tables, showers, fresh water, and kayak rentals, bookable through the island’s camping reservation channels. Next door, Shark Harbor is the surf break, rideable at certain times of year. For boaters, be honest about what this is: there’s no mooring field or harbor patrol infrastructure like the leeside — it’s a fair-weather anchorage play for experienced crews who pick a settled forecast, go in daylight, and keep a weather eye out. Picked right, it’s the most remote beach day a Southern California boater can have. Picked wrong, it’s a long, lumpy ride home. Ben Weston Beach, farther along the same coast, is primarily a hike-in surf beach — admire that stretch of coast from the water and leave the landing to the surfers who walked in.
Which cove should you pick?
- Best sandy beach: White’s Landing — the island’s most expansive sand, with a real mooring field off it.
- Best snorkeling from a mooring: Hen Rock — reefs and abundant sea life, per the Island Company itself.
- Best snorkeling overall: Lover’s Cove and Casino Point — protected, fish-rich, and reached from Avalon on foot.
- Best family beach day: Avalon’s town beaches or Descanso Beach — lifeguards in summer, rentals, and town right there.
- Best calm overnight: Cherry Cove in an afternoon breeze; Catalina Harbor when real weather is coming.
- Best big, beautiful all-rounder: Emerald Bay — sand you can land on, 102 moorings, room to breathe.
- Best quiet escape: Fourth of July Cove or Buttonshell Cove.
- Best adventure: Little Harbor — earned, not given, and only on a settled forecast.
Making it happen from the mainland
None of this requires owning a boat on a Catalina mooring waitlist — some of those sublease waitlists, the Island Company notes, run 10 to 32 years depending on the cove. Our members skip all of that: your membership covers both of our marinas, so San Diego members drive up, take a boat from our fleet out of Newport Beach — about 26 nautical miles to Avalon — and spend the day cove-hopping the leeside before anyone has to think about the crossing home. Point Loma is home base; Newport is the Catalina dock. Two marinas, one membership, and an owner-led dock team that will happily argue about the best cove before you leave — that argument never really settles, because the honest answer depends on the day.
Ready to go find your cove? Our boats are maintained, fueled, and waiting at Point Loma and Newport Beach. Call (619) 488-6630 and we’ll help you plan your first Catalina cove day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best beach on Catalina Island for boaters?
White’s Landing — the Catalina Island Company calls it one of the nicest and most expansive sandy beaches on the island, and it has a proper mooring field (shared with Moonstone Cove: 58 moorings combined) right off the sand. Emerald Bay is the runner-up: a long natural sandy beach that boaters can access, with 102 moorings.
Where is the best snorkeling on Catalina Island?
From a mooring, Hen Rock — several reefs and abundant sea life just south of Long Point. Overall, the protected waters flanking Avalon: Lover’s Cove (a State Marine Conservation Area, mostly rocks rather than sand) and Casino Point Dive Park, a no-take underwater park below the Casino building. Both are reached from town on foot, not by mooring in them.
Can you land on any Catalina beach from a boat?
No. Many west-end coves have private onshore facilities leased to yacht clubs, Scout and youth camps, and a marine institute — the moorings are available to visiting boaters, but fenced or signed shore facilities are for members and guests. Emerald Bay’s sandy beach is one the Island Company explicitly notes boaters can access; Avalon’s public beaches and Descanso Beach (small daily access fee) are open to all.
What is the calmest cove on Catalina Island?
Catalina Harbor, on the backside of the isthmus, is the island’s most protected harbor and a designated year-round safe harbor — it’s the refuge when other coves get uncomfortable. On the leeside, Cherry Cove is shielded from the prevailing afternoon winds by Lion’s Head point.
Are there beaches on Catalina you can only reach by boat?
Several coves along the leeside and backside are effectively boat-first destinations — Buttonshell, Hen Rock, and the Little Harbor/Shark Harbor pair on the windward coast have no town behind them at all. Little Harbor’s beachfront campground is the only campground on the island’s backside. Note that Parsons Landing, at the far west end, is different: the island’s visitor authority lists it as reachable only by hiking or kayaking in.
Can I take a boat club boat cove-hopping at Catalina?
Yes — that’s a signature member trip. Take a boat from our Newport Beach marina (about 26 nautical miles to Avalon), moor in Avalon or a Two Harbors cove, and work the leeside from there. Our dock team will walk you through the mooring plan and the day’s weather call before you leave, because an owner-led club means there’s always someone at the dock who’s made the run themselves.