Two Harbors

Two Harbors is the only other settlement on Catalina, 26 kilometres from Avalon across the island's interior. It consists of a campsite, a small general store, a bar, a dive shop, and a handful of rental cottages — a genuinely remote outpost that feels completely isolated from the relative bustle of Avalon. The anchorage in Catalina Harbor on the western side is one of the best-protected on the California coast and attracts yachts from up and down the coast.

Getting to Two Harbors from Avalon requires either a ferry connection (the Catalina Express runs a limited service), the Trans-Catalina Trail hike (two days), or a guided tour by jeep through the Conservancy lands. Day-trippers coming directly from the mainland can also take the ferry to Two Harbors rather than Avalon. It is a very different experience from the busier main town.

things to do sight
A story
Two Harbors sits on an isthmus only 800 metres wide, with the Isthmus Cove on the mainland side and Catalina Harbor on the Pacific side. The Isthmus has been used as a film location for over a century — the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Mutiny on the Bounty were filmed here, among dozens of others. There is almost nothing else around it: a small general store, a bar, and a boat rental.

Other places in Things to Do