Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay is a beautiful stretch of beach with 100 moorings on the west end of Catalina near Two Harbors. The Boy Scouts of America operates Camp Emerald Bay at Johnsons Landing the main beach on Emerald Bay. Just east of the Johnsons Landing is a wide sandy beach with plenty of room to relax without many people around. This area truly is one of the most beautiful mooring spots on the island because the water is that special turquoise which at times gives you the feeling you are relaxing off of some Caribbean island. It’s a sandy bottom so you can anchor as well.  There’s plenty of great snorkeling around Indian Rocks. Saw Leopard Sharks, Shovel Nose Sharks, and plenty of Rays. There are some steep trails which lead up from this beach to a great trail which can get you over to the other side of the island in about a 30-minute hike.  It’s a great way to see the other side of the island…the untamed side. We ended up mooring at Emerald Bay because Two Harbors was just too crowded (Summer Weekend).  While the wind was howling through the canyon at Two Harbors, Emerald Bay was completely protected and there was hardly any wind at all which made for a really relaxing night without a lot of motion on the ocean.

Sunrise at Emerald Bay (below) if you need a calming moment 🙂 3-minutes of Zen.