Two Harbors not what it was?

Levin

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Apr 7, 2007
163
Hunter 340 San Diego
Hello all,

So I've got a trip planned for Two Harbors in August and the Admiral has been researching it lately and finding a lot of complaints online. I've been there before several times but not in a lot of years. Apparently according to her research the place has grown a fair bit and people are saying it isn't as laid back as it used to be. I like Avalon a lot but this year we wanted something a bit quieter, however if that isn't the case perhaps we'll save ourselves the extra two hours and stay in Avalon.

So anyone been there recently and have an opinion? Still laid back and rustic or is it becoming a mini resort town?

Thanks,
-Levin
 
Oct 9, 2008
1,739
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
It's exactly the same as it's always been.

Except that the conservancy sold out to some service company, and allowed that company to commandeer what used to be the beach, and put their lounge chairs and fake huts for which they charge a fortune.
So visitors not wanting to be fleeced are relegated to the surf line.
I've been there twice since the takeover, and have seen zero people using the new facilities.
They did the same thing to Desanso Beach west of the Avalon Casino, which used to be an even nicer beach with a seaside bar. The bar is still there but the beach has been stolen.
 
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Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Well, it is true that the visiting boaters are hardly thrilled at the changes. However, we did eat there along with others and it is a nice venue. The prices are the same as the patio service; same menu. It had some use on the weekends. This is similar to what it was in the 1950's. There are still free tables and BBQ's on the west side, by the launch ramp. (In the early 80's, you had to pay a fee to go ashore and use the facilities as a matter of fact.)
I think they did a pretty good job of it despite the negative commentary. It does, I think, require pulling in day visitors to make it work. I question there is the frequency of Express ferries to accommodate that and lodging is difficult. I can't see the campers, hikers or bikers using it. I was not aware the Island Company had contracted with a concessionaire to run the Two Harbors facility. I'll have to do some research on it.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
 
Oct 9, 2008
1,739
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
Well, it is true that the visiting boaters are hardly thrilled at the changes. However, we did eat there along with others and it is a nice venue. The prices are the same as the patio service; same menu. It had some use on the weekends. This is similar to what it was in the 1950's. There are still free tables and BBQ's on the west side, by the launch ramp. (In the early 80's, you had to pay a fee to go ashore and use the facilities as a matter of fact.)
I think they did a pretty good job of it despite the negative commentary. It does, I think, require pulling in day visitors to make it work. I question there is the frequency of Express ferries to accommodate that and lodging is difficult. I can't see the campers, hikers or bikers using it. I was not aware the Island Company had contracted with a concessionaire to run the Two Harbors facility. I'll have to do some research on it.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
It looks fine. Better than before.
The problem is that the beach has been taken by money collectors.
$30 a day to use a lounge chair? I can buy one for less than that. And the chairs are on the beach, so you can't just park your butt on a towel next to the chairs. The sand is "private" too.
$200 a day to sit in a hut? Please.
It's Isthmus Harbor, not the French Riviera. They removed the charm of a free island and replaced it with exclusivity. That nobody uses.
Maybe we should push the riff raff off of all California beaches, and put lounge chairs to rent instead. :-D

By the way I meant the Catalina Island Conservancy, which should just read "the powers that be" instead, because I'm not sure which entity is in charge of that land, allowed the Catalina Island Company to commandeer the beach.

Edit:
Here is the pricing:
Palapas: $129-249 weekday, $189-249 weekend, $249-$349 holidays
Lounge Chair Pair: $25-60 weekday, $35-60 weekend
 
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Levin

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Apr 7, 2007
163
Hunter 340 San Diego
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Sounds like as long as we're not set on using the beach there then we should be fine. It sounds like nothing much else has changed beyond that. I never really was one for sitting out on the beach so I don't think we'll miss that part. Sounds like the restaurant is still there, anchoring is still free (and hopefully spots are plentiful), and it's still a lot less developed than Avalon. We'll give it a try and if it isn't what I remember next year we'll just go back to sailing to Avalon.
 
Jul 27, 2011
4,989
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Sounds like the restaurant is still there, anchoring is still free (and hopefully spots are plentiful), and it's still a lot less developed than Avalon. We'll give it a try and if it isn't what I remember next year we'll just go back to sailing to Avalon.
Anchoring at Two Harbors on the Isthmus Cove side is not exactly a fun thing to do. At the distance from the mooring field you are "required" to be if anchoring, the depths are near 90 ft unless you are in Little Fisherman's Cove which is shallower, but often congested with power boaters that can get in much closer than a sailboat and sequester/usurp the beach-front area. It can also be quite rolly out there in the 90 ft area. I inadvertently spent one night out there a decade ago have not been back to anchor!! If you're going to anchor Catalina Island in a small sailboat, Isthmus Cove in the places where you are permitted is not one of the better options, IMHO. The latest Log has a front page story on Two Harbors.

http://www.thelog.com/
 
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Jan 18, 2016
782
Catalina 387 Dana Point
I was there a few weeks ago. I agree that the private beach really is not a good thing.

Also, a buffalo milk that cost $6 last year now costs $10.

It was still fun, but the beach thing really does rub me the wrong way. It's taken quite a bit of the charm out of the place.
 
Jul 1, 1998
3,062
Hunter Legend 35 Poulsbo/Semiahmoo WA
That's really a bummer about how the beach has become, well, shall we say,... unfriendly. What is the California law with regard to land ownership in the tidal zone? In Washington it is typical that the state "owns" the tidal zone and then some. Usage of that land, and underwater land, for use by docks, marinas, mooring buoys, etc., is by permit. There may be a "grandfather" issue, or rights that existed before Washington became a state, but generally, pretty much everything is everything is by permit.

In the case of beach use, our tides which can run from +12 to -4 (a few times of the year) can expose a lot of beach. By the time the flood tide is coming in the part it is flooding can be pretty dry. So, with what Southern California tides are it wouldn't present much of a beach but if it is publicly owned one could let up their own (un-rented) lawn chair, given the right tide, in front of those paying big bucks!

Just thinkin'

Edit: so maybe this would be an un-friendly thing to do .... but if it would make one feel good ....
How's that song go? Just wanna have fun?
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
John, it's pretty much the same in Cali. The beach itself is open. What we are talking about is above it, in a frontage area. The California Conservancy was deeded the land on Catalina (except for Avalon city) from the Wrigley family in perpetuity and I believe the Catalina Island Company took over the Two Harbors lease from Doug Bombard when he relinquished it maybe ten years ago. The Island Company owns a big chunk of the hotels, restaurants and attractions in Avalon (and all of Two Harbors) and has put over $50 million in renovations in recent times.
As Jeep Blue says, a Buffalo Milk now costs $10 per and other libations are similar. However, boater spending is discretionary, so we will see how that plays out. We might spend for cocktails and a dinner once a week but that's it. I paid $180 for a starting battery there to replace one that was shot last trip. That's probably twice as much as the mainland. But, I was happy they had one available. It costs a chunk to barge everything over and take all the island trash back for disposal. And, they add a 8 1/2 % "environmental fee" on gross sales, just like a sales tax (which is on top of it). So, the sales tax and fee wind up just shy of 20% itself! So, perhaps the mark up for the extra transportation cost isn't bad but the 8 1/2 % ought to cover the trash transportation, no?
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
Note to self... scratch Catalina Island off my bucket list.
 
Jul 27, 2011
4,989
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Isthmus Cove and Two Harbors are not all that there is of Santa Catalina Island; so, no need to be too hasty. IMHO, there's no reason to go ashore anywhere on the island if only to have an over priced drink and/or dinner. But, there are good places to anchor not in 90 ft of water, as in Cat Harbor on the south side of the island, etc. But as a Bucket List item(?); yeah--I think that might be a little too elevated in relative importance compared to all there is to do in the big world of sailing. Try--sailing the Windward Islands (Grenadines); now that would be a worthy item to list.:thumbup:
 
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walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,511
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Palapas: $129-249 weekday, $189-249 weekend, $249-$349 holidays
I suppose that the BBQ and picnic table area that used to be free just one year ago now is covered by the above?

So if you dont want to pay that completely unreasonable price to have BBQ on the beach, would you have to bring your own BBQ or can you even do that now?
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
I suppose that the BBQ and picnic table area that used to be free just one year ago now is covered by the above?

So if you dont want to pay that completely unreasonable price to have BBQ on the beach, would you have to bring your own BBQ or can you even do that now?
There is still free seating and BBQs west of the plapas, outside the roped area, next to the launch area.
 
Sep 15, 2016
790
Catalina 22 Minnesota
Wow have things changed! I lived on the island at two harbors for a summer working on the Gas Dock. It was great and way laid back but that was before the sea wall and the palm trees and now cabana booths! Oh how the times have changed. Here are a few pictures of the progression. Back when I was there they had just started bring in the sand for the beach area as it is not natural to the island so it was loaded on trucks and then barged from Long beach to have it on the waterfront. Sorry to hear the Bombard family has relinquished some control of things. Doug was always a nice guy when I talked with him.

Harbor Sands.jpg
What it looks like today
santa-catalina-12.jpg
What I remember it looking like when I arrived
two-harbors-beach.jpg
After the sand was brought in and the wall built
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
LOL... the irony of it all!

People sitting in the "roped off" area are looking out into the bay and see all those expensive yacht and say, those people must have a lot of money. The guys on the boats are looking at the beach and say, a fool and his money...

LOL
 
Jul 27, 2011
4,989
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
LOL... the irony of it all!

People sitting in the "roped off" area are looking out into the bay and see all those expensive yacht and say, those people must have a lot of money. The guys on the boats are looking at the beach and say, a fool and his money...

LOL
When you're on vacation, that rule does not apply. You're supposed to part w/ the money w/o thinking too much about it. Evidently, not that much for vacationers to do there. I'm always amused to see people line up to board an open crew boat near dark and pay > $20 for the experience of spraying up the waters near Avalon, hoping that a flying fish will leap from those waters, hit 'em in the face, and then wriggle and slime all over their laps leaving scales, blood, and stinky mucous. What fun! :yeah: If a tourist will pay good money for that, then sitting under a cabana on the beach sipping a cool Buffalo Milk watching California bikini girls sunbathing or playing volleyball seems a bargain!:dancing:
 
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Feb 16, 2012
198
Hunter 45 CC Alamitos Bay, Long Beach
We were there just last weekend. Since we are pretty much self contained, if we don't want to go ashore we really don't have to. When we do it generally to take a long walk to Cat Harbor on the other side or along the dirt road that leads to Forth of July, and Cherry Cove. We have a inflatable, kayak, and a SUP. Plenty of fresh water, solar panels, and a bar-b q. What else would one need?
Jeff
Sooooo Lucky Hunter 45 CC
 

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rfrye1

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Jun 15, 2004
589
Hunter H376 San Diego
The irony of it all... As JJ says we sail our somewhat expensive boats over to Catalina. Hang out on this beautiful island and complain about changes. O M Gosh... We spend $100-1000's to update sailing gear, electronics, navigation, but an extra $4 for a drink?? Heck I think $10 is cheap! Don't think you can find a $10 martini in town!
All you get.
Bob
 
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