Lovers Cove
Avalon · Catalina Island · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = today's forecast
Inside the Cove: The sheltered water inside the cove. Waves are small here, but sediment that washes in tends to stay, so it often reads murkier than the water outside.
Outside the Cove: The water just past the mouth of the cove, along the reef and kelp. Most of the diving happens here, and it is the number the page headlines.
Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.
Through the day
Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.
Every bar is a reading for the Outside the Cove zone.
This chart shows measured diver reports only.
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Why it reads 36 ft
Today's forecast runs
The clarity holds through the day, with a light afternoon onshore the only disturbance to the entry shallows.
High confidence
7-Day Forecast
Today is the live headline above. Tomorrow onward is the algorithm's forecast from predicted swell, wind, and rain, updated each morning and at 6 PM Pacific.
Map and parking
Catalina Island, CA 90704
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See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
About Lovers Cove
Lovers Cove is the second-most popular snorkeling spot on Catalina, behind Casino Point Dive Park. The cove sits a few hundred yards east of the Cabrillo Mole ferry landing along Pebbly Beach Road, with buoy lines marking the swim area and glass-bottom boats running tours through it all day. The beach itself is rocky rather than sandy, which makes the walk-in entry hard on bare feet and difficult for anyone with mobility issues. Underwater the bottom is rock and boulder without kelp cover, which makes Lovers Cove a rocky reef biome. Visibility usually runs 30 to 50 feet, and tends to be better in winter when the plankton thins.
Species found here
Researched habitat and range candidates. A listed species may be seasonal or depth-limited; this is not a confirmed sighting at this location.
Kelp Forest
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