It's not unusual for the visibility to be good enough to see Catalina Island from Bell Ridge Trail. But I can count on the fingers of one hand the days in a year it is clear enough to see not only Catalina, but also the city of Avalon (with binoculars unless you have perfect vision). Today is one of those days. With binoculars you could clearly make out the casino, and could see the buildings in Avalon. Typically it is this clear only after a storm. Although Santa Ana winds blow out most of the smog and all of the onshore moisture, they bring dust particles of their own. In the case of today, we are between two storm systems .You can see the rain between the coastline and Catalina in the photo above.
