Scuba Diving in California, United States

81 mapped sites

Best dive sites in California, United States

Showing 13–24 of 81

Palawan

California · 27–37 m

The USS Palawan (ARG-10) was a 441-foot Liberty-hull internal combustion engine repair ship that served at the end of World War II. Substantially dismantled - superstructure and engines removed - she was scuttled in 1977 about two miles off Redondo Beach as part of California's artificial reef program and sits upright in roughly 120 feet of water, a 10-minute boat ride from King Harbor. The hull is now a vibrant reef draped in anemones and gorgonians; depth, currents and variable visibility make it a solid advanced dive.

AdvancedBoat entry

Topanga

California · Up to 8.5 m

Artificial reef built from Quarry Rock

Boat entry

Santa Monica Center

California · Up to 18.3 m

Artificial reef built from Quarry Rock, Concrete Shelter, Car Bodies, Streetcar

IntermediateBoat entry

Marina Del Rey 1 Center

California · Up to 19.8 m

Artificial reef built from Quarry Rock

IntermediateBoat entry

Hermosa Beach Center

California · Up to 18.3 m

Artificial reef built from Quarry Rock, Concrete Shelter, Car Bodies, Streetcar

IntermediateBoat entry

Huntington Beach B Center

California · Up to 18.3 m

Artificial reef built from Quarry Rock

IntermediateBoat entry

Frolic Wreck

California · 3–18 m

The Frolic was a 97-foot Baltimore-built opium-trade brig that struck the reef north of Point Cabrillo on the night of July 25, 1850, while carrying Chinese silk, porcelain and other Gold Rush cargo to San Francisco; the wreck indirectly triggered the founding of the Mendocino lumber industry. Scattered remains (ballast, fittings, porcelain shards) lie among ridges, boulders and surge channels in Frolic Cove. A historically significant but demanding shore dive for calm days only; the site is protected and nothing may be removed.

AdvancedShore entry

Coral Street Beach

California · 3–15.2 m

A gravel pocket beach at Ocean View Boulevard and Coral Street in Pacific Grove, near Point Pinos. Beyond the eelgrass-covered boulders of the shallows, the bottom forms a sawtooth pattern of rocky ridges and sand channels running parallel to shore, rich with invertebrate life and coralline algae. The shallow rocky approach makes it a high-tide dive, and it is more exposed than the sites inside Monterey Bay.

IntermediateShore entry

Lovers Point

California · 4.6–21.3 m

A Pacific Grove classic off Ocean View Boulevard with three stone-stair entries (Lovers 1, 2 and 3) on the east side of the point. Rocky pinnacles rise 10-20 feet off a 30-40 foot sand bottom beyond the kelp canopy, and skilled divers can navigate around the point into Lovers Cove. Note the seasonal city restriction: May 1 - Sep 30 on Friday-Monday and holidays, diving east of the point is limited (permitted south of the pier only from sunset to 11:30 a.m.).

Shore entry

HMCS Yukon

California · 18–32 m

The HMCS Yukon is a 366-foot, six-deck Canadian Mackenzie-class destroyer escort prepared by the San Diego Oceans Foundation and scuttled in July 2000 about two miles off Mission Beach as the centerpiece of Wreck Alley. She sank prematurely the night before her planned sinking and settled on her port side in about 100 feet of water, with the hull starting around 60 feet. Dozens of access holes were cut so a diver is never far from an exit, but the sideways orientation makes navigation disorienting and penetration is for trained wreck divers only. Heavily colonized by white Metridium anemones and strawberry anemones, it is widely considered the signature wreck dive of the US West Coast.

AdvancedBoat entry

El Rey

California · 18–26 m

The El Rey is a 100-foot, 133-ton kelp-harvesting vessel that cut kelp for Kelco for 41 years before being scuttled by a Navy demolition team on April 2, 1987, becoming the first ship sunk in San Diego's Wreck Alley off Mission Beach. She sits in roughly 75-85 feet of water and is densely overgrown with red gorgonians and strawberry anemones. A compact, easily navigated wreck often paired with the Ruby E or Yukon on two-tank charters.

IntermediateBoat entry

Carnelian Bay

California · 3–7.6 m

Carnelian Bay, on Tahoe's north shore at Patton Beach/Waterman's Landing and Carnelian West Beach, is a free, year-round beginner site named for the reddish carnelian stones found along the shoreline. A very gradually sloping sandy bottom averaging 20-25 ft holds a scattering of semi-historic debris — a sunken barge, engine blocks, deteriorating fishing boats and enormous logs — with 50-60 ft visibility typical. It is the lake's most popular summer night-dive site, alive with crawfish, sculpin and rainbow trout after dark.

Shore entry