Scuba Diving Southern California
About California – Southern
Southern California offers exceptional cold-water diving across the Channel Islands National Park, Catalina Island, and the San Diego coast. Channel Islands features five islands with pristine kelp forests including Anacapa's Landing Cove with sea lions and garibaldi, Santa Cruz's Painted Cave walls with yellowfin and sheepshead, and Santa Barbara Island's sea lion rookery. Catalina Island's Casino Point Underwater Park is a shore diving mecca with giant kelp cathedrals, garibaldi, and black sea bass. San Diego's La Jolla Cove provides accessible shore diving with kelp, garibaldi, summer leopard sharks, and sea lions. Wreck Alley off San Diego features multiple advanced boat wrecks including the Yukon and Ruby E at 20 to 30 meters with large schools of baitfish and rockfish. Point Loma kelp beds host sea lions and rays while Palos Verdes offers macro shore diving.
Highlights
- ✓Channel Islands kelp forests with sea lions
- ✓Casino Point Underwater Park shore diving
- ✓La Jolla Cove with garibaldi and leopard sharks
- ✓Wreck Alley advanced wreck diving
- ✓Point Loma kelp beds with rays
Dive Site Map: California – Southern
1 mapped dive sites in this region. Click a marker for a quick look and a link to the full site guide.
Getting There
Fly into the nearest regional airport and arrange ground transport. Local dive operators provide boat access to offshore sites.
Local Transport
Rental cars provide flexibility. Local dive boats operate from main harbors.