Best Places to Scuba Dive in Northern California

Best Places to Scuba Dive in Northern California

Gil Zeimer

Gil Zeimer

Gil took a resort course on Grand Cayman in 1981 and has been hooked on diving ever since. He received his PADI certification in 1985 in a reservoir south of Dallas. He’s explored three oceans — from Australia to Micronesia, four Hawaiian Islands, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, California’s Monterey and Channel Islands, Florida’s Keys, Walt Disney World’s Living Seas Exhibit, three Bahamas Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Little Cayman Island, and Aruba.

If you want to scuba dive between the Oregon border and the Bay Area along the rugged Pacific Coast in Northern California, you’ll see a strikingly beautiful world that’s also shockingly cold. As you descend through kelp forests that undulate with the currents, you’ll float weightlessly into a beautifully serene, silent world where all you’ll hear is the bubbles from your regulator. 

What will you see? You’ll observe Garibaldi (California’s state fish), rockfish, seals, octopi, sea stars, brightly colored anemones, and thousands of purple sea urchins. But be forewarned: it’s cold. Numbing cold. The kind of cold you won’t soon forget, with 49–58 degree temperatures and visibility typically between 10 and 60 feet.

Cold Water Warning: Whether you choose a shore or a boat dive, protect yourself with a thick, 4/3mm–7mm neoprene wetsuit. The thicker, the better. Since you lose most of your heat underwater from your head, hands, and feet, donning a full hoodie, 5mm thick gloves, and sturdy ankle booties is highly recommended. But if all this isnt warm enough, a dry suit is what cold-water lovers wear, though it requires a special certification.

With that in mind, here are some of the top places to scuba dive in Northern California.

Featured Photo: Ronan Furuta via Unsplash.
Photo: Frank Schulenburg

Farallon Islands

If youre a thrill seeker, the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, about 30 miles west of San Francisco, is home to some of the worlds largest great white sharks and northern elephant seals. You can choose a charter boat dive or a great white shark dive adventure in a cage for about $825/diver or $475 for topside observers. Not a diver? About 300,000 birds nest here annually, as well as harbor and elephant seals, California and Steller sea lions, northern fur seals, four types of whales (blue, grey, humpback and orcas), dolphins, and porpoises. sharkdiveadventures.com

Photo: Ronan Furuta via Unsplash

Gerstle Cove, Salt Point State Park

For beginners to advanced divers, Gerstle Cove is one of Californias first underwater state parks where you can observe completely protected local wildlife — it’s also among the most popular sites for shore diving. Youll see cabezon, lingcod, rockfish, and other fish. Parking is nearby with restrooms and two large campgrounds. parks.ca.gov

NOTE: Here you’ll likely experience summer fog and strong, chilly winds.

Photo: Kevin Lanceplaine

Glass Beach, Fort Bragg

Next to MacKerricher State Park at the intersection of Elm and Glass Beach, a 300-foot hike leads you to this popular shore dive thats covered with colorful, smooth sea glass, leftovers from an old bottling plant that now resemble a seascape. Youll enjoy easy diving with kelp, crabs, rockfish, and other underwater life year-round. Even with very cold water temps and heavier currents in winter months, this site is also frequented by spear fishers. There is a bathroom in parking lot. cadivingnews.com

Photo: Courtesy of Unsplash

Lake Tahoe

Most people think of skiing instead of diving up here, but Americas largest, highest alpine lake offers great diving with good visibility in the cobalt-blue waters. The Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail is one choice, perfect for snorkelers or divers. It offers historic underwater features at four dive sites along Emerald Bay State Parks shoreline on the lakes west side, including two large barges and all kinds of fish, including lake trout (mackinaw), rainbow and brown trout, kokanee salmon, and largemouth bass. Other popular dive sites surrounding the lake are Sand Harbor, Hurricane Bay, Carnelian West Beach, Sunny Side, Rubicon Wall, and Cave Rock State Park. scubadiverlife.com

NOTE: Youll need to be high-altitude certified to dive Lake Tahoe and the snow-fed water temperatures range from 40 degrees in winter to 70 degrees in summer, so dry suits are definitely recommended. Parking is free in lots around most of the lake and most have public bathrooms.

Photo: Courtesy of Unsplash

Smuggler’s Cove, Sea Ranch

For decades, Smugglers Cove was a haven for abalones, but that mollusk is now being threatened by thousands of purple sea urchins whove invaded our coast. With a rocky bottom and depths of 20 – 100 feet, it is partially protected from northwest winds. On a typical day of this shore dive, youll see cabezon, lingcod, five types of perch, rockfish (grass, black and blue), Pacific tomcod, starry flounder, and perhaps a salmon or a wolf eel. Free parking in Sea Ranch lots on Highway 1 — no bathrooms. searanchabalonebay.com

Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek

Van Damme Cove, Van Damme State Park

Though water temps are in the high 40s to low 50s, Van Damme Cove is well-known to hearty divers and snorkelers for very calm conditions with 10- to 15-foot visibility. Just two miles south of Mendocino at Little River Beach, youll encounter heavy kelp beds, jellyfish and kelp as well as Dungeness crabs, sea cucumbers, red abalone and nudibranchs. All were once plentiful, but a recent explosion of purple sea urchins has prevented kelp forests from recovering and negatively affected their populations. Free beach parking lot with cold showers and bathrooms — the campground has hot showers. shorediving.com

Looking for more things to do in the Bay Area?

Visit our San Francisco, North Bay, East Bay and South Bay pages!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top