La Jolla Cove & Canyon · United States · Kelp forest
La Jolla Cove
Sea lions in the kelp, and sevengill sharks in April
Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Cove is La Jolla's kelp dive on a shore entry, inside a protected ecological reserve where the bottom never goes past 14 metres. Sea lions and harbour seals work the same water as the divers, and the kelp holds garibaldi, giant black sea bass and tope sharks, with sevengill sharks turning up in April.
Where it is and how deep
32.8505° N, 117.2730° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is a shore dive into kelp, and the profile stays shallow the whole way: Scuba San Diego gives a maximum depth of 45 feet, about 14 metres, so a single tank buys a long dive. You walk in from the cove and swim out under the canopy, and the site is worked horizontally rather than by descending, which is what keeps it an easy dive.
The animals are the reason to come. California sea lions are the constant here, close enough that the same operator guides snorkellers among them, and harbour seals use the coast alongside. In the kelp there are garibaldi, California's state fish, and the operator also lists the rare and endangered giant black sea bass and tope sharks through the year, with sevengill sharks appearing in April. All of it sits inside the La Jolla Cove Ecological Reserve.
Background
The Cove sits inside the La Jolla Cove Ecological Reserve, which Scuba San Diego describes as a federally protected marine area and the main focus of its diving here. The wider underwater park carries several overlapping designations on top of that: an Ecological Reserve, a Marine Life Refuge and the Scripps Coastal Reserve, and most of the diving across it is done from shore.
Marine life and season
- Seals & sea lions
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows La Jolla Cove & Canyon: Leopard sharks mass in the shallows Jul–Oct when visibility is also best; the market squid run peaks Nov–Mar on night dives.
Photos from La Jolla Cove
Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Diving La Jolla Cove (Sea Lions, Tope Sharks, Guitarfish & More) · Jack Ruhland on YouTube
La Jolla Cove Kelp Forest · SDScuba on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is La Jolla Cove?+
Scuba San Diego gives a maximum depth of 45 feet, about 14 metres, so the site sits well inside recreational limits and dives as one long shallow profile on a single tank.
What will I see diving La Jolla Cove?+
Kelp forest, California sea lions and harbour seals, and garibaldi, California's state fish. Operators also list the endangered giant black sea bass and tope sharks through the year, with sevengill sharks appearing in April.
Sources
- Scuba San Diego – Activities — Scuba San Diego
- Scuba San Diego — Scuba San Diego
- Diving in the United States — DiveZone
- OpenStreetMap – La Jolla Cove — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- Rocky cove at La Jolla with sandstone cliffs and calm turquoise water by Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
- California sea lion crawling out of the surf onto wet rocks by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- California sea lion resting on wet rocks by the shoreline by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Group of California sea lions hauled out on rocks at Scripps Park by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Kelp forest diving, and where it still growsCold water · 13 min read
- Where to dive with seals and sea lionsBig animals · 17 min read
- Why is some sea green instead of blue?Ocean science · 8 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
More dive sites in La Jolla Cove & Canyon
Wall
The seabed drops 150 metres at the edge of the slope
Leopard sharks and rays over open sand, straight off the beach
Sand slope
A sand flat that holds 3 to 5 metres for 100 metres out
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Thick, shallow kelp forest over rock, full of fish
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Concrete steps into the first underwater park in the US