La Jolla Cove & Canyon · United States · Sand slope
La Jolla Shores
Leopard sharks and rays over open sand, straight off the beach
Photo: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo · CC BY 2.0
PADI lists this as a great teaching location and it dives like one: a protected beach entry with a sandy bottom that slopes away gradually to a maximum of 12 metres. Further out the sand ends in a drop-off that goes past recreational limits, close enough to shore that freedivers use it for depth training. The flats themselves hold leopard sharks, rays and guitarfish.
Where it is and how deep
32.8569° N, 117.2605° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
PADI lists this as a protected beach entry, and what lies beyond it is sand: a gradual descent that keeps going out to a sandy drop-off falling past recreational dive limits. The site itself is given a maximum of 39 feet, about 12 metres, so the working depth stays shallow and the navigation becomes the dive — out on a compass heading, back on its reverse.
The sand looks empty and is not. PADI's marine life list for the site runs to leopard sharks, guitarfish, stingrays and bat rays, sandperch, nudibranchs, yellowtail and sea lions, and Wikivoyage adds dolphins and sea turtles along this stretch of shore. Freedivers work the same entry for a different reason: the canyon gives adequate depth from a shore dive, so depth training happens without a boat.
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Seals & sea lions
- Nudibranchs
- Trevally & jacks
- Dolphins
- Sea turtles
| 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 Shores
Basilosauridae · CC BY-SA 4.0
Avi Richards avirichards · CC0
Dive videos
Diving The Main Wall at La Jolla Shores, San Diego, California · SDScuba on YouTube
Scuba Diving La Jolla Shores, Giant Sea Bass School Encounter · Big Ace Films on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is La Jolla Shores good for beginners?+
Yes. PADI lists it as a protected shore entry with a sandy gradual descent and a maximum depth of about 12 metres, and describes it as a great teaching location, which is why so much local training runs here.
What can you see at La Jolla Shores?+
PADI's list for the site includes leopard sharks, guitarfish, stingrays and bat rays, sandperch, nudibranchs, yellowtail and sea lions. Dolphins and sea turtles are also reported along this stretch of shore.
Sources
- La Jolla Shores dive site — PADI
- San Diego — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- Wide sandy beach at La Jolla Shores with shorebirds and the pier in the distance by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Round stingray camouflaged on the sandy bottom at La Jolla Shores by Basilosauridae, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Lifeguard tower on the open sand at La Jolla Shores Beach by Avi Richards avirichards, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
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Garden eels and sea turtles on a shallow harbour reef