Hearst Beach

A sandy entry to the left. And the same to the right. Charters are available to take you out to the point, should you prefer a rockier environment. Follow the signs off Highway 1 to the park entrance.

Very low vis.

This is one of my least favorite sites to dive. The walk to the shore diving entry is LONG. The surface swim is VERY LONG (a boat is recommended) Then once you get out there the visibility is most likely to be very poor and the surf is likely to be big. There are some cool animals and reef topography here if you are lucky enough to see more than 3 feet in front of you. Best diving is around the point in the kelp forest (again boat recommended). I had a friend see a thresher shark here. It is kind of a 'sharky' area with the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery right up the coast. I was doing a research project and would not come here for a fun dive.

I dove this site a year ago and it was a lot of work. I carried my gear to the north end of the beach with a dolly, and went through the 2-4 foot surf to dive next to the wall. I kicked way out, but the water remained shallow. When I finally dove, the water was beautiful, with lots of sand dollars- a crystal blue (20 ft. depth). In order to get into the rocks you have to use a yak or paddle WAY out. Saw no fish but I was in sand nearly the entire dive. I have dove from kayak a few times here, but the viz can be really bad. Pick a good viz day and the diving/spearfishing can be great. Dive further out near the point and kelp. I have seen divers kill big lings and lots of rockfish. P.S. One of the best dive sites in the state is nearby. Cambria Rock is about 10 miles south of San Simeon and the diving can be excellent with a boat or yak. Drop down in 50-60 feet and see literally thousands of rockfish and some big reds and lings. Pick a flat day for this, as it gets rough far out at the rock. Anchor your yak and drop down the anchor line. Be ready for some big fish! Some of the old-timers have told me that the water is generally clearer in Cambria than other nearby places.

When I came in the summer and every time I drove by this spot the visibility looked pretty bad. We dove it once and had about 1ft vis. Besides that this spot is easy to enter and has some excellent potential with lots of reefs and kelp beds. I will return on a better day.