Baja California

Mexico

elephant seals, sea lions and Barracuda

South of San Diego

Isla Coronado

South Coronado Island

invertebrates and Halibut in the sand

South of San Diego

Puerto Cueva

purple hydrocorals, invertibrates, lobsters

South of the Coronados Islands

Coronados Reef

Sea Lions and big fish, Lobsters

South of San Diego

Middle Coronado Island

Eel Grass, Sea Lions and Bass

South of San Diego

Middle Rock

Passage from one side of the island to the other with Sea Lions all around you. purple hydrocorals 

South of San Diego

North Coronado Island Passage

Sea bass, Calico bass and Halibut in the sand

South of San Diego

North Coronado

Kelp diving with a lot of fish

Just south of Mission Bay

Point Loma

This is a rocky reef that peaks at less than 20 feet deep and drops down to almost 60 feet. There are a ton of cracks and huge caves that hold an unbelievable variety of fish and invertebrate life. The whole reef is less than a quarter mile wide at the widest. It almost seems to have a horseshoe shape of pinnacle rocks. 
At the base of the rocks it is a little deep (for me) for freediving, but the tops are easily reached and it is enjoyable to snorkel on a clear day. 
Photography here is great as there are a ton of small inverts and a lot of macro algae to frame your shots. The Macrocystis canopy gets pretty thick in the summer, but this is in the vast Point Loma Kelp Beds. Hunting can be okay, and if you shoot calicos there can be some sport here. Lobster are present but most are tiny little crayfish, especially after the commercial guys have put out their pots. Expect to see a few thousand baby little bugs and nothing of any size.
As for life, we have seen: calico bass, sand bass, rockfish(kelp, black/yellow, gopher, brown, tree, etc), sheephead, senorita, garibaldi, blacksmith, banded guitarfish, giant skates, bat rays, thresher sharks, giant seabass, moray eels, silversides, macks, Bathymasterids, lobster, sea stars, urchins, nudis of all makes...pretty much everything SD has to offer.
The rocks are covered with encrusting inverts (c/s tunicates, encrusting bryos, rock scallops, anenomes, etc), kelps (Pterogophora, Eisenia, young Macros) and gorgonians. 
Bring a flashlight to have a look in the abundant and sometimes huge caves. Inside you may be rewarded with the sight of a treefish, lobster or male sheepie. 

Boat access only. Launch from Shelter Island launch ramp in San Diego Bay, or go down from Mission Bay.
Go to the coordinates and look for some structure on your sounder.

New Hope Rock

Shallow so longer bottom times. Usually about 25 feet. Vis is fair for the San Diego region. Can be up to 20 foot vis.  This is a good backup dive site if the shore diving is to rough and you just have to get in the water.

It can be hard to climb in and out because of the size of the rocks but there is always a lot of snails, stars, cucumbers, some fish and lobster. People fish here so it's good to take a flag to drag with you.

South Coronado Island

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at South Coronado Island