Mukilteo Oil Dock

At the end of the dirt road is an adequate parking area. No facilities-- just a dirt pad. This shows the parking area and the hike to be made to the entry point. You can see all three Mukilteo dive sites in this photo. The Oil dock is off in the distance.

MUKILTEO MULTIMODAL PROJECT CONSTRUCTION ALERT. THIS SUMMER, WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES WILL BEGIN REMOVING THE TANK FARM PIER. THE REMOVAL OF THE TANK FARM PIER WILL ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW FERRY TERMINAL TO BEGIN. DIVERS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL USERS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ACCESS THE WATER IN THE PROJECT AREA. PLEASE SEE THE FLYER IN THE 'DIVE SITE LINKS' SECTION BELOW.

I'm a local diver and know this site very well. The entry point is at the Mukilteo T-Docks, which is it's own dive, you must walk, wade, and/or swim the 400yards to the Fuel Docks. This site is known for one thing, Dungeons Crab and some Red Rock Crab. You can limit very quickly early in the season, the fuel dock itself is about half a mile with an average depth of 35'. The slope that run parallel at a 45 degree angle will go from a bottom of 45' to 110'. Muscles line the pilings and large chunks of muscles will drop to the bottom and the crab love them. You will also find some Ling Cod, Rock Fish, and lots of candy shrimp.

There's not a lot of diversity of life at this site, but the numbers make up for it. The entire seafloor seems to be a mass of crawling crabs, and there were more spotted ratfish than I've seen at any other site. Most of the creatures seemed to prefer the north (far) side of the dock. Poke around on the pilings for sculpin. Shore entry here is very easy, using the Mukilteo T-Dock access. It's a long surface swim/walk in water out to the fuel dock (about 10-15 mins). We entered at high tide slack water, and at the end of our dive the current was helping the return swim, which was very nice!

We dove the oil dock today for crab, it was our first time diving for crab and my first time diving in the north west. We had to enter the water from the point near the ferry dock and walk/swim about a quarter mile north to the oil dock, about 20 minutes. We only dove around the first third of the dock, on both the north and south side. The visibility was around 20 feet, and there was almost no current. The south side had a few rock crab, but almost no Dungeness crab. When we swam to the north side there were a number of Dungeness crab. I am not sure what is normal for this area, but there were enough to keep us busy. After 2 dives we (3 of us) ended up with 6 rock crab and 3 Dungeness crab.

I had not been to this site since June of 2004. At that time the directions for how to get to the site and where to park were accurate. Things have changed. There is no longer access to the oil dock from the north. We had to access the dock from the south. Our entry point was the same as if you were going to dive the T-dock (see Mukilteo T-Dock info on this site). We entered the water next to the T-dock and then walked to the oil dock in mid waist high water. One could swim it but it seemed easier to use the buoyancy of the water to take the weight of our gear and push ahead. Although the dock is a little ways away, it was fairly easy and my dive buddy and I agreed it was easier than the surface swim at Edmonds Underwater Park. Although there were not as many crabs as I had seen four years prior, there were a decent amount and some really good sized ones. We are looking forward to coming back to go crabbing. We also saw many huge starfish and seastars. We spent most of our time at around 30' headed toward the end of the dock with our flashlights looking for interesting creatures.

I believe that Alan Belnap is referring to the Edmonds Oil Pier which was recently removed.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this site many times in the past, as recently as 2007, but I have learned that this site is no longer. Literally, it is gone. They took out the old oil dock, and though I haven't been there to see it with my own eyes, I have heard from more than one source that it's already gone. I wanted to save someone a trip to do a dive that is no longer there. There is always the underwater park nearby, but it's not the same kind of dive the oil dock was. I'll miss it!!

Great spot to go in quick. And the docks was a good dive. We went out to a deep dive here, as well. From 30 feet to 130 feet, this was a fun place for those new to the sport, and old timers.

The road leading to the parking area is closed. This means a long walk down the RR tracks with your gear, like half a mile, friends. I tried talking to a guard but he didn't know anything pertaining to the future of this site. I suppose you could swim East from the T Dock to this site. Thought I'd post this as a WARNING for divers that were planning to dive here. Sea ya!

We did this from the north and it's a long long hike. The swim wasn't bad. We dove at slack so currents weren't a problem but it's a full moon beware if you aren't at slack. Tons of crabs. When I swam out to the dock and dropped down I was shocked at the number of crabs there. It reminded me of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when he saw all those snakes on the floor. "Why is the floor moving?"

I've only entered from the south and it's a long hike and a long swim. This is an interesting dive site though - more crab than you can imagine. Get a license and a game bag, take a few home and have crab and Coronas. On good vis days look up through the pilings at the end of the dock to the surface. You'll frequently be rewarded by sunlight filtering through the pilings and silhouetting thousands of small fish. An impressive site.

This dive is all about animal life. Crabs, to be precise! Don't do it as a shore dive from the north side. Park next to the hotel by the ferry terminal, and it's a much shorter walk, and almost no swim. Bring your bag, and your license. You'll bag limits.

This is best done as a night dive in my opinion (be sure to bring 2 lights!). This site requires a long swim out to the dock. Calculate slack accurately or you will hate life. Walk along the beach until you are closest to the middle of the dock. Begin the long surface swim out. Be sure to take a accurate compass reading back to shore. Once you arrive at the dock descend and begin your dive. Explore inside and around the pilings. Leave enough air to make your way back to shore underwater. There are some interesting things you will come across.

I love this dive. I've seen sea lions, seals, skates, lingcod, cabazon, every common fish and invertebrate, even grey whale. I've dived it at least a hundred times.