Ogden Breakwater

Another view of most of the breakwater from a distance. Parking can be limited along the water's edge. There is a pay parking area next to the breakwater. The walk to the water's edge is an easy hike. The jetty before you is only 20% of entire wall. Snorkel out to this point to find the first plaque. It's an easy wade into the water.

Visibility was good at 10-15 meters. Lots of marine life: lingcod, rock fish, nudibranches, sea stars, crabs, anemones. Weaving through the kelp with the overhead sun sparkling in the water had the feel of a mystical enchanted forest. Don't miss doing this dive. Remember scuba divers can snorkel also, and save the pain of walking the gear down the pier, but if you want to walk to the end bring along a cart for your weights and tank.

Quite a long hike to the end of the breakwater carrying all our gear. But well worth the hike once we hit the water. Lots of fish, lures and line to deal with. But the plus side were the fish, the octopus, the wolf eels and the schools of small fish. Well worth the hike out there.

There is always great diving at Ogden Point Breakwater throughout the year. You have kelp forests teeming with life beginning in the spring and carrying on throughout the summer which makes up for the lack of visibility due to algae blooms. In the fall and winter the visibility can be up to 90ft with white plumose anemones dotting the reef. Stubby squid, schools of rock fish, tube snouts, occasional seals and otters, wolf eels, scallops, chitons, starfish, Puget Sound king crab, anemones galore, sea pens... it goes on! Enjoy yourself any time of year and don't forget to stop off at the mermaid statue just past the first bend.

Dove the second and third flag. Access is the only problem as you have to carry everything for 200-400 yards on a breakwater not made for pedestrians. Push your gear on wheels if you are going to the far end. The dive itself is stellar - with anenomies, nidibranches, chitons, ling cod, and rockfish. Saw a 3' sunstar that had eaten a basketball! Well worthwhile for beginner / intermediate divers.

Great dive for plant and marine life. Night dives are excellent. Easy entry.

Easily one of BC's top ten sites, for a number of reasons. From Open Water classes to advanced night dives, this site never seems to become boring. Great entry and exit points from the shore or the more common blocks off the breakwater. Clear signs above water and the site info placards on the bottom help identify the multitude of life. From four foot Lingcod to the more than dozen Wolf Eels and all the animal and plant life in between. For the beginners you can dive out to flag three and the advanced to the end and back. Night diving turns this site into a new place with the Sailfins to Octopus coming out. Visibility is often good and bottom is sand and rock wall. So much to see I'll leave it to you to get down there and go for a dive.

Not bad, better around Nanoose Bay.

Ogden Breakwater is an interesting site, great for beginners and advanced alike. The breakwater itself is a 750m (2500') long 'arm' extending into Victoria harbor. The breakwater is made entirely of large concrete blocks, which forms a series of 'stairs' extending from the surface to the ocean floor. Its location along the Juan de Fuca Straight ensures some currents, which feeds the amazing life found here. This dive site is more like 3 or 4 sites wrapped into one. The breakwater can be loosely divided into three areas. The first area extends from shore to the first bend. This area is basically a shallow sandy bay (~30' deep), with little to see; but makes a good sheltered area for beginners to practice their skills. The second region is the area between the first and second bend. This region, which is about 500m (1500') long, is the most popular with divers. This area is much deeper then the first section (up to 80'), and features a ton of life. Anemones, nudibranchs, ling cod, greenlings, assorted rockfish, wolf eels, and the odd octopus can be found here. In spring & summer the upper levels of this area can have a pretty amazing kelp forest. This section is occasionally exposed to large waves and moderate current (less then 1 knot), so beginners may want a more experienced guide to lead them in this section. The third section extends from the second bend to the end. Because of the long walk involved, this region is rarely dived and as such shows a lot fewer signs of human impact then the rest of the breakwater. This sections is exposed directly to the Juan de Fuca, and as such often has moderate current (1.5 knots) and large waves. This portion has similar types of life to the middle section, but everything is much bigger, and much more densely packed. Along the breakwater are five painted dive flags. Immediately under these flags, in 30' to 50' of water, are large illustrated plaques describing what you'll see in that area. Some divers make a game of finding these plaques - I've found two! To access the first two sections walk down the stairs at the beginning of the breakwater and walk along the blocks until you reach your desired entry point. The best way to access the last section is to walk along the top of the breakwater all the way to the end, descend on the stairs at the end, and enter there. You cannot get off the top at any point but at the end, so don't try to walk mid-way along the top - it won't work.

Fun dive, although the huge blocks of granite that make up the Ogden Point Breakwater, descending like giant stairs, can be a challenge when exiting the water for those of us who are short. (Crawl on hands and knees.) Tons of life, sea stars, urchins, crabs, jellies. If you walk along the top of the breakwater which goes out forever into the sea, you can pick your site. There are six dive flags about 100 yards apart, painted on the top of the wall. They correspond with increasing depths, the farther you get from the shore. At flag five we were told there are wolf eels, though it's quite a hike out there...good night dive.

Probably one of the most popular dive sites in BC. It's not rare to have 40-50 divers in the water on a given weekend in the summer. This makes it difficult for parking. Dive shop on location. Highlight is between flage 4-5 pm breakwater, a family of wolf eels at about 50 feet. Go with a diver who's been to help you lovate them. Very friendly wolfies.

It is hard to beat Ogden Pt. Breakwater - you can find everything here - even uncommon things like brachiopods. Also, the dive shop has the most friendly employees that I have ever met.... even as the staff changes when I come back year after year! The only downside is that you will have to contend with fisherman ... bring a knife and watch out for hooks.

I have done about 100 dives at this site and never tire of it. The best part of the breakwater is near the end, but it is quite a hike in full gear. Lots of wolf- eels here. Huge lingcod and fish-eating anemones. Tons of rockfish, nudibranches, etc. I find the best visibility is in august to October. The kelp forest looks great in summer and early fall.

Beautiful site - probably the best on Vancouver Island. Tons of things to see, lots of life (Wolf Eels, octopi, fish, and more). Only down side is the entry, crawling up the barnacle encrusted concrete blocks when there are waves is a real bitch.

Victoria's most popular dive site. Plenty of parking and a dive store, Ogden Point Dive Center (which I consider to be the most professional in Victoria) on site with hot showers and change rooms. The diving is awesome anywhere along the mile long breakwater with a huge assortment of animal life from Six Gill Sharks (very rare), Sea Lions, Seals, 6' Lingcod, 6-7' Wolf Eels (friendly), Octopi, and most species of Rock Fish and Sea Anemones. Highly recommended for visiting divers due to it's amenities, ease, and broad selection of marine life.

This site is a Marine park. I walk to the end of the breakwater along the top and get in on the west side. There are lots of huge ling cod ,puget sound king crab, wolf eels and much more. There is a dive shop there and they can tell all. Lots of fishing gear as well.