Dustin Meyer's Dive Log

The Cave(s) at La Jolla was pretty much my favorite SoCal dive yet. I've done a lot of snorkeling in Laguna Beach, which I truly enjoyed, but for me this was on another level. My brother and I swam over from La Jolla Cove, it was max about a quarter mile swim, just pace yourself, you should be fine as the swell is calm. The visibility wasn't good until we actually got to the caves. We noticed some other people entering from the rocks, but it looked slightly treacherous. I'd try it next time but I'd have to find how to get there from the road. As far as what we actually saw - the actual caves were amazing, we were able to swim right into them, some had multiple inlets / outlets. The fish here, as with La Jolla cove, are very used to people. I had about 6 Garibadi floating about a foot under me for quite some time. (They probably though I was going to feed them, like some other people had been. Don't do this, it's prohibited.) There was a lot of kelp and eel grass right outside the caves. On the swim back to La Jolla Cove, I saw a 4 foot leopard shark, and a small octopus. Another snorkeler said he had seen a moray eel. I highly recommend this site, just make sure you go on a good day, and always use caution around the caves and rocks.

My opinion of Diver's Cove as a beginning snorkeler was that it was absolutely great. Lots of metered parking to be had generally. A quarter machine is available (it was out of order one time that I went) about 600-1000 feet north of the entry to Diver's Cove. Two entries to this beach. The south entry is a small-medium length ramp with showers at the bottom, the north entry a down-sloped walkway to stairs. I believe there were two lifeguards, one at the north part of the beach and one to the south. Bathrooms right at the top of the south ramp. I had the most fun snorkeling at the north part of the beach. Up there is a big rock formation that juts out into the water and curves around toward another beach. You can walk out onto the rocks except during high tide. My first time out I swam along the rocks and viewed the sea life on the bottom and on the side of the rocks. Couple of big sea stars, kelp, eelgrass, sand bass, lots of garibaldi and other fish I didn't recognize as a beginner. A horde of sea urchins and anemones further around the rock to the north. I also saw a bunch of small bat rays, probably about 10 or 15 different ones on my last outing. 2-3 foot surf when I was there, and great visibility starting at a mere 20-30 feet from shore. Lots of scuba classes in the morning on the weekends. This site has really peaked my interest in snorkeling, and eventually getting scuba certified.