Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 108077h ago)
Max Depth
20 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Christmas Tree Cove
Steep hike over slippery sand, then entry over shallow, slippery rocks. There is nice snorkeling available along the shoreline and a small kelp forest in the middle of the cove. The best diving is on the reef beyond the cove. The high spot breaks the surface at low tide. Follow this reef south and you will find overhangs, walls, lobsters, sponges, fish and nudibranchs. The east side of the reef has vertical walls as high as fifteen feet. The reef continues to eighty feet where it ends at the sand.
Located in the posh Palos Verdes area, grab your street map and follow along: From the Pacific Coast Highway, head South on Palos Verdes Blvd for 1.4 miles. Turn right on Palos Verdes Drive West. In 3.8 miles, turn right on Paseo Lunado which becomes Paseo Del Mar. You'll see the park on your right.
Access
shore
boat
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John from West Hollywood
Aug 16, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
To all those who actually went diving here, you're incredible. I'm not sure if the trail was 'rebuilt,' but it's a perilous climb down. What's worse is that there's a private trail with stairs and hand rails just teasing you, leading down from some huge mansion that probably belongs to one of the Lakers. My wife and I just brought our fins and mask for some free diving and the climb was tough. I can't imagine going down with all my gear, tank and weights. BUT, if you do decide to take the challenge, it's a beautiful and remote spot. Parking is a breeze and we only saw a couple of other friendly hikers, other than that, it was private. After the descent, we climbed (hand and foot) over some rocks to get to our entry point (divers probably enter just to the north of the hike down). Vis was about 10-15, but among the rocks, there were some amazing sea urchin beds, numbering in the hundreds, plus starfish and other exotic plant life. I'm no pro when it comes to identifying fish, but there were thin green schools about 4 inches long, 6 inch blue fish, and something big that looked like a trout. I'd love to revisit to scuba, but the hike is just too perilous, or would require 3 trips up and down.
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