Difficulty
intermediate
Viz (last reported 119581h ago)
Max Depth
32.8 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Jade Cove
Jade Cove is an Adventure in all respects! Plan on making this a full day trek, if not spending the night in the area. After making an incredibly beautiful drive up (or down) the coast, be prepared for a mild version of Gorilla diving. The reward? A souvenir piece of jade to take home to display with your other diving trophies. There are regulations to be aware of. A good starting place for web research is <a target="_new" href="http://www.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/Intro/press_releases/980708.html">here</a>. Getting in at times is accomplished by going under the thick bull kelp that's near shore and has a thick canopy. It's shallow and is affected by heavy surge. In August there is a thick krill layer near the bottom (5ft thick) that decreased the viz to 2-5ft. Beautiful reef, fishes, and if you look carefully you will find pieces of jade.
A rememberence from Daniel S. McDermed: In 1966 my Dad's hobby was scuba diving, and my grandparents' hobby was making jewlery. In the murky water of Jade Cove, Dad's exploration of a small underwater cave produced a large piece of jade that weighed 17 pounds. I remember a young man offered my Dad 35 dollars a pound for it while my Dad stood there in those chilly waters. Dad said "Thanks but this man has some real plans for this chunk." Much more than the money offered was gained from the retained stone.
Found 70 miles South of Monterey and 70 miles North of San Luis Obispo, between Gorda and Pacific Valley, on Highway 1. The trail head leading to Jade Cove (Main, Central Jade Cove) is .4 miles south of Plaskett Creek Campground entrance on Cabrillo Highway 1. Free parking on the west side of hwy 1. Walk the straight dirt path to the narrowing switch back trail. There is a spring halfway down with water on the path, the very last leg has an anchored rope line for balance! Cross over some large boulders at the bottom to the cove.
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shore
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Jade Diver
May 27, 2009, 12:00 AM
scuba
Yes the hike up and down the cliffs is ridiculous. The shore boulder field can snap a leg with one miss step on a slippery or loose rock. After my first tank a family came up to me holding their dying dog, asking where the nearest vet was. Apparently at the wrong place at the wrong time. Another person was being helped out by his friends because his feet were so cut up by the rocks he couldn't walk. DON'T wear sandals dude! If you are bound and determined to go there, go prepared, move slowly and carefully, this is VERY wild country with no medical attention around. In the water the direction of the swells and large swell intervals even when small can throw you into the rocks or pin you under a ledge. Dove here last week and the canopy of bull kelp was so thick and it was so dark I had to use a light to see the gravel beds. Problem was I needed 2 hands to hold onto the thick palm kelp to keep the surge from dragging me in 20 ft. of water. Once a wave had passed, I had to untangle myself from the kelp to continue. Vis was 8-10ft. Forget looking into caves. Two long dives and 3 hikes up and down the cliff yielded 2 handfuls of pebbles. A beach picker vacationing from Indiana found a half pound ocean polished piece in the rocks near the water 10 times better than anything I found. Up at the car I saw a young dude beginning the hike down with a brand new US Divers snorkel kit from Big 5 price tag still on it and I lost it. I told the kid do not go down there unless properly prepared with the right gear and DIVERS ARE NOT LIFEGUARDS!!! What a day, I think I'll stick to spear fishing Willow creek.