White Point

White Point

California Mid, USA West
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Difficulty
intermediate
Viz (last reported 100481h ago)
Max Depth
29.9 ft

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at White Point

There's something for everyone at White Point. Beginner and expert divers will find interesting underwater vistas to explore. Ship wrecks and old construction have left bits and pieces of history strewn through the area. Plus, reefs and kelp around the point are harbors for the elusive critters. The Big Attraction here is the Warm Water Vents in the Shallows. About 50 Yards out you'll find areas with almost no growth and a mixed White and Black Sandy Bottom. You may see "Murky Water" in these areas as well. If so, you're over the vents - Try taking your Gloves off and putting them in the sand, you'll feel the Heat - It's pretty Cool (or is that Hot)! Expect to see Bat Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Moray eels and lots of Nudibranchs as you venture away from the Vents. Go a little Deeper and East and you'll run into Kelp and Rock outcrops loaded with goodies. The best diving is in the kelp bed about 200 yards east of the cove, Rock formations with dramatic overhangs, schools of fish darting throughout the kelp, barracuda, Giant Seabass, lobster, large sand rose anemones and batrays can be found here. Entry in the cove can be tough. Slippery rocks and shallow water extends more than sixty feet from shore. It is best to dive here at high tide. The park is closed at night, but you can enter via the fire road east of the baseball field and enter the water on either side of the point. Two thousand feet offshore is a beautiful reef with several species of sponges, different nudibranchs than those found inshore and various rockfish. The reef is about thirty feet wide and one hundred feet long and rises twenty feet above the sand. There are smaller rocks about fifty feet NE of White Point Rock. The only location on Palos Verdes Peninsula with parking right by the water. Swim approx 200 yards straight out at 40' depth. 1.5 miles East of the junction of I-110 and the Pacific Coast Highway, take Western Ave South toward the ocean. In about 5.5 miles, it will merge with West Paseo Del Mar. You'll see the view of the following picture.
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Scuba Diver Girl Stephanie
Scuba Diver Girl Stephanie
Oct 2, 2009, 12:00 AM
scuba
My husband and I were heading back from San Refugio in Santa Barbara and went to the old Marineland first. There is no way to get in to scuba there. The resort has insured that divers are not going to get down to the coast to dive via that route. We heard about White Point being the only access to the shore from PV and went to check it out. It cost $7 to enter. Once down the life guard directed us to the Southern most end of the parking lot. We found a couple other divers gearing up. The entry is a little tricky and that includes the exit, this is due to the pebbles on the beach and the thousands of sea urchins in the water. Once out it was very cool. This is an area you really need to plan your dive appropriately and navigation is very important! We went over quite a few of the thermal vents off the coast, through reefs, and out into the kelp on an out reef. This is definitely a dive I would recommend for those in the area that are into shore diving. There were quite a bit of fish to see. I am sure it is tough on days when the surf is high, so check conditions before heading out.
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