Main Entrance from road  (Top gate)          Parking area near old front gate

Difficulty:  Intermediate dive Site due to length of walk down (about 2-3 city blocks or more) and currents which are often present and at times strong.  You should be experienced in beach diving and rocky entry and exits and in good condition before attempting to dive here.

Type of Beach: Rocky Entry

Average Depth: 30' - 100'+

Parking: Plenty of lined spaces.

Facilities: None at present.  Terranea Resort scheduled to open in 2008 will then provide public restrooms, showers, paves paths to the water, snack bars, restaurants, bars and parking.  The walk down is expected to be longer.

         Lower gate leading to dive site                                              View looking at point, Catalina
                                                                                                    Island in the background.

Special Notes:
In the past this has become of favorite of every Sand Eater introduced to this location thus far. It offers some of the best diving from the mainland that resembles the Channel Islands in terrain and underwater marine life. This site will often reward the diver with better visibility than most of Malibu or Laguna Beach due to its position and the currents

This location is private property and the top gate is supposed to open at 9:00 am. Be aware sometimes it opens early, other times they forget to come unlock the gate at all. The site is scheduled to be developed into a luxury hotel and home site in 2005.  Public access to the water should be preserved by the California Coastal Commission and the City of Palos Verde but the local dive community should continue to take an interest.  It is recommended you plan to suit up at your car and walk down fully geared.  Most divers enter the water at the cove lower gate driveway leads to.  Better diving can be found at the point to the right, but entry is far more advanced and should only be attempted by very experienced divers.

TERRANEA RESORT Plans:  The resort is scheduled to start construction in April of 2006 and to be completed in 2008.  According to the California Coastal Commission and the folks at Lowes Resorts, public coastal access during construction is suppose to be maintained.  If you are denied entry, try to get information as to the name of who denied you, date and time and report it to: California Costal Commission Attn: Teresa Henry, District Manager (562) 590-5071 South Coast District Office, 200 Oceangate, 10th Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802-4416.

Sketch of Proposed Resort  Click to see larger image	Map of Proposed Resort, Click to see large image

DISCLAIMER:  P L E A S E   N O T E:

The Sand Eaters is little more than a scheduling organization. It's sole purpose is to schedule a Sunday morning beach dive and notify those who have requested to be on the list. The Sand Eaters and it's members are not responsible for you, your equipment, you're being teamed up with another diver, or your safety. You and you alone are solely responsible for your diving activities!
 

Your participation is voluntary. You are the only one who decides whether you dive. The Sand Eaters make no claim to the suitability of the location and are not responsible for dive conditions. Conditions change and there will be occasions where a chosen location will not be suitable for diving upon arriving at the site.

Beach aerial photographs with permission of Kenneth Adelman Copyright (C) 2002-2004, California Costal Records Project, http://www.californiacoastline.org/

Photos of old Pier pilings in water used with permission of Jim McCabe, all rights reserved.

Webpage updated by Melvin Pasley of Pasley Realty http://www.pasleyrealty.com/ October 3, 2005