Aliso
BeachSouth of the main part of town in Laguna Beach, Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) dips down to beach level and the view opens up to the sea briefly. If you pass by too quickly you'll miss the parking lot, pier and beach. Unless you're really looking, or pull off into the parking lot, you miss the evidence of offshore reefs and some great diving. Aliso Beach has some of the easiest access in all of Laguna Beach but is not often dived. It is not for the lack of great underwater features and life, but rather that this can be a difficult beach dive. For the experienced diver or intermediate diver, however, who can hit the site on a calm day, this is a treasure of a dive site.
Several different dives can be made here. To the north is Treasure Cove. This is a complex set of reefs with depths of 10 to 35 feet. The point gives the entry calm protection in a prevailing northwest wind and swell (forget about this dive in a south swell). While the dive site sounds ideal, you'll have to walk a 1/2 a mile up the beach (staying below the high tide line) so as to not trespass on private property. An alternative is to kayak from the Aliso Beach parking area. Treasure Cove, and Halibut Rock a bit to the south, are noted as good halibut hunting grounds. Sand bass, some quite large, are also good quarry for the spearfisher. And finally, lobster can be found here, but not in great numbers. Visibility is fair, but this is the most consistently calm part of the Aliso Beach area.
The pier was recently removed but the rest room building at the foot of where the pier once stood remains. Directly out and to the north are two outfall pipelines that make for excellent diving. The pipeline directly off the rest rooms is far out and difficult to find, rising above the sand only occasionally at depths of 50 to 75 feet. Easier to find is the pipeline to the north. If diving during lobster season, one needs only look for the string of lobster trap buoys leading off the beach. The pipe is located about half way between the rest rooms and north edge of the parking lot. Depths start at 30 to 35 feet and out to deeper and farther than you want to go. Viz is again only fair, but hunting is good for calico and sand bass, halibut, and some lobster.
To the south is Camel Point. This is fun but sometimes tough diving. The reefs offshore boil and can be dangerous. Waves surge up on the tall flat reefs and then spill off the sides making for confusing currents and rips. Enter off the sand beach and swim to the reefs rather than entering at the point. The outer edges of the reef are quite interesting. There are overhangs, some quite deep, and fractures in the huge rock face creating narrow crevices. This is excellent territory for lobster. Fish are plentiful here. There are sheephead and calico as well as sand bass. The reefs extend for some way to the south, broken intermittently with small sand beaches.
Most of the beach in front of the parking lot has a sharp shore break with waves that build and crash quickly. The surf zone is narrow, but you must time the sets carefully or you'll be driven hard into the sand. Facilities are excellent with a seasonal snack bar, showers, large parking area (bring lots of quarters!) and rest rooms.
Dive Spot At - A - Glance
Location:
South side of Laguna Beach along Pacific Coast Highway. Look for turn
out.
Access and entry: Easy access across sand beach. Good reefs for kayak access to north and south. Long walk to reefs to the north. Sharp shore break can make water entry tough.
Skill Level: Intermediate or better.
Visibility: Fair to good, averaging 15 to 20 feet.
Depths: 10 to 50 feet, most diving to 35 feet.
Snorkeling: Fair but very surgy. Best on north reefs. Use caution on south reefs.
Photography: Fair to poor. Taking camera through tough surf not recommended. Lots of fish to photo but other subjects not plentiful.
Hunting: Good. Lobster fair to good. Occasional rock scallop. Spearfishing good for halibut and sand bass. Some calico bass also.
Facilities: Restrooms, showers, picnic area, fire rings, seasonal snack bar, a large amount of metered parking.
Hazards: Sharp shore break. Sometimes dangerous and confusing rips around south reefs.
