California Diving News: Malaga Cove, Los Angeles County Dive Site

Malaga Cove

I’ve always told people that when the diving at Malaga Cove is poor it is terrible and when it is good it is great. Well, diving at Malaga Cove has been especially great lately with clear water and an abundance and variety of marine life not seen in many years. The winter storms have been light and kelp growth great. With few winter storms, runoff has been small and the water has been consistently clear at Malaga. And what can you expect in terms of marine life? Black sea bass, schools of sharks, octopus, lobster and much, much more.

Garibaldi dance at Malaga Cove.

Malaga Cove has always been a fun dive site. Here is where the long sweeping sand beaches of the Santa Monica Bay give way suddenly to the rocky cliffs and reefs of Palos Verdes. Anytime you have a transition such as this you’re going to have an unusual amount of action, lots of marine life and a great deal to see.

Although access to most Palos Verdes reefs is difficult, at Malaga Cove it is a short walk down a moderately steep paved path. Unfortunately, there are no facilities here but it keeps the crowds down. This is only one of two places on the Southern California where the shoreline faces north (the other being La Jolla Cove). Although the beach is open to the prevailing north-northwest weather, this is an ideal dive site to consider should a heavy south swell be pounding the other beaches. The cove is somewhat protected but only from south-southeast weather. Even so, there are many calm days when diving Malaga is easy.

Look for octupus under the ledges.

To reach Malaga Cove, access Palos Verdes Drive off Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance and head south. As the Drive enters the town of Rancho Palos Verdes, veer right on to PV Drive West and you will enter the Malaga Cove Plaza area. Turn right at Via Corta and head down the hill. Turn right again at Malaga Cove School on to Via Arroyo. The parking area for Malaga Cove will be just ahead to your right. The path to the water is at the far end of the parking lot.

At the top of the bluff is a gazebo that overlooks the dive area. This is an excellent area to spot hidden reefs in the surf, guesstimate water visibility, and judge the surf. Surf too high? There is a good alternate dive site just up the coast at Redondo into the Submarine Canyon or around the peninsula at Old Marineland or White Pt. where the coast faces a different direction.

In planning your dive, note that there are several options for water entry. Avoid the area directly out from the stream run off as this flows year round from domestic irrigation and often contains fertilizer chemicals than can burn the eyes. For a shorter swim to the reefs, you will want to enter over the rocks at the base of the path or to the west past the health club. The water has to be calm enough for your comfort level to enter off the rocks. Also, if you choose to enter off the rocks, diving at a high tide is a must. Shallow reefs lie between the shore and kelp that can make swimming difficult at low tide. Another option is to enter or exit at the sand beach a short walk to the right. Personally, if it’s calm and high tide, I like to walk west, up the beach past the private health club as far as I can go and enter the water over the rocks there. The best diving is out 100 to 150 yards from here. I then move underwater back toward the sand beach and exit there.

Depending on where you enter the bottom is a shallow but varied shelf extending 50 to 100 yards out. Depths are 5 to 15 feet deep. If it’s calm, this is an excellent area for snorkeling with limited kelp but a good amount of marine life including opaleye fish, perch, octopus, and lobster.

Farther out, rocky ridges, roughly parallel to shore, support a healthy growth of kelp. The ridges rise as much as five feet from the bottom with interesting overhangs, cracks and crevices. These are home to chestnut cowries, starfish, urchins, and sea cucumbers. Some of the rock piles hold lobster, shy horn sharks, and an occasional moray eel. Garibaldi are not abundant but will show up at least a few times during a dive. Other kelp forest fish here include señoritas, kelpfish, some small sheephead, and rock wrasse.

Further out the reefs are interspersed with sand flats. The reefs support small growths of gorgonian. Encounters of halibut, flounder, bat rays and angel sharks are not uncommon. It is in this are of transition from reef to open water that you will sometimes see barracuda in the kelp canopy. Giant sea bass love to feed on small barracuda, so if you see the food, look for the feeder nearby, usually hovering just underneath. Malaga Cove is one of the few spots along our coast where beach divers are beginning to see giant black sea bass on a regular basis. Most here are, however, on the small side running two to three feet in length.

If you head far enough to the west, you will be entering the dive location known as Haggarty’s. Here a mansion was built on the bluff (now a church) and a pier extending into the sea. The pier was reduced to rubble by a storm years ago but you can explore the old pilings underwater 15 to 25 feet down if you are willing to make the 200 yard swim from the health club. Look for lots of lobsters here.

Toward the sand beach the bottom is a shallow 15 to 10 feet interspersed with small reefs here and there. Leopard sharks and dogfish cruise the shallow sands but are quite shy and scurry at the slightest noise. Another visitor to these shallows is white sea bass. Yes, these are the illusive game fish so widely sought be spearfishers but these in the shallows of Malaga Cove are far too small for spearing. Even so, it with give the inexperienced stalkers a first hand look at a fish that is rarely seen.

The reefs continue sporadically for some distance to the north. Some are shallow, others out further. Lately, kelp grow has been strong making it easier to spot these mini-reefs. The largest is off the white bluffs and is known as RAT Beach Reef (RAT being an acronym for “Right After Torrance”). Most of these reefs are low lying with poor visibility but are rarely visited and fish are often abundant.

DIVE SPOT AT A GLANCE
Location: Extreme south end of the Santa Monica Bay in the town of Rancho Palos Verdes, just south of Torrance Beach.
Access and Entry: A moderately steep but short paved path to either a rock or sand beach surf entry. Many use this paved path for access with kayaks although it is a bit to steep to return with full scuba gear in the kayak. There is a hand-launch ramp at Redondo King Harbor to the north perfect for launching small inflatables for a short run to Malaga.
Skill Level: All, if calm.
Depths: 10 to 30 feet.
Visibility: Good, averages 15 feet with 20 to 25 not unusual.
Snorkeling: Good, if calm with lots of interesting shallow areas to explore.
Photography: Good wide angle with nice kelp and fish. Fair macro.
Hunting: Sign on shore indicates marine preserve, but this is only directed at those searching the tide pools.
Conditions: 310-379-8471 or http://cdip.ucsd.edu/cdip_htmls/quickshtml