Zoanthid anemones

Lobos Rocks

Monterey diving just seems to get better after Labor Day. Tourists go home and take the fog with them, beaches are uncrowded and sunny, and the water visibility jumps 50 to 80 feet. On these clear, fall days I like to head south of Carmel Bay—and one of my favorite sites is Lobos Rocks.

Lobos Rocks are a pair of rocks that jut up some 15 feet above the water line and are located about one half mile offshore of Soberanes Point. Most of the diving here is on the large kelp bed on the south side of the rocks. The area around the rocks is a raised plateau that is fractured with enormous cracks, forming steep-sided canyons. These canyons begin at 40 feet and their walls drop vertically to 70-80 feet to a sand bottom. Even in the absence of marine life, the structure of the reef would make this an interesting dive.

Above the rocky plateau is a healthy bed of giant kelp. The kelp here is particularly thick, so you should reserve some air to swim underneath it. Diving here when the vis is up is simply spectacular with the sunlight streaming through the golden canopy, supported by columns of twisted kelp stipes. Schools of blue rockfish move through the kelp bed in unison.

Sea lions

The vertical walls are covered with photogenic invertebrates. Small trees of pink and purple hydrocoral dot the walls. Look for crabs and mollusks among the coral branches. Large Metridium anemones contrast the dark rock with their fluffy white tentacles, and catch whatever planktonic species drift by. Big, red telia anemones are found in the surge channels and actively feed fish and other larger prey.

Hydrocoral

The base of the walls is scored with deep cracks. Look for wolf and monkey-faced eels in the cracks along with shrimp, crabs and some abalone. Lingcod and cabezon rest on rocky perches.

A colony of seal lions call these rocks home and often choose to follow divers along the bottom. They may cruise by at a high rate of speed or hang upside down, motionless, carefully observing these bubble-blowing intruders to their world. Due to the better-than-average visibility here, this a great place for sea lion photography.

Considering the enormity of the reef and the number of large creatures here, it is sometimes difficult to find the time to look for small critters, but you should. This is a particularly good spot to find unusual nudibranchs, line dendronotids, and aeolides. The area has more than its fair stair of photogenic tunicates, small fishes, crabs, and shrimp.

On those tranquil fall days there are few better places to dive in the Monterey area than Lobos Locks. This is a particular good time of year to visit Monterey since the weather is so good, and the area uncrowded.

Dive Spot At-A-Glance
Location: About one half mile offshore of Soberanes Point, Garrapata State Park.
Access and Entry: It is possible to swim to the rocks from Soberanes Point; however, I would not recommend it. It’s a long swim and the currents here can be extreme. This site is visited by Monterey’s Charter Dive Boats.
Depth: 40 to 100 feet.
Skill: Intermediate to advanced from a boat. This is a double black diamond dive from shore.
Photography: Excellent wide angle and macro.
Hazards: Watch for currents, thick kelp, big surge and swell.