Bird Rock (La Jolla)
La Jolla / Pacific Beach · near La Jolla / San Diego · San Diego
Scuba & Snorkel
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Depth
- 40
- Water temperature
- 60–72°F · 5–7mm wetsuit
- Best season
- Calm summer/fall days
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. Bird Rock, La Jolla — street parking; a rocky/staircase access to a reef surrounding a prominent offshore rock. Good kelp reef for snorkeling/diving on calm days. Rocky entry, exposed to swell — calm conditions essential.
What is here
- Marine life
- Kelp reef around an offshore rock · Garibaldi, sheephead, lobster · Octopus & morays · Rays over the sand
- Features
- Reef around a landmark offshore rock · Kelp & rich crevice life · Quieter La Jolla alternative · Lobster & octopus
Worth knowing
- Certification required
- No
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Scuba & Snorkel detail
- Dive type
- snorkel · scuba
- Entry
- shore
- Viz
- 10–30 ft
- Intl tip
- Street parking in the Bird Rock neighborhood; rocky/staircase access to the reef. Exposed to swell — calm days only. Quieter than the Cove/Shores. Good crevice life (lobster, octopus, eels). Snorkel the shallow reef on flat mornings. Combine with the other La Jolla sites for variety.
The guide
Bird Rock, at the south end of La Jolla, is a quieter reef dive and snorkel centered on the prominent offshore rock that gives …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Bird Rock (La Jolla) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.813, -117.267