Casino Point Dive Park (Avalon)
Catalina Island · near Avalon (Catalina Island) · Los Angeles / SoCal
Scuba & Snorkel
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Depth
- 95
- Water temperature
- 55–74°F (warmest Sept–Oct) · 5–7mm wetsuit
- Best season
- Year-round · Sept–Oct warmest & clearest
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit — but Catalina is ferry/boat access only (Catalina Express from Long Beach/San Pedro/Dana Point). America's first nonprofit underwater dive park, a no-take Marine Protected Area. Stairs lead straight into the water; a dive shop at the Casino rents gear and fills tanks. It's a slog with gear from the ferry — bring a cart.
What is here
- Marine life
- Giant black sea bass (spring–summer) · Garibaldi, sheephead, kelp bass · Wrecks & artificial reefs · Bat rays, leopard sharks, octopus, eels
- Features
- Top shore-diving destination in the USA · Stair entry straight into a kelp forest · Giant black sea bass encounters · Wrecks in the deeper sand
Worth knowing
- Certification required
- Yes
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Scuba & Snorkel detail
- Dive type
- scuba · snorkel
- Entry
- shore
- Viz
- 40–100 ft (best late summer/fall)
- Intl tip
- Take the Catalina Express ferry (Long Beach/San Pedro/Dana Point) to Avalon; the park is a gear-heavy walk from the dock, so bring a wheeled cart. Catalina Divers Supply at the Casino rents and fills. September–October is warmest and clearest. Enter fully geared via the stairs and time the surge. Giant sea bass season is late spring–summer.
- Nickname
- America's first underwater dive park
The guide
Casino Point Dive Park in Avalon is the most famous shore dive in America — the country's first nonprofit underwater park (esta…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Casino Point Dive Park (Avalon) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.349, -118.327