La Jolla Cove & Ecological Reserve
La Jolla · near La Jolla / San Diego · San Diego
Scuba & Snorkel · Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Depth
- 40
- Water temperature
- 60–72°F · 3–5mm wetsuit (summer) to 7mm (winter)
- Best season
- Summer/fall warmest · leopard sharks Jun–Nov
- Best season
- Year-round; harbor seal pupping Dec–May (Children's Pool often closed)
- Open year round
- Yes
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. La Jolla Cove sits in the San Diego–La Jolla Ecological Reserve (no-take) — free but very limited street parking (arrive early). A tiny protected cove with stairs to the water; one of the most famous and beginner-friendly snorkel spots in California. Sea lions haul out nearby (keep distance).
What is here
- Marine life
- Bright-orange garibaldi everywhere · Sea lions & harbor seals · Leopard sharks (summer, shallows) · Kelp forest & the Cove's reefs
- Features
- Iconic protected cove · Fearless garibaldi & sea lions · Gateway to the kelp forest & canyon · Summer leopard shark aggregations
- Wildlife
- seals-otters · birds
- Species
- California sea lions, harbor seals, brown pelicans, cormorants, shorebirds
- Amenities
- Sea lion & harbor seal haul-outs · Right in town, easy access · Seabird colonies on the cliffs · Year-round viewing
- Best for
- Close, easy marine-mammal viewing
- Features
- Sea lions & seals in town · Effortless close viewing · Cliffside seabird colonies · Year-round
Worth knowing
- Certification required
- No
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Hazards
- Never approach or crowd the animals · Slippery rocks & bluffs · Seasonal pupping closures · Crowds & limited parking
Scuba & Snorkel detail
- Dive type
- snorkel · scuba
- Entry
- shore
- Viz
- 10–30 ft
- Intl tip
- Street parking around the Cove is scarce — arrive at dawn or use a lot and walk. It's a no-take reserve. For leopard sharks, snorkel La Jolla Shores (just south) June–November in the shallows. Scuba divers reach the kelp forest and canyon from the Shores. Sea lions haul out on the rocks — keep a respectful distance (they can be territorial in pupping season).
Wildlife Watching detail
- Viewing
- shore
- Effort
- easy
- Habitat
- coast
- Sighting
- 5
- Viewing notes
- Sea lions and harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and beach in the middle of a seaside town — some of the closest, easiest marine-mammal viewing in California
- Intl tip
- Some of the closest, easiest marine-mammal viewing in California — sea lions and harbor seals hauled out right in a seaside neighborhood of San Diego. Sea lion colonies sprawl over the rocks at La Jolla Cove; harbor seals rest and pup (Dec–May) on the beach at the Children's Pool, with seabird colonies on the cliffs above. Effortless and family-friendly, but the animals are wild: never approach, crowd, or feed them, heed seasonal pupping closures, mind slick rocks and busy parking. Come early.
The guide
La Jolla Cove is the most famous snorkel spot in California — a tiny, cliff-framed cove in the heart of La Jolla, protected as …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to La Jolla Cove & Ecological Reserve — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.85, -117.272