La Jolla Shores & the Submarine Canyon
La Jolla · near La Jolla / San Diego · San Diego
Scuba & Snorkel
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Depth
- 120
- Water temperature
- 58–72°F · 5–7mm wetsuit
- Best season
- Year-round · leopard sharks summer; calm sandy entry
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. La Jolla Shores — paid beach lot (fills early). A gentle sandy-beach entry gives the easiest shore access to the head of the La Jolla Submarine Canyon, which drops past 100 ft close in. The region's #1 scuba training beach AND the leopard shark shallows. Watch for surf on the sandbar entry.
What is here
- Marine life
- Leopard sharks (summer shallows) · Bat rays, guitarfish, angel sharks · Canyon-wall invertebrates · Squid egg beds (winter)
- Features
- Easy sandy entry to a deep canyon · Southern California's top scuba beach · Summer leopard shark shallows · Bat rays, angel sharks & guitarfish
Worth knowing
- Certification required
- Yes
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Scuba & Snorkel detail
- Dive type
- scuba
- Entry
- shore
- Viz
- 10–30 ft
- Intl tip
- Paid lot at Kellogg Park / La Jolla Shores fills early — arrive by mid-morning. Time the sandbar entry between surf sets. Leopard sharks fill the shallows June–November (snorkel the shallows for them; scuba the canyon). La Jolla dive shops rent, fill, and guide. Combine with La Jolla Cove just north. Modest viz is normal in the sandy canyon water.
The guide
La Jolla Shores is Southern California's premier scuba beach — a broad, gentle sand beach whose easy walk-in entry gives quick …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to La Jolla Shores & the Submarine Canyon — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.857, -117.256