Monastery Beach (Carmel River)
Carmel (Carmel Meadows) · near Carmel · Central Coast
Scuba & Snorkel
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Depth
- 100
- Water temperature
- 50–58°F · 7mm + hood/gloves or drysuit
- Best season
- Calm days only · check swell religiously
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit, but this is an ADVANCED site with a notorious, dangerous shore break over a steep sand berm dropping into the deep Carmel Submarine Canyon. Nicknamed 'Mortuary Beach' for a reason. Only dive on calm days with proper timing and experience; many rescues and fatalities have occurred here.
What is here
- Marine life
- Deep Carmel Canyon wall life · Rockfish, lingcod, rays · Kelp forest & sand channels · Occasional pelagic surprises
- Features
- Access to the deep Carmel Canyon · Steep, powerful — expert shore entry · Dramatic wall & sand-channel diving · One of the most beautiful (and serious) sites
Worth knowing
- Certification required
- Yes
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Scuba & Snorkel detail
- Dive type
- scuba
- Entry
- shore
- Viz
- 20–50 ft
- Intl tip
- Study the swell forecast and watch the break from shore before deciding — many divers drive here and correctly turn around. Time your entry between wave sets and move fast through the impact zone. North Monastery is generally the safer entry. Not a beginner or checkout site under any circumstances. Combine with Point Lobos just south.
The guide
Monastery Beach is one of California's most beautiful and most dangerous dive sites — a stunning white-sand crescent south of C…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Monastery Beach (Carmel River) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.529, -121.925