Terranea / Point Vicente (Palos Verdes)
Rancho Palos Verdes · near Rancho Palos Verdes · Los Angeles / SoCal
Scuba & Snorkel
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Depth
- 40
- Water temperature
- 58–68°F · 5–7mm wetsuit
- Best season
- Calm summer/fall days
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. Public coastal access below the Terranea Resort / near Point Vicente, Rancho Palos Verdes — limited public parking. Rocky reef and coves for snorkeling/diving on calm days; the PV coast is exposed, so check swell. Steep access.
What is here
- Marine life
- Rocky reef & kelp · Garibaldi, opaleye, sheephead · Tide pools & lobster · Occasional bat rays
- Features
- Dramatic PV reef & coves · Kelp & rocky structure · Tide pools & lobster · Point Vicente lighthouse backdrop
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
- Public access below Terranea Resort / near Point Vicente — limited parking, steep rocky access. Exposed coast — calm days only, check swell. Water shoes for the rocky entry. Combine with Abalone Cove and the PV blufftop trails. The Point Vicente lighthouse is a scenic landmark. Best on calm summer/fall mornings.
The guide
The Terranea and Point Vicente stretch of the Palos Verdes Peninsula offers dramatic rocky-reef snorkeling and diving beneath t…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Terranea / Point Vicente (Palos Verdes) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 33.74, -118.415