Old Marineland, Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Old marineland is one of the best reefs in Southern California, including the Channel Islands, due to upwellings that bring rich & cooler waters. There is an incredible amount of invertebrate life on the rocks. More nudibranch species have been found here than in any other Southern Californian dive site. There are 2 dive sites, the "point" (to the west), and the "cove" (to the east). Protection from waves and good vis make it popular with divers, but rocky entry, a difficult hike back up the trail, surface swims, and mild currents make it a poor choice for beginner beach divers. Click on Map to enlarge

Maps are not to be used for boaters or navigational purposes.

Interests: Nudibranchs (especially between 40 & 65ft off the point), Octopus, Blennies & Sculpins on the shallow pinnacles near the point The reefs consist of large pinnacles covered with invertebrates. Healthy Sea fans with colorful Gorgonians are prolific, Rockfish, Lingcod, Cabezon, Scorpionfish and many schooling fish can be found here. An occasional Bat Ray, Sea-lion, Torpedo Ray, or Guitarfish will often surprise the diver.

Entry & Exits: Rocky pebbles at the cove (moderate), rocky boulders at the point (difficult). Only divers with rocky entry experience should attempt these sites. update - The "point" access is no longer available due to construction.

Suggestions: Some divers enter at the point, and exit at the cove. Other divers will enter & exit at the cove, but surface swim to the reef near the point.
Best time to Dive: Anytime other than strong South swells. Check Conditions

Visibility: 10-25ft

Warnings: The climb back to the parking lot can be strenuous and has some dangers, so scout the dive site well before attempting the climb.

Depth Recomendations:35-55 ft is where most of the points of interest are for this site. 60 ft is Recomended maximum depth for novice beach divers .
100 ft is Recommended maximum for advanced beach divers. 130 ft is Maximum Depth for recreational divers.

Safety: Use of float, flag, anchor and descent line is required for beach diving. Cell phone and oxygen first aid kit should be avalible.

Click here to see Scott's Marineland Photos

Directions: Click on map for GOOGLE MAP directions

Parking:

Update: due to construction, the parking lot in the photos is no longer accessible. There is a temporary parking lot with 10 spaces. to get to this new parking lot, drive past the old entrace of Palos Verdes drive indicated on the map. Immediately after the old entrace,  make a right (you will see a sign for beach access). At the end of this road, make another right. At the end of a road will be a parking lot with 10 spots. THe trail is surrounded on both sides by a tall chain-link fence, and leads down to the cove. There is no access to the point, you must swim there from the cove. The trail is much longer, but its less steep. It takes about 8 minutes to walk down to the cove. 

Photos of the Marineland Parking lot, and the path going down to the dive sites.