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Catalina Island's Best Dive Sites
If you’re considering a dive trip to Catalina, you’ll want to discover more about the island’s amazing topography. Unlike its volcanic Hawaiian neighbors way out in the Pacific, Catalina Island is more of a submerged mountain range. This special Southern California channel island features a central ridge at a high elevation, with valleys, canyons, and sea cliffs all around it. The windward side of Catalina has more sheer, vertical coastal cliffs and impressive surf. The leeward side has more gradual slopes, some sheltered coves, rocky beaches, and a lovely protected main bay in Avalon.
The slopes and steepness throughout the land on Catalina are things that continue even under the water. There are some majestic marine walls around the island, helping to house thriving kelp forests and abundant sea life. Catalina offers so many great places to scuba dive, and it’s a good idea to get help from some local experts while you’re there. Connect with Catalina Divers Supply for all of your diving needs–from gear to guides to boat dives. Eager to get into the water around Catalina? Read on to learn more about Catalina Island’s best dive sites.
Casino Point: A good place to start with diving in Catalina is right in Avalon. The Casino Point Dive Park is considered a premier dive site. It’s a great location for scuba divers of all skill levels, offering a super accessible entry point with concrete stairs. Not only will you dive into thriving giant kelp forest and abundant marine life, you’ll be diving with the iconic Catalina Casino building as your backdrop. The underwater terrain in the dive park is diverse, with varied depths and even wreck diving opportunities. With rock walls, boulders, pinnacles, and a sandy bottom, this underwater park is a perfect combination of many of the island’s underwater characteristics. Catalina Divers Supply has a dive shop that is just steps away from this dive site, making it so convenient as the starting point for your Catalina dives.
Italian Gardens: If you’re ready for a more remote dive site, head to Italian Gardens–a place that is a fully protected marine sanctuary about 5.25 miles northwest of Avalon on the leeward side of the island. Here, a shallow shore with stones and boulders leads to a sandier sea floor and a gradual deeper slope. Something this spot is best known for: Giant Sea Bass. During the summer months, you might even see more than one of these big, beautiful fish cruising through kelp. Also in the kelp at Italian Gardens are sheephead, kelp bass, and leopard sharks. Check out the rocks and reefs to see spiny lobster, eels, and perhaps even an octopus. The sandy bottom is often home to angel sharks, halibut, and bat rays too. Catalina Divers Supply’s charter boat, the Scuba Cat, can help get you to this spot and many other dive sites around the island.
Blue Cavern Point: This dive site is situated right in between Sea Fan Grotto and Big Fisherman’s Cove. It's an excellent place for more experienced divers to explore some of the island’s caves and caverns. This is one place where the island’s topography shines; divers can explore the rocky areas to find fish, eels, and lobsters. Blue Cavern Point cannot have boats anchor, so it is necessary to do drift diving here with an experienced charter captain.
Two Harbors: Take the trip to Catalina Island’s West End, which has several prime dive sites. Bird Rock and Ship Rock are the two local landmarks that are easy to spot in Two Harbors. PADI describes Bird Rock as, “One of the prettiest, most majestic sites in Catalina for diving.” A large, domed rock on the outside of the water, this spot boasts dense bands of kelp, an iconic underwater rock arch, and schools of perch. Ship Rock, shaped a bit like a sail above the water, is also home to a shipwreck of a 90-foot wooden schooner.
Farnsworth Banks: A site for advanced open water divers and above, Farnsworth is worth the trip. This spot is just off the wilder windward side of the island, near Ben Weston Point. Under the water you’ll find a chain of large deep-water pinnacles. Dive in here to see the famous purple hydrocoral. These corals cover the vertical walls around Farnsworth, but you can find colorful sea fans and anemones here too. Bigger marine life might be seen nearby as well; be on the lookout for barracuda, rays, horn sharks, or even blue sharks and yellowtail around Farnsworth.
Ready to explore Catalina’s spectacular dive sites? All told, there are at least 70 superb scuba dive sites around Catalina Island. Catalina Divers Supply’s Scuba Cat is Avalon’s only vessel that is custom built for dive trips around the island, and guided boat dives are available aboard the Scrambler. From private boat charters to multi-day dive packages, Catalina Divers Supply can help you to design a dive trip you’ll never forget. Book a day of diving or even take a class to learn more about scuba. Check out our Catalina Divers Supply website to book a dive adventure, or give us a call at 310-510-0330 to learn more.
